The 2026 Forward Prize for Poetry shortlists have been announced and include 20 poets 👇

Forward Prizes for Poetry 2026 shortlists announced

ebx.sh

And @sophiedumont.bsky.social’s Sculling is on the Forward Prize Shortlist for a First Collection. Congratulations 👏👏👏

Paul Connolly@thepaulconnolly.bsky.social · 4mo ago

@sophiedumont.bsky.social’s Sculling arrived this morning, previously highly recommended in The Book Bag by @paulwritespoems.bsky.social Looking forward to it

Over the poet’s moon! My debut, Sculling, has been shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection! So incredibly grateful to the judges & to the #ForwardPrizes for their championing of poetry. Congrats to all shortlisted poets! 💙 #booksky #poetry #poetrycommunity

In or near Bath? Come along!

Lucy English@lucyenglish.bsky.social · 5mo ago

7 May @brlsi.bsky.social 7pm Join Rebecca Swift Foundation and @bathspauni.bsky.social for a panel on Women's Poetry Today with @akischilz.bsky.social Jennifer Lee Tsai, Jane Commane, Vanessa Kisuule and @sophiedumont.bsky.social Tickets £5/£3 www.ticketsource.com/bathspalive/...

So looking forward to this! 💙

Lucy English@lucyenglish.bsky.social · 5mo ago

7 May @brlsi.bsky.social 7pm Join Rebecca Swift Foundation and @bathspauni.bsky.social for a panel on Women's Poetry Today with @akischilz.bsky.social Jennifer Lee Tsai, Jane Commane, Vanessa Kisuule and @sophiedumont.bsky.social Tickets £5/£3 www.ticketsource.com/bathspalive/...

💙💚💙 Thank you, @catherineredford.bsky.social!

Catherine Redford@catherineredford.bsky.social · 6mo ago

‘Sculling’ by @sophiedumont.bsky.social is a gorgeous poetic study of water; searingly honest, it considers grief, hauntings, the environment, and the concept of living on. I was very pleased to see Sophie’s beautiful poem ‘Yarrow’, which we published last year in Dust, included in this collection.

I’m poeming tomorrow night at The Bell in Bath as part of the Curious Minds Festival. 🧠 Would be lush to see you there. 💙 Sign up for that open mic 🎤 we wanna hear it! Tickets: tinyurl.com/yv4w2n4n

Your unsolicited writing prompt 🪾🕳️ #amwriting #writingcommunity #booksky

Happy Valentine’s Day to Station Books in Tunbridge Wells who have ‘Sculling’ on its own little plinth atm! 🫀 No, that ‘A Little Life’ cover isn’t James Franco (in my mind it always was) ~ it’s a photo taken in the 60s by Peter Hujar titled “Orgasmic Man.” Perfect valentine’s positioning. #BookSky

Popped into my gorgeous local (Storysmith, Bristol) and signed some fresh Scullings yesterday. 💙🦦 A blue book ready to gift as we exit the blue month. Hasn’t January alone felt like a year!? #BookSky #poetry

Brave New World: Justice for creators in the age of GenAI In our ongoing commitment to campaign for author rights and interests, we have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK. buff.ly/wThFNtu

Delighted to be invited to eARTh Spotlight, chaired by @bathspauni.bsky.social Professors @penahay.bsky.social and @lucyenglish.bsky.social 💚 Online, free, 12-1pm, Jan 27th Bring a cuppa. Wear your slippers. Tickets and info: www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/onl...

The quiet, elderly and slightly incontinent cheerleaders of my 2025. ✨ Huge thanks to poetry pal Marius Grose for capturing this family portrait at my desk. 🐾 #booksky #writingcommunity

So thrilled to be sharing a third piece in this month’s Book Bag: Poetic Voices feature from @sophiedumont.bsky.social exquisite debut collection Sculling instinct of a glass eel is one of my favourites in the book Link 🔗 shorturl.at/zHPMn 📸credit Jae Frederick #bookSky

So looking forward to chatting about my debut collection ‘Sculling’, my connection to the River Avon and sharing poems. 12noon, Jan 27th, online and free! Thank you to @bathspauni.bsky.social’s @penahay.bsky.social and @lucyenglish.bsky.social for the invite. 💙

Dr Penny Hay@penahay.bsky.social · 9mo ago

eARTh spotlight 27January 2026 💚 @sophiedumont.bsky.social www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/onl...

Thank you, Paul, for sharing my poem about the little bright yellow stars that are celandine flowers. Thoughts of spring are helping me move through the dark weeks. 🌼🌼🌼 #booksky #poem #poetrycommunity

Paul@paulwritespoems.bsky.social · 9mo ago

If you’re keeping up with The Book Bag: Poetic Voices, this month featuring work from @sophiedumont.bsky.social profound debut ‘Sculling’, head to shorturl.at/KF3nU now to read ‘Celandine’ a newly added piece.

