All the Lands We Inherit Shortlisted for the 2026 John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize

On March 12, the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre announced the shortlist for the Pollard International Poetry Prize, an award given annually in recognition of "an outstanding debut collection of poetry in the English language." It's an honor and a joy to share that All the Lands We Inherit was selected for this shortlist; my work is in great hands and wonderful company, and I am deeply grateful for the recognition.

The shortlisted publications are:

• Dane Holt:  Father's Father's Father (Carcanet Press)

• Michael Mullen: goonie (Corsair)

• Karen Downes-Barton:  Minx  (Chatto and Windus)

• Abu Bakr Sadiq: Leaked Footages (University of Nebraska Press)

• Darby Price: All The Lands We Inherit (Black Lawrence Press)

Announcing the 2026 shortlist, chair of the judging panel, Professor Eoin McNamee, Director of the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre said:  

“Along with fellow judges Seán Hewitt and Una Mannion it has once again been a privilege to read first collections of poetry and to choose a shortlist for this year’s Pollard International Poetry Prize. We found ourselves beguiled, held to our task by invention, by poetic languages that are lyric, political, urgent, striking a balance be

tween the ethereal and the worldly. We commend these poets to you.” 

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Trinity College Dublin in April 2026.