New Poet Laureate to be revealed

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The new Poet Laureate will be revealed at an event in Manchester later.

Carol Ann Duffy is seen as the likely successor to Andrew Motion and would be the first Scot and the first woman to be appointed to the post.

Bookmakers stopped taking bets this week although Yorkshire poet Simon Armitage is seen as a strong contender.

The laureate is appointed by the Queen, on government advice, and part of their remit is to write poems to commemorate major state occasions and royal events.

Motion has admitted he found such tasks a challenge.

Speaking to the BBC in April, Motion said: "Part of me is very relieved to give it up because it has taken over my life in a very profound and all-consuming way."

Other possible candidates to replace him include Roger McGough and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Duffy's work is taught in schools as part of the National Curriculum

Duffy, who was born in Glasgow but now lives and works in Manchester, was also seen as a front-runner for the job in 1999.

After Motion's appointment, a government source allegedly told the Sunday Times that Tony Blair had been worried Duffy, a lesbian, would not be a popular choice for Middle England.

Motion served out the final day of his 10-year tenure as Poet Laureate with a visit to his former school.

Motion visited Radley College, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, to run a workshop with sixth formers and do a public reading.

The day summed up his stint as laureate where he has tried to widen poetry's reach, both through school visits and by creating an online poetry archive.

Duffy is seen as a credible academic choice to take over from Motion and also a popular one, because of the accessibility of her work.

POET LAUREATE FACTS John Dryden was the first official Poet Laureate in 1668William Wordsworth, Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes have all held the roleThe Poet Laureate was originally awarded the position for life, but from 1999 the post was limited to 10 yearsSalary traditionally includes some alcoholDryden had a pension of £300 and a butt of Canary wine

She writes about personal topics - her collection Rapture (2005) followed the course of a love affair - and she often uses humour in her work.

In 2002 she was made a CBE. The poet's work is included in the GCSE syllabus and she is critically acclaimed, winning multiple prizes, including the TS Eliot prize for Rapture.

In the past she has declared: "I will not write a poem for Edward and Sophie. No self-respecting poet should have to."

But in recent years she has made it clear that she welcomes the opportunities the role gives to broaden poetry's reach.

Duffy is currently professor of contemporary poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University.