Poetry Book Awards Children's Category Winner!
Published: 19 Nov 2025
Poet Catherine Poarch shares wonderful news about her recent achievement in
The Poetry Book Awards 2025:
A few months ago, I entered the Poetry Book Awards with a children’s poetry collection I published through SilverWood Books several years ago, illustrated by my sister, Emma Weston. The Awards were created specifically to recognise independently published poetry anthologies, as so many mainstream competitions remain closed to them. Founded by Welsh writer Dave Lewis, the competition is open internationally to anyone with a book still in print. Lewis, along with this year’s judge, fellow published writer John Evans, is closely involved in the arts more broadly.
When I first saw the email announcing I’d been longlisted, I kept rereading it, convinced I must be imagining things. The same thing happened when the shortlist was announced; I even forwarded the message to a friend to check I wasn’t misreading it. Then, I received the extraordinary news that the organisers had decided to introduce a new prize for a children’s category - and that I was its inaugural winner.
There were three main winners overall, and I’m immensely grateful that the team chose to create this additional award. I’m also proud to be the first recipient. The Poetry Book Awards website is well worth a visit: alongside the anthology competition, they also run a single-poem contest. Much like ABCtales - where I’ve shared poems and stories over the years - they come across as a genuinely supportive and open community.
Promoting your own book can be daunting. It demands a confidence many of us struggle to find. Moments like this, then, offer a real and heartening boost.
Thank you, Catherine. Congratulations!
Find out more
https://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk/inside-elephant-by-catherine-poarch
“If you’re thinking of self-publishing, I hope you don't go at it alone. With a team like SilverWood behind you, you have the support you need to publish the best work you believe in.”
