Home / Arts and Entertainment / Plaza Prizes Under Fire: Judges Unpaid, Winners Accused of AI
Plaza Prizes Under Fire: Judges Unpaid, Winners Accused of AI
18 Apr
Summary
- Judges and winners claim non-payment and disqualification from the Plaza Prizes.
- Booker Prize winner Damon Galgut calls the competition a 'scam'.
- Winners were disqualified over AI use allegations they deny.
The Plaza Prizes, established in 2022, has reportedly ceased operations amidst widespread controversy. Judges, including Booker Prize laureate Damon Galgut and TS Eliot prize winner Anthony Joseph, assert they have not received payment for their contributions to the 2025 competition. Galgut has publicly denounced the event as a 'scam' due to non-payment for judging.
Furthermore, multiple winners have reported their entries being withdrawn. They were accused of using AI to generate their work, allegations they strongly deny and contest. One audio poetry prize winner stated his work, originally published in 2018, was disqualified with an email citing a zero-tolerance AI policy. Winners claim they were not given a chance to prove their work's originality.
The competition's founder, Simon Kerr, has a history of similar issues, with a 2014 report detailing unpaid prizes and a canceled ceremony. Kerr's website, now inaccessible, indicated he used capital from a house sale to fund the Plaza Prizes after receiving grants from literary societies. A planned awards ceremony in France and a related writing course were also canceled last October.
Kerr did not respond to inquiries regarding the Plaza Prizes' current status. Previous reports indicate that financial difficulties and a lack of funding led to the cancellation of events and the struggling publication of an anthology.
