Society of Authors’ Awards recognise Goldsmiths writing talents
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Graduates John Lyons and Sophia Georghiou and Associate Lecturer Dr Karen McCarthy Woolf have each been recognised for their contributions to poetry.
The annual Society of Authors’ Awards recognise the best and most promising literary voices of the year. The inclusion of Goldsmiths alumni and staff among the prize winners is testament to Goldsmiths leading role in creativity and learning.
Their recognition highlights the outstanding creativity and influence of Goldsmiths students, staff, and alumni in the literary field, reaffirming Goldsmiths as a place where creative talent is nurtured, celebrated, and empowered to flourish.
The Eric Gregory Awards
The Eric Gregory Awards are presented for a collection of poems by a poet under 30.
Recent MA Creative and Life Writing graduate Sophia Georghiou has been awarded an Eric Gregory Award and £4,725 for her poetry collection Gloria Trillo.
I’m honoured to have been selected for an Eric Gregory Award, particularly for Gloria Trillo, an unpublished collection that has been close to my heart for many years.
Sophia Georghiou, MA Creative and Life Writing graduate
“Much of this work was developed during my MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths, where I had the privilege of being tutored by Richard Scott and Jack Underwood. This recognition feels incredibly encouraging and I’m looking forward to sharing Gloria more widely,” said Sophia Georghiou.
The Cholmondeley Awards
The Cholmondeley Awards are awarded for contributions to poetry.
John Lyons, a Goldsmiths graduate, has received a 2025 Cholmondeley Award, which comes with a £1,680 prize. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, John studied at Goldsmiths from 1959 to 1964 and has published eight volumes of poetry alongside a distinguished career in visual arts and teaching.
Dr Karen McCarthy Woolf, Associate Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, was also named a Cholmondeley Award winner and awarded £1,680. A Fulbright Scholar and editor of seven anthologies, her recent verse novel Top Doll has been shortlisted for both the TS Eliot and Jhalak Prizes. Her next collection, Unsafe, will be published by Bloomsbury in 2026.
I was surprised and delighted to win a Cholmondeley Award. The prize doesn't just take a snapshot in time by focusing on a single book but looks across a writer's whole body of work – there's something very special in being acknowledged by one's peers – and to join a distinguished roster of past recipients that includes Seamus Heaney, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Derek Walcott.
Dr Karen McCarthy Woolf, Associate Lecturer in English and Creative Writing
