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Winners – 2025 Women’s Poetry Competition

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We are delighted to share with you the outcome of this years’ Women’s Poetry Competition 2025. If you were able to join us, then you already know.
If you were unable to attend, I am pleased to bring you up to date.

Winner – Samantha Dennis – her poem – Standing Firm
Finalist – Larissa Fin – her poem – I’m Ok
Poem of Merit was awarded to Shirley Fifield for her poem Black Women Stand in Power and Pride.
Women’s Poetry Competition Ambassador – was awarded to Valerie Walbrook and Carolyn Turner for their commitment to these awards, and their wonderful growth in their poetry journey.

Carolyn was unable to attend but we will meet up soon to give her the trophy.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a poem this year. And congratulations to the winners.

Workshop
This year we ran a workshop earlier in the day. Thank you to everyone who attended this event. Numbers were few but we had a great time.

Here is one of the testimonials given:

“I thoroughly enjoyed the poetry workshop with Sandra. I learned so much about creativity and expressing myself as a poet. I have been inspired to write poetry and maybe one day I will be having a poetry book of my own published”. It was great!” – Natalie.

And this was from a woman who only came along to support her friend.

Women’s Poetry Workshop

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Last year, the survey and feedback from our Annual Women’s Poetry Competition delegates shared a resounding ‘Yes’ in response to questions on providing some writing support for women and girls.

You’ve askef for this and we’ve heard you. And so, we will be holding a writing workshop focused on poetry for women and girls.

Here are the details:

Event Description and How to Join Us

Inspire your creativity, self-expression, and connection through the power of words. Join us for a special poetry writing workshop for women.

This workshop is a gentle, supportive space for women from all backgrounds to explore personal stories, celebrate identity, and build confidence through poetry.

Whether you’re completely new to writing or already keep a notebook of poems, you’re warmly welcome. As we celebrate Black History Month, we want to connect with our artistic selves through poetry. Join us and have fun.

Date: Saturday 1st November 2025
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Venue: Curve Theatre, Rehearsal Room 5 (RR5), Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB.
Ticket Price: Adults £10 per person – Under 16 free.

Prior booking is required.

Tickets can now be purchased via this link https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/KEK3AAKEDVBCU

Please register by email at: editor.sanroopublishing@gmail.com
or book via Curve Theatre.

Join us afterwards for the second part of the Women’s Poetry Competition – Free entry.

Women’s Poetry Competition 2025

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You’re invited to take part in the Annual Women’s Poetry Competition in celebration of the poetic voice of Black Women in recognition of Black History Month.
This year, the title of the competition is “Women Standing Firm in Power and Pride”.

Submissions are invited for the competition.

Submission & Competition Rules:
To submit, your poem should:

  • Include the title, the Author’s name, and contact details at the end.
  • Arrive no later that the closing date: Saturday, 11th October 2025, at midnight.
  • Submit your poem by email to: editor.sanroopublishing@gmail.com
  • Submissions must be in a Word document format only. Do not submit within an email or pdf format.
  • Shortlisted Authors will be invited to read their poems at our Women’s Poetry
    Competition Presentation event which will take place on:
    Date: Saturday 1 November 2024
    Venue: the Curve Theatre, RR5, Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB
    Time: 1 pm – 3 pm – This is a FREE event.
    Those shortlisted Those shortlisted are expected to attend and read their work at the
    presentation, as scoring will be based on how your poem reads on the page as
    well as in spoken-word.
  • This competition is open to women and girls 11+.

Women’s Poetry Workshop

Celebrating the voices of Black Women through poetry.

Event Description and How to Join Us

Inspire your creativity, self-expression, and connection through the power of words. Join us for a special poetry writing workshop for women.

This workshop is a gentle, supportive space for women from all backgrounds to explore personal stories, celebrate identity, and build confidence through poetry.

Whether you’re completely new to writing or already keep a notebook of poems, you’re warmly welcome. As we celebrate Black History Month, we want to connect with our artistic selves through poetry. Join us and have fun.

Date: Saturday 1st November 2025
Time: 11 am – 12:30 pm
Venue: Curve Theatre, Rehearsal Room 5 (RR5), Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB.
Ticket Price: Adults £10 per person – Under 16 free.

Prior booking is required. Please register by email at: editor.sanroopublishing@gmail.com
or book via Curve Theatre.

Could You Be Leicester’s First Poet Laureate?

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The Leicester Poet Laureate Will Be:

  • Representative of Leicester and its people. 
  • A performing poet with at least 3 years experience of live poetry performances.
  • Be from Leicester / have been living in Leicester/Leicestershire for at least three years & currently residing here.
  • Be exemplary of Leicester’s poetry as a place of excellent and vibrant live poetry.
  • A confident and experienced writer and performer of poetry.
  • Be committed to producing engaging poetry and/or spoken word that is suitable for a variety of audiences and is responding to Leicester and its communities.
  • Have a demonstrative track record of working with young people, communities and engaging in public facing activities and projects. 

Full details and information can be found on the Literatiarts website here:

https://www.literatiarts.com/general-4

Inaugural Leicester Poet Laureate Application

Inaugural Leicester Poet Laureate Application

Women’s Poetry Competition 2024 – Results

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We are excited to announce this year’s Winner and Finalist for the Women’s Poetry Competition 2024.

This year, the number of submissions was far higher than in the previous year, and the quality of the submissions was higher, which is all great and just what we want to see.

As a result, judging the competition was much more difficult. So, here are the results.

Winner: Selia White
Finalist: Sarah ‘Rain’ Kolawole
Poems of Merit:
Ayomikun Ogundele, Samantha Dennis, Ama McKenley-Ballantyne,Özlem İBİŞ YILMAZ, and Joss Kang.

Thank you also to our Competition Champions: Valerie Walbrook and Carolyn Turner, two gifted emerging writers and previous Winners of the competition who will be our spotlighted poets next year.

Congratulations to you all.

Glasses

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De odder day I loas my glasses

I couldn’t fine dem anywhere.

Dem not in de bathroom, de kitchen, de bedroom.

No matter where I look,

I couldn’t fine dem.

It mek me tink bout mobile phones.

At least when I can’t fine my phone

I can call it.

When I hear it ring, I know jus where it is.

But I caan do dat wid a pair of specs.

Dem does sit round,

Quietly waiting to be discovered

Dem can’t shout, raise an arm and wave at me.

Even if daay could,

It might be a little hard to see.

Somebody could mek nuff money,

Creating someting dat could fine my glasses fu me.

But in de meantime,

I off to try and put my hands on glasses pair, number three.