Welcome to Winchester Poetry Festival
Winchester Poetry Festival - 10-12 October 2025
About Us
Winchester Poetry Festival.
We’re here to be a round table for poetry where everyone is welcome.
We are a poetry organisation that does all sorts of things - from hosting our much-acclaimed biennial festival in Winchester, to our popular Winchester Poetry Prize competition, to our wider work with schools and community organisations.
We are here to share, showcase, celebrate and champion great poetry - because we believe in its power to bring us all together and make a positive, enriching difference to our lives and the society we live in.
We are a hub for poetry locally, nationally and internationally - from Winchester to the world.
Winchester Poetry Festival was established in 2013 with the first festival taking place in September 2014. We also promote one-off events and work in partnership with Hampshire Cultural Trust to run the Hampshire Poet programme and the Hampshire Young Poet Competition.
The next full festival will take place in 2025, a shorter one-day poetry festival will be held at The ARC, Winchester on Sat 5th Oct. We will be hosting and collaborating on poetry events, projects and activities throughout the year. Details to be added to the website when they open for booking.
Winchester Poetry Festival is a charity run by a board of Trustees with support from a creative team.
For information on all our activities sign up for our newsletter here.
More information about WPF policies can be read here.
"… a wildly successful and stimulating Festival. I absolutely loved everything I came to and was sad to miss one which was oversubscribed."
Victoria Muers-Raby, Friend
"This is not just a good festival, it's a great festival, and this town should be very proud to have it."
Michael Longley, Festival Patron
"Winchester Poetry Festival appears to be conscious of diversity in all its meanings and that is refreshing."
Jackie Wills, Brighton