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York writer receives prestigious Windham-Campbell prize

York writer receives prestigious Windham-Campbell prize

Posted on 25 March 2025

University of York Writer-in-Residence, Anthony V. Capildeo, has been awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for poetry.

Anthony V. Capildeo

The Windham-Campbell Prizes are a major global award that recognises eight writers each year for literary achievement across four categories – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

With a total annual prize money of more than £1 million, each recipient receives over £135,000 to support future creative works.

Trinidadian Scottish poet, Anthony V. Capildeo, was recognised for their complex and precise writing – including the Forward Prize-winning and T.S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted Measures of Expatriation – that engages and captures the nuances of belonging, identity and gender.

Life-changing

Anthony works closely with students and staff at the University of York’s Department of English and Related Literature, representing the University at national and international literary events, as well as expanding the Department's network of writers, publishers and book industry experts to contribute to creative performances, talks, and teaching.

Anthony said: “The Windham-Campbell Prize is a life-changing award and I'm amazed and grateful to be among the recipients. The body of work for which I was awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize would not have been possible without the community at the University of York and especially in the Department of English and Related Literature, which I joined during the pandemic and has proven to be a source of strength and inspiration, a uniquely brilliant and supportive team of passionate educators and thinkers."

The Prizes were founded by Donald Windham and Sandy M. Campbell, and are administered by Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library; nominees for the Prizes are considered by judges who remain anonymous before and after the prize announcement.

Crucial work

Recipients write in the English language and may live in any part of the world, and prize-winning categories cover works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama.

Michael Kelleher, Director of the Windham-Campbell Prizes, said: “Each year, eight writers receive an unexpected call sharing the life-changing news that they have been awarded a Windham-Campbell Prize, offering $175,000 and with it the opportunity to create their work independent of financial concerns.

“It was the late Donald Windham’s wish in establishing these prizes to call attention to literary achievement and provide writers with time, space and freedom. This mission remains at the heart of the Windham-Campbell Prizes, and in today’s world it is more vital than ever to recognize and support the crucial work and wisdom that writers share with us all.”