Jacob Polley

Jacob Polley (born 1975) is a British poet and novelist. He has published five collections of poetry. His novel, Talk of the Town, won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2009. His fourth poetry collection, Jackself, won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2016. Polley has co-written two short films and collaborated on multimedia poetry installations in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education Jacob Polley was born in 1975 in Carlisle, United Kingdom. He grew up in Bowness-on-Solway,

Career After graduation, Polley worked in various jobs, eventually landing the position of poet-in-residence at the Cumberland News in Carlisle. He taught poetry in local schools

Polley published his first poetry collection, The Brink, (Picador UK) in 2003. The collection was a Poetry Book Society Choice, and went on to be shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. In 2010, Polley was offered a position as lecturer at University of St. Andrews.

Jackself, Polley's fourth collection of poetry, published in 2016 by Picador UK, won the prestigious T. S. Eliot Prize in 2016. Polley's collection was described by judges as "a firework of a book".

Polley is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University and lives on the North-East coast of England.

Selected publications

Material Properties, (Picador UK, 2023), Jackself, (Picador UK, 2016), The Havocs, (Picador UK, 2012), Talk of the Town, (Picador UK, 2009), Little Gods, (Picador UK, 2006), The Brink, (Picador UK, 2003),

Screenwriting Keeping House, with co-writer and director, Ian Fenton, (2015), Short film Flickerman and the Ivory-skinned Woman, with co-writer and director Ian Fenton, (2002), Short film

Awards Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (2024) T. S. Eliot Prize, Jackself, (2016) Forward Poetry for Best Collection, The Havocs, (2013)