A poetry anthology, The Forward Book of Poetry, is created each year for the Forward Poetry Prizes, first established in 1992 by the founder of Forward (now Bookmark). The prizes and the book were intended to raise the profile of poetry, reward poets and encourage a new readership to explore the genre. The book needed to act as a calling card for new prize entries and as a showcase of the best contemporary poetry.
The anthologies include a foreword from the high-profile chairman of the prizes each year. Alumni have included Carol Ann Duffy, Jeanette Winterson, Jeremy Paxman and Andrew Marr. Covers are commissioned from well-known artists to further increase the value and cut-through of the book.
The Forward prizes and the accompanying anthology celebrate their 26th year in 2017. Our most recent Poems of the Decade bumper anthology was selected for the Edexcel A-level syllabus to represent poetry in the 21st century.