{"id":12815,"date":"2026-06-02T19:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/?p=12815"},"modified":"2026-06-02T20:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:00:17","slug":"nature-and-place-winners-2026-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/2026\/06\/02\/nature-and-place-winners-2026-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature and Place winners 2026 announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#ffffff” vertical_offset_tablet=”0″ horizontal_offset_tablet=”0″ z_index_tablet=”0″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” vertical_offset_tablet=”0″ horizontal_offset_tablet=”0″ z_index_tablet=”0″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

We have now received the results of the 2026 Nature and Place Poetry Competition back from Mona Arshi and are delighted to announce that the winners are:<\/p>\n

1st Prize\u00a0of \u00a31000<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Epithalamion with honesty (lunaria annua)\u2019 \u2013 Rachel Curzon<\/strong>
2nd Prize\u00a0of \u00a3500<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Leveret in October\u2019 \u2013 Polly Atkin<\/strong>
3rd Prize\u00a0of \u00a3250<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Compost\u2019 \u2013 Tom Nutting<\/strong><\/p>\n

The three prize winning poems will be published in issue 104 of The Rialto.<\/p>\n

Mona also selected five highly commended poems:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Nocturne on the Yare with Grasshopper Warblers\u2019 \u2013 Matt Haw<\/strong>
\u2018I\u2019ve Been Walking This Same Forest Trail For Fifty Years\u2019 \u2013 Ellery Akers<\/strong>
\u2018Isfahan\u2019 \u2013 Holly Quilter<\/strong>
\u2018The Snake\u2019 \u2013 Ella Frears<\/strong>
\u2018Sonnet for the Red List for Vascular Plants\u2019 \u2013 Sophie F Baker<\/strong><\/p>\n

The link to the Long List below is not a list of all the poems submitted to the competition, it lists those poems that were still in the running right to up to the late stages of the judging.\u00a0Please don\u2019t be disheartened if your work doesn\u2019t appear on this list!<\/em>\u00a0Once again, we had a huge response to the competition, receiving around 3600 poems from 1700 poets.<\/p>\n

The quality of the writing submitted and the deep engagement with our theme is always astonishing and indeed heartening. Every poem entered makes a difference to nature and poetry.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to Mona for her generosity in working with us and indeed to all of you who entered.<\/p>\n

We will shortly be announcing details of an event that will feature a reading by Mona Arshi and our winners. This is being planned for later in the summer and will be hosted by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative for an in-person audience. The event will be free, and it will also be possible to watch the event online (livestream only). Further details will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

The long list<\/h3>\n

Please be aware the long list is only representative of a part of the process of selection and does not include all entrants. The judging is a difficult process of elimination, from the thousands of poems received one hundred or so poems go on to the long list, a short list is then compiled and from that a list of winners and highly commended poems.<\/p>\n

