15th July, 2026

Laura Wainwright wins Wales Book of the Year Poetry Award 2026

We are delighted to announce that Laura Wainwright won the Wales Book of the Year English-language Poetry Award 2026 for her remarkable debut, The Storm’s Flora.

Laura’s collection is a powerful exploration of resilience in the face of ecological and human crises. Here, new life emerges from darkness and turmoil, and flourishes despite it. These poems offer awe-inspiring observations of the natural world rooted in the language, landscapes and histories of Wales. Told with musicality and an artist’s eye for detail, The Storm’s Flora celebrates the earth’s vivid beauty with flair and ingenuity.

Our Poetry Co-editor Zoë Brigley commented: “Laura’s poetry has long been admired in Wales and it is no surprise to me that her first book is a smash. Having already been shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize and now winning the poetry category of Wales Book of the Year, Laura is just getting started and we cannot wait to see what she does next.” 

Administered by Literature Wales, Wales Book of the Year champions inspiring literary talent from Wales in both English and Welsh. In both languages, prizes are awarded in four categories – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction and Children & Young People – with one of the four category winners in each language announced as overall winners, claiming the title of Wales Book of the Year / Llyfr y Flwyddyn. This year the overall awards went to Anthony Shapland for his debut novel, A Room Above a Shop (Granta) and Mererid Hopwood for her poetry collection Mae (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas).

The full list of winners from all categories in both languages can be found on the Literature Wales website.