Zambia’s Kayo Chingonyi and Nigeria’s Caleb Femi have been shortlisted for two Forward Poetry Prizes. Chingonyi’s A Blood Condition, published by Chatto and Windus, is on the £10,000 Forward Prize for Best Collection shortlist while Femi’s Poor, published by Penguin Poetry, is on the £5,000 Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection shortlist.

Founded in 1992, the Forward Prizes for Poetry is a major platform for new poetry in the UK and Ireland. It is awarded to poetry collections published in the UK and Ireland in a given year and “single poems nominated by journal editors or prize organizers.” Shortlisted works are published in the Forward Book of Poetry.

Chingonyi’s book was published in March and was reviewed by The Guardian last month. Zambia-born, Chingonyi evokes Zambia’s landscape, history, and life in the collection. Femi is a former young people’s laureate for London. Poor offers a mix of poetry and original photographs that capture the black experience as lived in Peckham, London.

Congrats to both authors!