Awards and arts prizes – quick links
T.S. Eliot Prize shortlist
The celebrated T.S. Eliot Prize is the world’s most prestigious prize for poetry, and recognises both established poets and emerging writers from the UK and Ireland who are helping to reshape the poetry artform.
The prize was inaugurated in 1993 to celebrate the Poetry Book Society’s 40th birthday and to honour its founding poet, and is now awarded by the T.S. Eliot Foundation.
This year’s shortlist was selected by judges Michael Hofmann (Chair), Patience Agbabi and Niall Campbell. The 10 shortlisted poets are:
- Gillian Allnut, Lode (Bloodaxe Books)
- Isabelle Baafi, Chaotic Good (Faber & Faber)
- Catherine-Esther Cowie, Heirloom (Carcanet Press)
- Paul Farley, When it Rained for a Million Years (Picador Poetry)
- Vona Groarke, Infinity Pool (Gallery Press)
- Sarah Howe, Foretokens (Chatto Poetry)
- Nick Makoha, The New Carthaginians (Penguin Press)
- Tom Paulin, Namanlagh (Faber & Faber)
- Natalie Shapero, Stay Dead (Out-Spoken Press)
- Karen Solie, Wellwater (Picador Poetry)
Royal Academy Of Art Summer Exhibition
Apply now to take part in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. Anyone can submit their work, regardless of background or artistic experience. Applications close on 11 February.
Bringing together works by established artists, RA members, and newcomers alike, this show has been held every year since 1769 without interruption. It is the world’s largest open-submission exhibition so don’t miss this opportunity to see your work in the grand halls of the Royal Academy.
Jackson’s Art Prize Open Call
Entries are invited for the Jackson’s Art Prize 2026. This internationally renowned prize, now in its 11th year, continues to recognise the best in emerging art.
This year there are 31 prizes to be won including an opportunity to take part in two London exhibitions. The generous first prize includes a £6,000 cash award plus £2,000 in Jackson’s art materials.
Artists based in the UK or internationally can enter works in any two-dimensional medium. The entry fee is just £6.50 per work and students are eligible for one free entry. Submissions close on 11 February.
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
Artists are invited to submit works for the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 2026 exhibition, a show that will feature over 400 works from around the world.
This open call to exhibit alongside Royal Institute members offers the opportunity to win an array of prizes and awards and have your work seen by thousands of visitors at London’s Mall Galleries.
The Institute is seeking the best in contemporary watercolour and water-based media painting for this, their 214th exhibition. Submissions close on 23 January.
Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters invites artists around the world to submit portraits for its annual exhibition. The society welcomes paintings, drawings and original prints, including digital and iPad prints. The total prize fund is £35,000, including the prestigious William Lock Portrait Prize of £20,000. Selected works will be shown in the annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in May. Submissions close on 3 February.
Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition
The Fiction Factory runs frequent competitions for authors of all stripes, from flash fiction and short story writers, to poets and novelists. This month, entries are open for the First Chapter and Synopsis Competition.
This is open to all writers aged 18 or over, and international entries are also welcome provided the work is written in English. There is a first prize of £500 with a professional appraisal by leading London literary agent Joanna Swainson of the Hardman & Swainson Agency. The short-listed entrants will also receive a free appraisal. Submissions close on 30 January.
Art Fund Museum of the Year
Applications open now for the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year award, the world’s biggest museum prize. It is open to any UK based public museum, gallery, historic place, library or archive that invites the public to visit and experience a visual arts or object-based collection.
Each year, the Art Fund shortlists five outstanding museums that exemplify what makes a truly memorable museum. The judges are looking for exceptional organisations that push the boundaries of what a museum is, or can be, through unexpected, innovative and forward-thinking practices.
The 2025 winner was Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, a renowned open-air museum in County Durham.
This year, the winner will receive a £120,000 prize and the other four finalists will each receive £20,000. Applications close on 19 January 2026.
Footnote x Counterpoints Prize
Footnote Press and Counterpoints Arts have once again partnered for the Footnote x Counterpoints Prize for writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds. This year’s prize seeks fiction with themes of displacement, courage and belonging, and that has a literary audience in mind.
The organisers welcome eclectic and expansive interpretations of these themes and are especially interested in work that sits at intersections, or across cultures, communities and borders.
The prize is worth £15,000 and includes a cash prize of £7,500 and a publication agreement with Footnote Press with a matching advance of £7,500. Submissions close on 13 February.
