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Welcome to Winchester Poetry Festival
Winchester Poetry Festival 2025 took place - 2-12 October 2025

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Poetry Festival - Gilbert Yates Photogra

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Winchester Poetry Prize 2023 is officially open!
We are calling on poets from around the world to submit their best, unpublished work to be in with a chance of winning £1000 in our...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Apr 3, 2023


Hampshire Young Poets competition 2023 is open!
The Hampshire Young Poets competition 2023 is officially open! The theme this year is 'home' and Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Mar 17, 2023


New Festival Manager for 2023
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Amy Juliet Brown as our new Festival Manager. Amy will be working alongside Artistic...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jan 24, 2023


Winchester Poetry Prize 2022 winners announced
The 2022 Winchester Poetry Prize has been won by Luke Palmer of Corsham in Wiltshire for his poem Desire | Fathers. Luke becomes the...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Oct 12, 2022


Nazneen Ahmed Pathak announced as new Hampshire Poet
After a countywide search, the hunt for the Hampshire Poet is over. Nazneen Ahmed Pathak from Southampton was selected from a very strong...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jan 27, 2022


Clare Pollard appointed as Artistic Director
We are delighted to announce the appointment of a new Artistic Director. The poet, editor and writer, Clare Pollard, joins the festival...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jan 10, 2022


The Chair sums it up
“I welcomed the festival with open arms! It was so good to have active, vibrant energy in the space once more. Most enjoyable!” “I loved...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Nov 10, 2021


Greg Gilbert 1977 – 2021
Greg Gilbert 1977 – 2021 It is with great regret that we hear that Greg Gilbert has died. In an announcement on social media his wife...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Oct 1, 2021


An international festival grounded in our community
Sasha Dugdale talks about programming the 2021 festival As you’ll know we had to cancel the poetry festival last year, and this year we...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jun 4, 2021


Lewis Buxton wins 2020 Winchester Poetry Prize
The 2020 Winchester Poetry Prize has been won by Lewis Buxton of Norwich for his poem Field Dressing a Rabbit. Lewis becomes the fifth...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Oct 19, 2020


Festival news
In view of the continuing uncertainty about restrictions arising from the pandemic, the festival’s trustees have decided it is not...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jun 15, 2020


Winchester Poetry Prize
Stephen Boyce, Chair of Winchester Poetry Festival, talks about the development of the Winchester Poetry Prize which is now in its fifth...
Winchester Poetry Festival
May 11, 2020


Lockdown Laureate
An update from Kathryn Bevis, Hampshire Poet 2020 Since hearing the news of my appointment just before Christmas, I’ve been like a small...
Winchester Poetry Festival
May 4, 2020


An update from Winchester Poetry Festival
For the last 18 months our creative team have been putting together our fourth biennial festival due to take place in October. Our theme...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Apr 14, 2020


Hampshire Poet 2020
Following a county-wide search, the hunt for the Hampshire Poet 2020 is over. Kathryn Bevis from Winchester was chosen as Hampshire Poet...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Feb 11, 2020


Inspiring creative voices
Winchester Poetry Festival and ArtfulScribe announce new education partnership. Winchester Poetry Festival and ArtfulScribe, are pleased...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jan 14, 2020


Winchester Poetry Festival Granted Arts Council Funding
Winchester Poetry Festival has been successful once again in obtaining Arts Council funding and will return in October 2020 with a more...
Winchester Poetry Festival
Jan 14, 2020


Things Being Various
'Things Being Various' is an interview format with a bit of a difference. It's based on five 'things' the poet brings with them to...
Jon Sayers
Sep 30, 2018


Lifting poetry from the page...
Poetry is alive and stronger than ever. It has a heartbeat. Anyone with a glimmer of interest in poetry can come close to that heartbeat...
Kate Raines
Sep 24, 2018


Lifting the veil
One of the principles we have inherited from our founder, Robert Hutchison, is that we are a “festival of poetry, not simply a festival...
Stephen Boyce
Sep 13, 2018
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