Community Arts Partnership is delighted to announce the Long List for the 2026 Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing.
Each year, through our Poetry in Motion Community project, poets from across the region submit work that reflects the richness, diversity and vitality of contemporary writing. As always, the standard of submissions was exceptionally high, making the task of selection both a privilege and a challenge for our anonymous judging panel.
The poems chosen for this year’s Long List demonstrate remarkable craft, imagination and authenticity. Together, they speak to the enduring strength of poetry and to the continuing influence of Seamus Heaney’s legacy.
The longlist for the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing 2026:
- ‘a bardo’ – By Clodagh Brennan Harvey
- ‘A Mother’s Love’ – By David Atkinson
- ‘Coughs and Sneezes’ – By Colin Hassard
- ‘Daughters of Lost Mothers’ – By Mary E. Ringland
- ‘Exile’ – By David Atkinson
- ‘Geologic’ – By Glen Wilson
- ‘Handwork’ – By Susan Gully
- ‘Northpaw’ – By Annemarie Mullan
- ‘Notifications on January 12th, 2026’ – By Kerry Louise Scott
- ‘Professional Wrestling’ – By Ben Austell
- ‘Shades’ – By Susan Gully
- ‘The Bees of Notre Dame’ – By Anita Greg
- ‘The Wheel’ – By Robin Holmes
We warmly congratulate every poet whose work has been selected and thank all those who entrusted us with their submissions. We especially offer congratulations to David Atkinson and Susan Gully for having two poems make the long list. The breadth and quality of the work received once again highlights the extraordinary talent that exists within our writing community.
As ever, all poems were considered anonymously, with the panel judging solely on the quality of the writing.
The announcement of the Short List will follow in the coming weeks, together with further details regarding the launch of this year’s Poetry in Motion Community anthology, Endure, and the presentation of the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing.
Community Arts Partnership extends its sincere thanks to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Heaney family and all those who continue to support and encourage new and emerging voices.
Congratulations once again to all our longlisted poets.
If you have an queries about the longlist, the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing 2026, or the Poetry in Motion anthology ‘Endure‘, please don’t hesitate to email: info@capartscentre.com or call 02890 923 493.
