Tower Poetry is an organisation affiliated with Christ Church, Oxford that aims to promote the reading and writing of poetry in young people. The group is funded by a donation from the late Christopher Tower, and run by Oxford University lecturer, Dr Anna Nickerson.
Tower Poetry runs the annual Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes (also known as the Tower Poetry Competition) and the biennial Tower Poetry Summer School, a residential course for 18- to 23-year-olds, held at Christ Church.
Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes The Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes are annual prizes awarded to young poets in education in the United Kingdom between the ages of 16 and 18, for poems submitted on a set theme. The prizes are administered by Christ Church, Oxford, and are funded by a bequest by the late Christopher Tower. Since their launch in 2000, the prizes have become recognised as one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious poetry awards for young writers. Several past winners and runners-up have gone on to win other major poetry competitions, such as the Eric Gregory Award, and to publish collections.
Past winners and runners-up Year Theme First prize Second prize Third prize Runners-up Guest Judges 2001 Blue Rebecca Dudley Mairi Brewis Felicity Marks Eve Blair, Swithun Cooper, Charlotte Dickens, Isabella Mead Andrew Motion and Paul Muldoon 2002 Floods Anna Lewis Dhruv Sookhoo Thom Glover Christopher Edwards, Kezia Gaitskell, Holly Patterson Kathleen Jamie and Ruth Padel 2003 Passport Aruna Nair Wing Ying Chow Hannah Briggs James Williams, Tim Smith-Laing, Sarah Henderson Lavinia Greenlaw and Anthony Thwaite 2004 Early Morning Katherine Hindley Nancy Freeman Laura Tisdale Caroline Bird, Joanna Moorman, Helen Mort Frank Ormsby and Jon Stallworthy 2005 Gravity Eley Williams Craig Farrell Miranda Cichy Francesca Beasley, Rebecca Hawkes, Shin Woo Kang Gillian Clarke and Philip Pullman 2006 A Building Colette Sensier Alice Malin Alice Alexandre David Devanny, Charlotte Geater, Julia Rampen Mark Ford and Carol Rumens 2007 Flight Charlotte Runcie Annie Katchinska Sophie Mackintosh Alice Howlett, Laura Marsh, Rees Arnott Davies Jo Shapcott and Francine Stock 2008 Change Emily Middleton Ashley McMullin Nina Bahadur Richard O’Brien, Charlotte Geater, Amelia Penny, Anna Savory Simon Armitage and Alan Jenkins 2009 Doubt Timothy Carson Iona Twiston-Davies Paul Merchant Charlotte Turner, Sophie Stephenson-Wright, Emma Jourdan, Bethany Aitman Jane Draycott and Daljit Nagra 2010 Promises Emily Harrison Katie Woods Megan Owens Jamie Sutherland, Julia Goroszeniuk, Hugo Havranek Stephen Romer and Michael Schmidt 2011 Simplicity Elizabeth Johnson Jack Westmore Abigail Richards James Browning, Thomas Fraser, Molly Underwood Frances Leviston and David Morley 2012 Voyages Sarah Fletcher Bethan Smith Millie Guille Hannah Tran, Lucy Hely-Hutchinson, Jack Whitehead Don Paterson and Christopher Reid 2013 The Details Azfa Ali Sarah Fletcher Erin Tunney Kathryn Cussons, Luke van den Barselaar, Eva Wallace Carrie Etter and Bernard O'Donoghue 2014 News Dominic Hand Sam Buckton Masha Voyles Alexander Shaw, Charlie Holmes, Jessica Matthews, Phoebe Stuckes Olivia McCannon and Kei Miller 2015 Cells Isla AndersonMax Thomas Lewis Harrington Jeremiah Ovenden, Matt Ward, Andrew Wells Ian McMillan and Helen Mort 2016 Wonder Ashani Lewis Safah Ahmed Sophia West Natasha Blinder, Ed Pryor, Grace Fraser Alan Gillis and Katherine Rundell 2017 Stone Ella Standage Annie Fan Rachel Oyawale Freya Gray Stone, Flora Barber, Sofia Al-Hussaini Vahni Capildeo and Sarah Howe 2018 Secrets' Taraneh Peryie Lucy Thynne Robbi Sher Ziqi Yan, Miranda Green, Annie Fan John Fuller and Christopher Reid 2019 Underwater Lucy Prescott Lucy Thynne Joseph Harrison Isobel Falk, Anjali Mulcock, Flora Rugman Angela Leighton and Vidyan Ravinthiran 2020 Trees Nadia Lines Fiyinfoluwa Timothy Oladipo Ahana Banerji Joyce Chen, Toby Morrison, Zara Meadows, Sabrina Coghlan-Jasiewicz A.E. Stallings and Rebecca Watts 2021 The Key Amy Beverley Victoria Fletcher Ayra Ahmad Naz Kaynakcioglu, Skye Linforth, Em Power Kwame Dawes and Elise Paschen 2022 Dream Leo Kang Beevers Erin Hateley Livvy Owen Reona Halili, Seohyun (Amy) Shin, Tallula Haynes Jane Griffiths and John Clegg2023The PlanetsEsther KeeleyLiv GoldreichElise WitheyErin Bishop, Ellen Bray Koss, Eloise Davis, Louise Guy, Grace Lea, Lauren Lisk, Iona Mandal, Malak O'Neill, Phoebe Palmer, Elizabeth Grace StrassheimJulia Copus and Gail McConnell2024MirrorNabiha AliHeather ChapmanSasha MostafaErin Bishop, Magdalena Bone, Tabitha Giddings, Daphne Harries, Ivy Leatherbarrow, William G. Marshall, Luke Roberts, Izzie Smith, Oscar Tavernier, Leah VickeryJane Yeh and Will Harris2025RootsMathilda McKenzie Aurora Haselfoot FlintRebeca CarvatchiFreya Beer, Charlie Bush, Megan Cheshire, Toby Douglass, Tabitha Giddings, Charlie Jolley, Sasha Mostafa, Ashbah Rehman, Dawn Sands, Cassia Stuttard.Camille Ralphs and Lemn Sissay
References
External links http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk Tower Poetry website. Tower Poetry Twitter. Tower Poetry Instagram.