Winchester Poetry Day 2026
Winchester once again plays host to a celebration of poetry, when Winchester Poetry Day takes place on Saturday 10th October.
This special day of poetry readings, performances, workshops and drop-in activities is presented by Winchester Poetry Festival at ARC, Winchester with an emphasis this year on “performance and participation”.
Poetry-lovers and the poetry-curious are invited to develop their writing at a workshop with acclaimed poet Rachel Long; to meet Artistic Director Erica Hesketh to get involved with the festival next year; and to take the stage and share their own poems at a Poetry Open Mic. Winchester Poetry Day concludes with an exciting event hosted by the poet Julia Copus - where her chosen winners of the globally popular Winchester Poetry Prize 2026 are revealed, and the printed anthology is launched.
Amy Juliet Brown (Festival Manager, Winchester Poetry Festival) says:
“Our poetry all-dayer has an emphasis on ‘performance and participation’ this year and we can’t wait to meet you! We’re especially looking forward to hearing poetry from emerging local voices at the first ever Winchester Poetry Festival Open Mic, and learning what our audiences would like from our full-fat festival due to take place next year. We believe poetry is for everyone, and can be enjoyed through writing, reading, listening and speaking aloud - we hope to explore all of the senses at Winchester Poetry Day this year.”
Winchester Poetry Festival has built a reputation since 2013 for producing a high quality biennial poetry festival engaging the country’s finest poets to share their work and expertise. This year’s one day event, aims to bridge the gap between the larger-scale festival whilst maintaining a commitment to ensuring everyone feels welcome and included.
Featured poets at Winchester Poetry Day include Rachel Long, Julia Copus and Erica Hesketh. The day also includes a celebration for young people who took part in Hampshire Young Poets’ competition this year, held in partnership with Hampshire Cultural Trust, judged by Hampshire Poet Damian Kelly-Basher.
Winchester Poetry Day takes place Saturday 10th October at The ARC.
For more information and tickets, visit: www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org
Winchester Poetry Festival is supported by Paris Smith, University of Winchester, Winchester BID, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Newbury Building Society, The Writing School Online and P&G Wells Bookshop
ℹ️ To learn more about sponsoring Winchester Poetry Festival 2027, please visit the Support Us page and download the Sponsorship Prospectus.
Or if you'd like to discuss a different way to contribute, we'd love to hear from you: hello[at]winchesterpoetryfestival[dot]org
Winchester Poetry Festival is a registered charity, established in 2013, that runs a year-round programme of poetry activities with a flagship biennial festival. It attracts local, national, and international audiences and poets through performances, readings, workshops and activities.
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