Last night, the Forward Prize - in its 20th year - awarded the prize for best collection to John Burnside, for his collection Black Cat Bone. In his acceptance speech, Burnside - who has been shortlisted three times for the prize in previous years - said he was "wordless", a rare event.

Burnside's fellow winners were Rachel Boast, who won the prize for first collection for Sidereal, and R F Langley who won the prize for the best single poem, for "To A Nightingale". Langley died earlier this year, and the prize was accepted by his widow.

Burnside has contributed regularly to the New Statesman in recent years, including a piece on Margaret Thatcher's legacy in Corby and an exclusive series of poems, called An Essay on Narrative.