Sarah Howe won the Forward prize for best collection with Foretokens, a collection that arrives a decade after Loop of Jade. Howe received the £10,000 prize at London’s Southbank Centre during a ceremony hosted by Joelle Taylor on Saturday evening.
Foretokens and the 2026 Forward Prize Winners
- Sarah Howe secured the £10,000 best collection prize for Foretokens, which explores new parenthood, her father’s death, and her mother’s early life in Hong Kong.
- Nur Turkmani won the £5,000 Jerwood prize for best first collection with October, published by independent press Hajar Press.
- Tara Bergin and Biff Smith each claimed £1,000 awards for best single poems in the written and performance categories respectively.
Foretokens Marks a Decade Since Loop of Jade
Sarah Howe was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother. Her second collection, Foretokens, arrives a decade after Loop of Jade became the first debut to win the T.S. Eliot prize. Eliot prize.
Just announced, the winners of the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry, FORETOKENS by Sarah Howe and OCTOBER by Nur Turkmani! 🎉Find them here along with the rest of this year's incredible shortlist: https://t.co/MmkvCKUjpF pic.twitter.com/7LgzuS2gKN
Reviewing the book for The Guardian, Rishi Dastidar called it a brilliant return with a keen, probing intelligence. Dastidar noted that Howe takes on genetics, time’s relativity, and new parenthood while re-examining her mother’s occluded history in Hong Kong. Mónica Parle, the Forward prizes’ co-executive director, described Foretokens as an exceptional collection that still bears distinct relevance to our time after 10 years in the making.
Three Other Poets Share the 2026 Honors
The Forward prizes also recognized three other writers across different categories during the Saturday evening ceremony at the Southbank Centre. Nur Turkmani won the £5,000 Jerwood prize for best first collection for October. Turkmani, a Lisbon-based poet who grew up in Beirut, wrote the poems during a period marked by protests, wildfires, economic collapse, a port explosion, and an ongoing war. The win marks the first nomination and victory for her publisher, Hajar Press.
In the single-poem categories, Dublin-born poet Tara Bergin won the best single poem in written form award for The Fear, which was first published in the Irish literary magazine The Stinging Fly. Biff Smith, who won the Scottish and World Poetry Slam Championships last year, took the best single poem in performance prize for Dumbarton East, a piece he wrote on a train and recorded at the Scottish performance night Loud Poets. Bergin and Smith each received £1,000.
| Prize Category | Winner | Work | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Collection | Sarah Howe | Foretokens | £10,000 |
| Best First Collection (Jerwood Prize) | Nur Turkmani | October | £5,000 |
| Best Single Poem (Written) | Tara Bergin | The Fear | £1,000 |
| Best Single Poem (Performance) | Biff Smith | Dumbarton East | £1,000 |
Judging Panel Reflects on Times of Crisis
The judging panel for the 2026 prizes was chaired by novelist Sarah Moss, alongside Romalyn Ante, WN Herbert, Michael Mullen, and Yomi Ṣode. Speaking about the selection process, Moss noted that reviewing the submissions provided consolation during months when the world easily seemed darker every week.
Established in 1992, the Forward prizes have previously recognized some of the biggest names in poetry, including Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, and Claudia Rankine. Last year’s best collection prize was shared for the first time in its history between Vidyan Ravinthiran for Avidyā and Karen Solie for Wellwater.
