William Sieghart | |
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| Born | William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart 1960 (age 63–64) |
| Education | St Anne's College, Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, publisher |
| Known for | Founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry |
William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart CBE (born 1960) is a British entrepreneur, publisher and philanthropist[1] and the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. He is former chairman of the Somerset House Trust.[2]
In 1986, he founded Forward Publishing with a business partner Neil Mendoza, an independent contract publisher, publishing magazines, children's books and poetry books. He is the author of The Poetry Pharmacy and The Poetry Pharmacy Returns, as well as various other poetry anthologies and a book on golf, The Swing Factory. Sieghart presented a weekly TV programme for Bloomberg for three years. His interests include foreign travel and cricket. In addition to his work in poetry and the Middle East, Sieghart also founded Big Arts Week and Street Smart, the initiative whereby diners give a percentage of their restaurant bill to the homeless. He was a member of Arts Council England 2000–06, and was chair of its Lottery Panel. From 2015 to 2021, Sieghart was Chair of Somerset House Trust.
- ^ Kellaway, Kate (October 2017). "William Sieghart: 'I want people to drop their fear of poetry'". The Guardian.
- ^ "Our Team". September 2016.