Esther Lay is a is a 2025 Forward Prize nominee for Best Poem (Written) for “The Performance”, which won the East Riding Festival of Words Poetry Competition in 2024. She is also the winner of the 2024 Write By The Sea Poetry Prize. She placed third in Trio International 2024, and both 4th and 6th in the Plaza Poetry Prize 2024. She has been shortlisted twice for the Bridport Prize. She has work in The Waxed Lemon, The Ghost Furniture Catalogue, Grain Magazine, and Thimble Lit Mag.