Cheltenham Poetry Festival

10/10/2026

This is the wonderful John Hegley.

We are looking for a sponsor or patron to support his visit to the 2027 Festival and make magic happen!

This is a great and cost-effective way to gain marketing advantages for your business, book, or brand - and to support the arts. Please email [email protected] if you would like to learn more.

BTW one of John's books was called Wearing Glasses is Good - so this could suit a based opticians really well...
Described as “Comedy’s Poet Laureate” (The Independent), “scandalously talented” (Sunday Times) and an “incurable entertainer” (The Guardian), John Hegley has been delighting audiences on television, radio and stages around the world for over 40 years.

Author of 12 books (and one mug), John is a festival favourite. We loved his delightful, inventive and warm humor.

“Just because he is one of the funniest men alive, do not mistake his dedicated gentleness.” — Adrian Mitchell.

PS John will be appearing at Smokey Joes.

30/09/2026

Join poet, Anna Saunders, for an online workshop on creating metaphors on 13th October 7pm,

In the workshop, you will study the components of metaphor (tenor, vehicle, tension), read poems that use metaphor and extended metaphor, and write your own poems that flourish with figurative language.

The session will include a short tutorial, writing triggers to inspire new poems, time to write, and feedback on your poems from Anna and your fellow writers.

Tickets from https://www.ticketsource.com/cheltenhampoetryfestival/

28/09/2026

We think our open mic poets are the best, so we are handing over the online stage exclusively to the Open Mic Maestros for this online event next Tuesday.

Here are the poets who will be performing Julie Wiltshire, Barnaby Ashton-Bullock, Ruth Aylett, Satya Bosman, Kate Charalambides, Chris Hemingway, Harriet Hyde, Rebecca Kilpin-Nilsson, Ash Murphy, Miriam Otto, Mark Owen, Julie Stevens, Dave Wakely, Nicola Warwick, Roger West, and Richard Wiggins. Each will have a four minute set.

Do come and support our wonderful open mic maestros. Lots of tickets are available.

Tickets from https://www.ticketsource.com/cheltenhampoetryfestival/t-xdaqpqv

21/09/2026

We have commissioned visionary artist Johnny Greenteeth to design the cover for the 2027 Festival brochure - and we are incredibly excited to see what John comes up with..

We know it will have the energy and charge as our planned programme. All John's designs cackle with fizz with electric!

Do check his work out on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/johnnygreenteeth/

14/09/2026

Do you have some poems you need some help with? There's one place left on this workshop with Festival director, Anna Saunders on 22nd Sept

Tickets are now available for Workshopping Your Poems at Online, Online on Tuesday 22nd September 2026. Click the link for further information and to secure your tickets now!

07/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who entered the Festival competition. We wish you good luck.

04/09/2026

The last but certainly not least of poetry Allstars is the fab Julia Webb. Julia will be reading online with 5 other stunning poets next Tuesday (8th) at 7pm.

You can grab a ticket here: https://www.ticketsource.com/cheltenhampoetryfestival/t-jxrdayy

Julia Webb is a neurodiverse writer and artist from a working class background. She has four poetry collections with Nine Arches Press: Bird Sisters (2016), Threat (2019), The Telling (2022) and Grey Time (2025). She has had two poems highly commended in the Forward Prize (2016, 2022). She is steering editor for Lighthouse – a journal for new writers. She lives in Norwich.

The other poets reading on Tuesday are Karen Downs-Barton, John McCullough, Rachel Spence, Christina Thatcher and Rae Howells.

03/09/2026

And here's another of our Poetry Allstars: Karen Downs-Barton who will be reading with 5 other star poets next Tuesday (8th Sept).

Tickets from: https://www.ticketsource.com/cheltenhampoetryfestival/t-jxrdayy

Karen is a neurodiverse, working-class writer. Her collection, Minx, won the John Pollard International Poetry Prize. Her pamphlet, Didicoy, was an International Poetry Book and Pamphlet Competition winner and Poetry Book Society recommendation. Karen has performed at Radio 4's The Verb, Ledbury, Deptford, Swindon, and Edinburgh International Book Festivals.

Reading with Karen next Tuesday are John McCullough, Rachel Spence, Christina Thatcher, Julia Webb and Rae Howells.

Grab a ticket for this mini festival of poetry.

01/09/2026

Let us introduce you to another of the amazing poets appearing at our Poetry Allstars event online next Tuesday (8th Sept) - Christina Thatcher.

Tickets from: https://www.ticketsource.com/cheltenhampoetryfestival/t-jxrdayy

Christina grew up between a farm and a ranch house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She now lectures at Cardiff University and has three collections published with Parthian Books: More than you were (2017), How to Carry Fire (2020) and Breaking a Mare (2025). Christina has toured i

The other Allstar poets reading at the event are: Karen Downs-Barton, John McCullough, Rachel Spence, Rae Howells and Julia Webb