We are grateful for all submissions, the standard this year was exceptional.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Yorkshire Fog<\/td>\nAlice Huntley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
We buy our picnic from Esso<\/td>\nAlison Tanik<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Going Into Town<\/td>\nAlyson Hallett<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
March & Everything<\/td>\nAlyson Hallett<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Three Pyres<\/td>\nAmelia Urry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Skyjournal 10.10<\/td>\nAndrew Wells<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Survivors<\/td>\nAnn Westgarth<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Exit Count at Dusk, 80 kHz<\/td>\nAnna Selby<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Night Rockpooling on the Lowest Tide of the Year<\/td>\nAnna Selby<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adrigole, Beara, Cork<\/td>\nAustin Crowley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Signs that times are changing at Winter\u2019s Cross<\/td>\nBernadette Lynch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Awakens as Jayself<\/td>\nCaleb Parkin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Meeting Monarch<\/td>\nCaleb Parkin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Specimen #2037<\/td>\nCara Waterfall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Cherwell curls its lip<\/td>\nCarl Tomlinson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Comparative thanatology<\/td>\nCheryl Moskowitz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Watcher-Walker on the Pale Chalk Path<\/td>\nChristopher Nield<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Portrait of a Banana Tree<\/td>\nCourtney Conrad<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Sussex Downs<\/td>\nDavid Wakely<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Horsey Gap, December<\/td>\nDavinia Hamilton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201ci loved you in all those rewilding places\u201d<\/td>\nDean Gessie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Window<\/td>\nDerval Tubridy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zacusc\u0103 recipe<\/td>\nDragana Lazici<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Dream Director<\/td>\nEamonn O’Sullivan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vultures will only care about me when i\u2019m dead, or dying, or sick<\/td>\nElia Isaac<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Islands<\/td>\nElizabeth Osmond<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Snake<\/td>\nElla Frears<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I\u2019ve Been Walking This Same Forest Trail for Fifty Years<\/td>\nEllery Akers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Leighton Moss<\/td>\nElliot Ruff<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Ducks in Feltham<\/td>\nEm Power<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
And we didn’t think<\/td>\nEmily Vanderploeg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Penguins Norwegian<\/td>\nEric Brown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Three times a doctor asks a map of the Isle of Dogs to ‘open wide’<\/td>\nEstelle Price<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Small Sample of Unmaking<\/td>\nEve Jackson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everymouse<\/td>\nHelen Evans<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Isfahan<\/td>\nHolly Quilter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Excavation at Junction 6<\/td>\nJack Faricy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Taigh Cuimhne<\/td>\nJames Gately<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wisdom<\/td>\nJen Feroze<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
This Hurt<\/td>\nJeri Onitskansky<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bluebells in Whippendell Woods<\/td>\nJohn Saddler<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
We have done hellish things<\/td>\nJulie Runacres<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boletaire<\/td>\nJulie Sheridan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
notes from the end of the world<\/td>\nKaran Chambers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shadows<\/td>\nKatherine Heneghan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Galway Morning<\/td>\nKathryn Petruccelli<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wild and Free<\/td>\nKatie Donovan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ode To a Particular Smell\u2019s Interlocution With My Cells<\/td>\nKerry Rawlinson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iceland<\/td>\nKitty Donnelly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Otterly Fabulous<\/td>\nKristina Diprose<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poem In Which I Have Caught A Criminal Mastermind<\/td>\nLaura Theis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jellyfish Blues<\/td>\nLisa Kelly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Somewhere off the coast; Baltimore, Ireland<\/td>\nLucas Smith<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Becoming the Leven Estuary<\/td>\nLucy Prescott<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ritual<\/td>\nMairghread McLundie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Primitive Thoughts<\/td>\nMark de Klerk<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nocturne on the Yare with Grasshopper Warblers<\/td>\nMatt Haw<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heath Crepuscle<\/td>\nMeryl Pugh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Notes toward an Architecture<\/td>\nMichael Dooley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lyric<\/td>\nMichael Dooley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Bleeding Woman<\/td>\nMiriam Swales<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Floodplain<\/td>\nMollie Knox<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spunky, the Polar Bear, Speaks<\/td>\nMolly Twomey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ballad of the Verge<\/td>\nMorag Smith<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cuppa<\/td>\nNairn Kennedy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lambing<\/td>\nNatalie Ann Holborow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Train Dreams from Kyiv<\/td>\nNeal Hoskins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Conversation with a (paid)planning ecologist<\/td>\nNess Owen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lough Neagh<\/td>\nNicokla Heaney<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On finding ladybirds in Nuneaton Art Gallery<\/td>\nOlga Dermott-Bond<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beewolf not to be confused with Beowulf<\/td>\nPaul Fenn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sloth<\/td>\nPete Mullineuax<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Leveret in October<\/td>\nPolly Atkin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Between Mists<\/td>\nPratibha Rai<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
yakshi does echolocation<\/td>\nPrerana Kumar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Box of Beetles<\/td>\nRachel Bower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
epithalamion with honesty (lunaria annua)<\/td>\nRachel Curzon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The formula for missing<\/td>\nRachel R. Baum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Above Us<\/td>\nRichard Whiting<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ink on Whale Ivory<\/td>\nRuth Lexton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seeing God<\/td>\nRuth Sharman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Lithium Heart of the Dear Green Place<\/td>\nSahar Azar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Turned Earth Never Forgets<\/td>\nSamuel Prince<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Wave<\/td>\nSarah Barr<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Workaday<\/td>\nSarah Wolfson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mid-time end times lovesong pastoral<\/td>\nSarah Wolfson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Steady Son<\/td>\nSean Swallow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coming Out to Sea<\/td>\nShakeema Edwards<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Whimbrel<\/td>\nShirley Nicholson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Swedish Death Cleaning: A prcitcal Guide to Leaving Less Behind<\/td>\nSiobh\u00e1n Flynn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Week in Banff<\/td>\nSneha Madhavan-Reese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reflections on Courage<\/td>\nSophia Argyris<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Paths<\/td>\nSophie F Baker<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sonnet for The Red List for Vascular Plants<\/td>\nSophie F Baker<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marmalade<\/td>\nSteph Ellen Feeney<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Desert House<\/td>\nTim Relf<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compost<\/td>\nTom Nutting<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tide\u2019s Maramataka<\/td>\nTopher Shields<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Houseflies<\/td>\nVictoria Spires<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The World, A Brief Dream Under A Summer Moon<\/td>\nWes Lee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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We have now received the results of the 2026 Nature and Place Poetry Competition back from Mona Arshi and are delighted to announce that the winners are: 1st Prize\u00a0of \u00a31000 \u2013 \u2018Epithalamion with honesty (lunaria annua)\u2019 \u2013 Rachel Curzon2nd Prize\u00a0of \u00a3500 \u2013 \u2018Leveret in October\u2019 \u2013 Polly Atkin3rd Prize\u00a0of \u00a3250 \u2013 \u2018Compost\u2019 \u2013 Tom Nutting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-competitions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12815"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12826,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12815\/revisions\/12826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therialto.co.uk\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}