Verve Poetry & Spoken Word Festival

09/10/2025

Nesting Grounds
Milla van der Have

Shortlisted in August.

POTM is open for submissions. Submit via the website x

08/10/2025

To a friend
Jennifer Wong

Shortlisted in September.

POTM opens the first of every month and closes the 20th of every month ☺️ Link in bio 💚

08/10/2025

OUR ONLINE BOOKSHOP NEWSLETTER has just dropped announcing our special October offer - across all titles for October only we are offering a 20% discount for a £30 spend. Offer lasts until midnight on 31st Oct. Click through to read more:
https://tinyurl.com/mrx5s77a 😍

Offer applies to ALL books incl this year's top paperbacks from and preorders from .nagra1234 , and more! ❤️
https://vervepoetrybookshop.com

07/10/2025

07/10/2025

This monthly writing hour, inspired by our Poem of the Month competition, provides our community with dedicated time to write. Each session explores four poems linked to the current theme, with guided prompts and bursts of focused writing time.

Participation includes one free entry to the current month’s Poem of the Month competition.

This is a space to write alongside others, spark new ideas, and leave with the beginnings of fresh poems.

You’ll come away with:

New inspiration from poems on the theme
Guided prompts to get you writing
Notes on craft, form, imagery & sense-making
An invitation to submit your poem to our competition
Format:
Cameras optional. Mics off. No long shares—just short reflections and drafts in the chat if you wish. Suitable for all levels.

Access:
All sessions will be recorded for our Substack community of paid subscribers. Not a subscriber yet? Consider joining to access the workshop every month and receive a free Poem of the Month submission with your subscription.

Hosted by:
Hayley Frances — Co-Director of VERVE Poetry Festival, Therapeutic Poetry Practitioner, Community Arts Fellow of Dudley, and Poet in Residence at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.

Future Dates for diary:

This writing hour will be hosted in the first week of every month but will shift Monday - Friday to support peoples different timescales.

First WRITING HOUR - November 6th 10am.

07/10/2025

Places to Call Home
Denni Turp

Shortlisted in August.

Poem of the Month is open for submissions with a different theme every revolution, and closes on the 20th of each month.

Submit via the link in our bio.

06/10/2025

SAVE THE DATE!

Next year, VERVE Poetry Festival will take place 7–10th May 2026, shifting from our usual February slot.

This change comes in response to the current cultural funding landscape (we’ll spare you the details!) but rather than see it as a setback, we’re embracing it. We’re very excited to bring the festival to life at a new time of year, and we hope you’ll join us to celebrate poetry in full spring bloom!

With love and anticipation,
The VERVE Team

06/10/2025

SAVE THE DATE!

Next year, VERVE Poetry Festival will take place 7–11 May 2026, shifting from our usual February slot.

This change comes in response to the current cultural funding landscape (we’ll spare you the details!) but rather than see it as a setback, we’re embracing it. We’re very excited to bring the festival to life at a new time of year, and we hope you’ll join us to celebrate poetry in full spring bloom!

With love and anticipation,
The VERVE Team