SanRoo Publishing

Hearing Your Call To Write

Events

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.

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.

Leicester Women’s Poetry Competition 2024 – Black History Month 2024

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Leicester Women’s Poetry Competition in celebration of the poetic voice of Black women.

You’re invited to take part in the annual Leicester Women’s Poetry competition in celebration of the poetic voice of Black Women. This year is ‘Reclaiming the Black Female Narrative’.

Submissions are invited for the competition. Here are the conditions.

Poem should be:

  • Focused on the theme – ‘Reclaiming the Black Female Narrative’.
  • 30 lines or less.
  • Include the title, the Author’s name, and contact details at the end.
  • Submissions must be in English. In the case of translated work, it is the translator’s responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the original work.
  •  If submitting a poem or short fiction that has been previously published, please give details of where it has appeared and confirm that you are the copyright holder.
  • Each author may submit only one poem.
  • The closing date for submission is Saturday 5th October 2025 at midnight. No submissions will be accepted for this competition after this date and time.
  • Shortlisted Authors will be invited to join and read their poems on Saturday 26th October 2024 at the event.
  • Attendance and reading of your poem are part of the competition.
  • Time:  1pm – 3pm. 
  • Venue for reading and celebration: Highfields Library,  98 Melbourne Rd, Leicester LE2 0DS
  • Submissions must submitted by email to editor.sanroopublishing@gmail.com
  • Submission must be typed and submitted as a Word document. Submission in pdf or written in the email will not be accepted. 
  • We welcome submissions from writers of all ages, based anywhere in the world, however, it should be noted that attendance at the event and the reading of the poem by the author is the second part of the competition.

At this event, we hear readings of shortlisted submissions to the completion by the authors and celebrate the voices of black female poets. The Judges will announce the Winner, present the winner’s trophy, and other prizes shared. There will be an opportunity for discussion and Q&A.

This event is open to the public, so bring your family.

Who is your favourite Black Female Poet?
She could be a local, national, or internationally known poet.
Come along and tell us about her. Share her name and work with us.

Book Launch

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We are delighted to announce the date for the book launch hosted by author Alphonso Hunter.
You can meet Alphonsa and purchase a signed copy of ‘Pharella The Jamaican Wonder Kid’.