Write Out Loud is delighted to announce that poet Steve Pottinger has agreed to become its chief executive to oversee the next stage of this unique poetry organisation’s development. With his fantastic reputation as a passionate performance poet, teacher and publisher, Steve is perfectly placed to help Write Out Loud further develop its national reputation as a central information point for UK poetry. Steve is delighted too. As he says: “WOL is a unique and invaluable resource in the world of poetry, providing a fantastic news service, the UK’s only comprehensive poetry gig guide, and – of course – the opportunity for new and established poets to share their work.

“Its existence is testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of the team of volunteers who've created, maintained, and developed it to date, and I'm really looking forward to working with them as we take it forward. Write Out Loud does a wonderful job of bringing people to poetry, encouraging and enabling them to find their own voice, and giving them the opportunity to find events in their area where they can stand up and share their work with others if they wish. We will be working to do more of that, and do it better, so that we can bring even more people to poetry over the coming year.”

Steve Pottinger’s fourth book of poetry, more bees than bonnets, was published last year. He has appeared in pubs, clubs and at festivals up and down the country. Write Out Loud recently became a Community Interest Company, and is looking to develop some exciting new initiatives in 2016, subject to funding.

PHOTOGRAPH: SARAH BOWREY