Holly Hopkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | Berkshire, England |
| Occupation | Poet, editor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | MA Creative Writing, 2013 |
| Alma mater | Royal Holloway, London |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable works | The English Summer |
| Notable awards | Eric Gregory Award 2011 The Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition 2013/14 |
| Website | |
| hollyhopkins | |
Holly Hopkins is a Manchester-based poet and editor. She has published a poetry pamphlet, Soon Every House Will Have One (Smith/Doorstop, 2014), and a poetry collection, The English Summer (Penned in the Margins, 2022). The former was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice, and the latter won a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation.
Hopkins grew up in Berkshire and London, and later moved to Manchester. [1] She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Warwick, and in 2013, was awarded an MA in Creative Writing from the Royal Holloway, University of London. [2]
Hopkins's verse was noticed at the turn of the century, and she was selected as a Poetry Society Young Poet of the Year in 1999 and 2000. In 2011, "with the help of some initial funding from Arts Council England's Poetry & Young People Project", she helped set up the Young Poets Network arm of the society, [3] which now focusses on supporting poets "up to the age of 25." [4] She also won the Eric Gregory Award in 2011, and went on to have her work included in Sidekick Press, Seren Books and Bloodaxe Books anthologies, [5] and published in The Guardian, [6] The Telegraph and The TLS. [1] She has performed her work at a number of festivals, including the Ledbury and the Aldeburgh poetry festivals, and at the Royal Festival Hall. [5]
Hopkins won the 2013/14 Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition, judged by Carol Ann Duffy. Her pamphlet, titled Soon Every House Will Have One, which was published in 2014, was praised in Poetry London for a voice "so fresh it virtually sizzles". In the review, the poet Clare Pollard also noted that Hopkins's was "an almost flawless pamphlet performance", calling it "a ferociously impressive debut." [7] The Poetry Book Society also declared it as a PBS Pamphlet Choice in 2014. [8]
In 2015, she was an assistant editor of The Rialto, a position she now holds at The Poetry Business, and also managed the Forward Prizes for Poetry. [8] [9] In 2016, she went on to win a Hawthornden Fellowship, [10] and was shortlisted for the inaugural Women Poets' Prize, judged by Sarah Howe, Moniza Alvi, and Fiona Sampson, and organised by the Rebecca Swift Foundation, in 2018. [11] [12]
Published in 2022, her debut collection The English Summer was shortlisted for the Forward [13] and the Seamus Heaney [14] first collection prizes in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Writing for the Dundee Review of the Arts, Orla Davey noted that Hopkins's manner of writing allows "a straightforward matter-of-factness to burn through her narrative". [15] Similar to her pamphlet, The English Summer was the PBS Special Commendation for Summer 2022, [16] and was named one of the best poetry books of 2022 in The Guardian. [17] In 2023, Hopkins won the Third Prize at the Laurel Prize ceremony for the collection. The prize was judged by the poets Pascale Petit and Nick Laird, and the Journalist & Presenter Reeta Chakrabarti. [18]
Hopkins won a Northern Writers' Award in 2023 for a work-in-progress, which will form her second collection. [19]
In 2016, Hopkins received a Hawthornden Fellowship. [10]
| Year | Work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Eric Gregory Award | Winner | [20] | |
| 2013/14 | Soon Every House Will Have One | The Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition | Winner | [11] [21] |
| 2018 | Women Poets' Prize | Shortlist | [11] | |
| 2022 | The English Summer | Forward Prize for Best First Collection | Shortlist | [13] [22] |
| 2023 | Seamus Heaney Poetry Prize for a First Collection | Shortlist | [23] | |
| 2023 | Laurel Prize | Third | [18] | |
| 2023 | Northern Writers' Award | [19] |