Yanita Georgieva, an alumna of Royal Holloway's MA Creative Writing Poetry pathway, has just been shortlisted for the prestigious Arts Foundation Futures Award. She shares her thoughts on her nomination, and her time at Royal Holloway.

Yanita Georgieva giving a poetry reading, with RH Successes banner underneath.

“The nomination was such a surprise – I thought it might be a scam at first,” said Yanita Georgieva about her nomination for the 2026 Arts Foundation Futures Award for Literature. “The default state in poetry is usually rejection or long periods of radio silence, which is nice in its own way; it’s freeing to know that you are mostly writing in isolation, and so, can do whatever you want. But that made the experience of being nominated and read so generously feel even more surreal.”  

Yanita is an alumna of Royal Holloway’s MA Creative Writing Poetry Pathway, and is originally from Bulgaria, but was raised in Lebanon. She now lives in London, working for the BBC World Service and teaching journalism at various universities, including the University of the Arts, London. Much of her poetry explores themes of immigrant identity, freedom, and bodily autonomy.  

In 2024, she won the Eric Gregory Prize for her debut pamphlet Small Undetectable Thefts. The pamphlet, published by Broken Sleep Books, explores themes of loss, grief, sexuality, and memory, all through the lens of her personal experiences. Her poetry covers many different mediums and styles, including video, collaborative performance, and erasure poetry. She also leads Dreamboat, an international poetry collective. 

Talking about her experience at Royal Holloway, Yanita continues: “The poetry MA was a real turning point for me. It tipped the invisible scales and gave me permission to prioritise writing in a way I hadn’t before – especially as someone with a day job that has nothing to do with poetry. Doing the MA part-time allowed me to learn from two cohorts of brilliant poets, two groups of lecturers, and I think of that as the beginning of my writing career – if I can even call it a career!” 

Her diffidence notwithstanding, Yanita has also been shortlisted for the Aesthetica Prize, the Ivan Juritz Prize, the Manchester Cathedral Prize, and the The Cúirt New Writing Prize. She also won the Out-Spoken Prize for Page Poetry in 2022. 

The £20,000 Arts Foundation Futures Award grant is one of the leading fellowships for independent UK artists, supporting writers exploring and pushing at the boundaries of poetry. The independent Jury members for the Arts Foundations Futures Award for Literature are Imtiaz Dharker, Poet; Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word, Southbank Centre; and Raymond Antrobus, Poet & Author, who said: 

“Together, all the shortlisted artists of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards for Literature 2026 represent a powerful and diverse range of contemporary poetic voices across the UK. Yanita Georgieva’s poetry reflects a sharp intelligence and a gift for translation, alongside journalistic insight.” 

“Since graduating, I’ve watched the programme grow and adapt to the industry, and I think it’s stronger than ever,” Yanita continues. 

Dr Briony Hughes, a lecturer in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway said: 'We are very proud to see Yanita shortlisted for the 2026 Arts Foundation Futures Award. It’s a fantastic achievement, and a testament to her vibrant and dynamic contribution to poetry as a form and culture.”  

“Since she graduated from the MA Creative Writing course, Yanita has played a leading role in facilitating creative exploration and amplifying individual voices, working with significant organisations such as The Poetry School and the Southbank Centre to deliver this. She recently returned to Royal Holloway to inspire members of the Poetry Society through a workshop. We are proud that Yanita is part of the creative community at the university, and she continues to be an example of the calibre of the talent that is developed through our Creative Writing MA programmes.' 

“I’m very grateful to Royal Holloway for everything it’s given me. I also feel very grateful to the judges and honoured to be part of this group of shortlistees,” concludes Yanita.  

We wish Yanita and the other shortlistees the best of luck!