Michael Redhill to judge 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize

A trio of esteemed poets and editors have been selected to judge the upcoming Griffin Poetry Prize, organizers announced Monday.

Award-winning Canadian writer Michael Redhill, who also publishes and co-edits the literary journal Brick, will be joined on the three-member panel by Irish poet and editor Dennis O'Driscoll and U.S. poet and editor Saskia Hamilton.

First awarded in 2001, the Griffin Poetry Prize is one of the world's most lucrative poetry honours and has increasingly gained prominence on the world stage, with more than 500 books submitted for consideration in the last edition.

The $100,000 prize is divided equally between one Canadian and one international winner.

Poetry collections published in the English language this year, both in Canada and abroad, are eligible for the prize, with organizers accepting submissions until the end of December.

A short list of four international and three Canadian finalists will be announced on April 7 in Toronto, with the winners typically revealed at a glitzy gala in June.