A very lovely woman has requested a signed copy of Sculling to gift for a 100th birthday! Thank you, champions of poetry. 💙 I’m so honoured that this mighty, muddy work of living will be marked by my little blue book. To Inga’s good health and joy! 🥂 #ScullingBook #poetrycommunity #booksky #poet

So happy to announce this month’s Poetic Voice is @sophiedumont.bsky.social #thebookbag #poetryfeature

Paul@paulwritespoems.bsky.social · 10mo ago

It's December 1st. First off, how have we got here in the blink of a month. Time flies faster every day. The arrival of a new month brings a new Poetic Voice to the Book Bag. This month we have a poetry superstar sharing pieces from her debut collection which is profound and quite brilliant....

It’s Narnia season and my nephew’s grip on reality is still firmer than mine. 🚪🕳️🌲⏸️ Jam Toast from my debut, SCULLING, available to buy in your local indie! ☺️ storysmithbooks.com/product/scul... #ScullingBook #BookSky #Poet #Writer

A delicious crisp, sunny morning meeting Emma from @bookhaus.bsky.social, signing copies of Sculling and popping satisfying little stickers on the cover. Bookhaus is such a beacon in Bristol’s bookish community and tirelessly champions local, radical writing. 🌞 #shopindie #booksky #scullingbook

G Rd Bks! An absolute gem of #Bristol. Floorboards to die for. Thank you for having me round to sign copies of Sculling and for wrapping them in your lovely little ‘signed copy’ paper scarves.🧣🍂 #booksky 💙 @gloucesterroadbks.bsky.social 💙

Come and join the Poetry and Spoken Word Committee at SoA. We’re a lovely bunch. 👋 Help us champion our craft.

The Society of Authors@societyofauthors.bsky.social · 10mo ago

If, like Dean, you feel passionately about poetry and spoken word, you could be just who we’re looking for. We currently have four vacancies on the Poetry and Spoken Word Group committee. Find out more on our website buff.ly/CKAo9Ga

I loved visiting The Small City Bookshop #Bristol to sign copies of Sculling, have a natter, smell pages and pick up a copy of the latest Maggie Nelson. A beautiful space. They have a 3rd birthday party on Nov 20th, 6-8pm. 10% off books and a free cocktail/mocktail. 🍹 What’s not to love? #booksky

Late night signing postcards to post to a dear family friend who will then slip them into all the Scullings she’s bought for her pals. I’m told she’s making ripples and that her friends are buying it for their friends for Christmas. So very lucky to know such sweetness. 💙 #booksky #poetry

Sculling’s been reviewed in this week’s @financialtimes.com poetry round-up❕ Thank you, Suzi Feay💙 Read the full poetry review of brilliant collections from Sarah Howe, Simon Armitage, Matthew Francis, Tom Paulin and Stav Poleg: www.ft.com/content/6236... #booksky #poetrycommunity

Baby’s first Amazon review 💫 and for the Kindle edition! #BookSky

Congratulations to @sophiedumont.bsky.social on the launch of her debut collection 'Sculling', featured in @theguardian.com's latest poetry review roundup.

Sophie Dumont@sophiedumont.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Over the poet’s moon to have a review of my debut poetry collection Sculling in @theguardian.com today! 🫠💙 Thank you, Philip Terry. ✨ Have a read of the brilliant roundup with a fab pic of @ursulakleguin.com: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o... Pick up a copy before my mum buys them all.

I’ve written an article for @thetimes.com exploring my experience of grief, my wrestling with guilt and the phenomenon of “chimerism”, which means that recipients of donated organs have two sets of DNA. Find it online or in print in today’s Sunday Times Style. 💙 www.thetimes.com/life-style/s...

Knowing who received my ex’s heart changed the way I grieved

When Sophie Dumont’s first love died in a car crash, his organs were donated. She writes about how the experience affected her

thetimes.com

Over the poet’s moon to have a review of my debut poetry collection Sculling in @theguardian.com today! 🫠💙 Thank you, Philip Terry. ✨ Have a read of the brilliant roundup with a fab pic of @ursulakleguin.com: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o... Pick up a copy before my mum buys them all.

The best recent poetry – review roundup

So Far So Good by Ursula K Le Guin; Thrums by Thomas A Clark; Sculling by Sophie Dumont; Magadh by Shrikant Verma

theguardian.com

Publication week!📘 💙Pre-order for delivery or collect in stores on Thurs, #NationalPoetryDay 💙 Tag me in (or send me) a pic of my book put in the wild. Let me know where in the world you are! 🌍 💙I’ll be signing in #Bath & #Bristol bookshops this week www.hachette.co.uk/titles/sophi... #BookSky