The Poetry Proms  take centre stage at Wirral Festival of Firsts on Saturday 6 July from 2- 4.30pm, with performances taking place at three venues in New Brighton -  Fort Perch Rock, the Floral Pavilion, and Tallulah’s Bar - with a further wind-down event, with more poets, at the Floral Pavilion at 5-6.30pm. There is also a Poetry Lunch (lunch not included) to kick off the Proms at 12.30pm in the Floral Pavilion with Clare Kirwan, who last week won the Alsagar summer festival poetry prize with her poem The Library Assistant Dreams of Books. Tom George also features among the other poetic highlights, as well as Joy France and Graham Robinson introducing The B Side The C Side event at Parade Gardens on Hoylake Promenade on Sunday 14 July. Another event to watch out for at the festival is a read-through of poet Steve Regan’s new play, Tim: An Ordinary Boy, based on the remarkable memoir of Colin Parrry, whose son Tim was killed at the age of 12, with three-year-old Jonathan Ball, by an IRA bomb in Warrington in 1993. This event is at Melrose Hall, Hoylake, on Monday 8 July at 7.30pm 

 

 

JULY

Ledbury poetry festival, Herefordshire, 5-14 July 

Wirral Festival of Firsts, 6-14 July

Stratford-upon-Avon poetry festival, July

Litton poetry festival, Derbyshire, 12-14 July 

John Clare Society festival, Helpston, near Peterborough, 12-14 July 

Southwell poetry festival, Nottinghamshire, 17-21 July  

Penzance literary festival, 17-21 July 

Latitude festival, Southwold, Suffolk, 18-21 July 

 

AUGUST

Stratford-upon-Avon poetry festival, until 4 August 

Edinburgh festival fringe, 2-26 August

Edinburgh book festival, 10-26 August 

Arran, McLellan arts festival, 30 August – 8 September 

 

SEPTEMBER

Wigan Diggers’ festival, 7 September 

King’s Lynn poetry festival, 21-23 September 

Wigtown book festival, Dumfries and Galloway, 27 September - 6 October 

 

OCTOBER

Ilkley literature festival, 4-20 October, 

Morley literature festival, Leeds, 5-13 October

North Wales international poetry festival, Clywd theatre, 7 October ,

Manchester literature festival, 7-20 October 

Marsden poetry jam, jazz festival, Huddersfield, 11-13 October

Sheffield Off the Shelf festival of words, 12 October- 2 November 

Ryedale book festival, Malton, North Yorkshire, 19 October 

Torbay festival of poetry, 24-28 October

 

NOVEMBER

Aldeburgh poetry festival, 8-10 November 

 

Organisers, send us links to your festivals at news@writeoutloud.net, and we will endeavour to list them here, if they include poetry events. You can also upload individual festival events yourselves on our renowned Gig Guide.