The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces Prize Award Increase from $100,000 to $200,000 and the 2010 International and Canadian Shortlist

TORONTO – April 6, 2010 – Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry today announced that the annual Griffin Poetry Prize will be doubled from $100,000 to $200,000 in recognition of the prize’s tenth anniversary. The increased amount of $100,000 will be awarded as follows: $10,000 to each of the seven shortlisted poets – four international and three Canadian – for their participation in the shortlist readings. The winners, announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards evening on Thursday, June 3, 2010, will be awarded $65,000 each, for a total of $75,000 that includes the $10,000 awarded at the Readings the previous evening.

Scott Griffin said, “the size of the prize reflects the importance the Trustees of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry place on poetry, and its influence on literature. The increased amount of the prize shared among the seven shortlisted poets underlines the importance of the poetry readings, and recognises all seven poets’ books.”

David Young, trustee, announced the International and Canadian shortlist for this year’s prize noting that judges Anne Carson (Canada), Kathleen Jamie (Scotland) and Carl Phillips (USA) each read almost 400 books of poetry, including 12 translations, received from 12 countries around the globe. The seven finalists – three Canadian and four International – will be invited to read in Toronto at Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto on Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

Each year, the Griffin Poetry Prize publishes an anthology, a selection of poems from the shortlisted books, published by House of Anansi Press. Royalties from The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology are donated to UNESCO’s World Poetry Day.

Tickets for the Readings to be held on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto are available at http://performance.rcmusic.ca or by calling 416-408-0208.

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Note: The publishers mentioned in our release are those who submitted the books.

Note to booksellers: Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist posters and stickers are supplied free of charge by The Griffin Trust. Click here to view these items and access our order form. Winner stickers will be available after June 3, 2010.

Media Contact: Damian Rogers Telephone: (647) 343-7636 E-mail: press@griffinpoetryprize.com

General Inquiries: Ruth Smith, Manager Telephone: (905) 618-0420 E-mail: info@griffinpoetryprize.com

Shortlisted Publishers’ Web sites:

Arc Publications
www.arcpublications.co.uk

Coach House Books
www.chbooks.com

Farrar, Straus and Giroux
www.fsgbooks.com

House of Anansi Press
www.anansi.ca

Picador
www.panmacmillan.com/picador

The Gallery Press
www.gallerypress.com

The Porcupine’s Quill
http://porcupinesquill.ca/

 

Shortlist summary, poet bios and citations

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Purchase 2010 Griffin Prize Anthology and shortlist books online
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