From Orkney to Australia – Shortlist Unveiled for Wigtown Poetry Prizes
International awards celebrate Scotland’s three indigenous languages
The shortlist has been unveiled for the 21st annual Wigtown Poetry Prizes, international awards that celebrate and nurture poets working in the country’s three indigenous languages.
2026 is also special because it sees the centenary of Alastair Reid, the locally born writer and poet who is honoured with a pamphlet prize for collections of 8-14 poems.
With 625 entries (totalling over 1,600 poems), the Wigtown Poetry Prizes underline the high level of interest, from at home and abroad, in poetry written in English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic.
Indeed, the shortlisted poems alone demonstrate the reach of the prizes, with Scottish entries coming from as far afield as Orkney and Skye to Cairnryan and Kelso, and external ones from England, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Australia.
The prizes will be awarded at a special event during the annual Wigtown Book Festival in Scotland’s National Book Town which takes place 25 September to 4 October.
Nicholas Walker, Wigtown Poetry Prize Group Chair, said: “It’s a special year for us – marking both the 21st Wigtown Poetry Prizes and the centenary of Alastair Reid who was a great supporter and former patron of the Wigtown Book Festival.
“The prizes were established to nurture poetry in Scotland’s three indigenous language within our own country across the UK and overseas.
“The number of entries, their global character and the strength of the shortlist suggest that they are succeeding in that ambition.
“We are now looking forward to the book festival, which has a programme rich with poets and poetry, where the winners will be announced.”
The Wigtown Poetry Prizes 2026 Shortlist
Wigtown International Prize (Winner: £1,500. Runner-up: £200)
- Has the Sensation of Running a Hand over His Own Silhouette - Iain Galbraith
- Coal - William Hershaw
- Iron - Lorenda Hoza
- Politically Correct - Lorenda Hoza
- Question for the two apple trees on the M90 - Aileen Angsutorn Lees
- The Edge - Damen O'Brien
Wigtown Gaelic Prize (Winner: £500. Runner-up: £200. Supported by The Gaelic Books Council)
- Loingeas - Rody Gorman
- Dubhaigeann Fhinn - Sgàire Uallas
- Mac-ghnìomhara - Sgàire Uallas
- A Dhonnchaidh Bhàin Òig - Marcas Mac an Tuairneir
- Dolaran - Marcas Mac an Tuairneir
- Ud Rochasaas - Marcas Mac an Tuairneir
Wigtown Scots Prize (Winner: £500. Runner-up: £200)
- Leadhills Miners’ Library - Donald Adamson
- Scaitter Day - David Atkinson
- Skelf - Ross Crawford
- The Seamaw and Saint Brendan - William Hershaw
- Baldie McBruce - James King
- The Little Cists, Arthur’s Seat - John Stuart-Murray
Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize (Winner: Publication of a pamphlet set by Gerry Cambridge)
- You Will Never Be as Happy - Mattia Ferrario
- Odysseus Picks Up the Bow - Sam Garvan
- I Want To Say This Wigtown - Lydia Harris
- Alma In The Blue - Maureen Jivani
- Finding Persephone - Wes Lea
- Show me a picture of what your ex fumbled - Abigail Price
Dumfries and Galloway Fresh Voice Award (Professional support including mentoring by Wigtown Festival Company and a retreat at Scotland’s National Creative Writing Centre, Moniack Mhor. Supported by Moniack Mhor)
- The Beauty of a House - Kathryn Koromilas
- Becoming - Fiona Jessica Lindsay
- Wigtown Fresh Voice Poems - John McIntosh
- Liquid Braes - Campbell Wilson
The judges for the 2026 awards are:
- Ruth Padel – Wigtown International Prize
- Niall O’Gallagher – Wigtown Gaelic Prize
- Rab Wilson – Wigtown Scots Prize
- Ruth Padel - Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize
- Marjorie Lotfi – Dumfries and Galloway Fresh Voice Award.
The judging of the poems takes place blind, so the judges have no information about the writers.
Book tickets for the reveal of the winners at Wigtown Book Festival on Friday 2 October at Bladnoch Distillery. Ticket price include a wee dram and a pamphlet.