Our judge Holly Magill (co-editor of Atrium magazine) has now selected the winning and shortlisted poems from this year’s Wolves Lit Fest poetry competition, and it’s time for us to share that news with you. Our thanks to everyone who submitted poems to this year’s competition – we received over 800 entries from across the West Midlands, all over the UK, and around the world. Wherever you are, we thank you for your support, and wish you all the very best of luck with your submissions and all your future writing.
Before we share the winning poems with you, here’s what Holly had to say about the process of judging all the work sent in…
“It was an absolute honour to be appointed judge of the Wolverhampton Literature Festival’s 2025 Poetry Competition. In the drear and chilly weeks of early January, I immersed myself in the – anonymised – poems, letting them sweep me away to places both familiar and far flung, the everyday and the fantastical. The themes were similarly eclectic: personal, political, surreal – everything from the most intimate perspective to widescreen cinematic panoramas. And that’s before I mention the scope of emotions – I don’t mind saying I’ve shed more than a few tears, but also there have been cracking moments of humour, from the knowing wry smile to a proper belly chuckle. I’ve admired creative use of all sorts of forms and free verse alike – clever use of structure and rhyme all over the shop.
One thing I will take away from this – and I mean for my own writing as much as anything – is the importance of proofreading, proofreading, proofreading. And proofreading again. With so much work of such a high standard, decision-making has come down to the tiniest of factors, like a missing comma or a very small typo. When I’ve my magazine editing hat on, if there’s something miniscule awry that we’re sure the poet didn’t intend, we can contact them to talk it through. But for a competition, the poems have to be viewed as they are.
There is an awful lot of good, good work in this glorious bundle I’ve had the privilege to read, so much more than I’ve been able to shortlist. I would wholeheartedly encourage people to send their poems out to magazines as I know there are lots of editors who would be very glad to receive them.”
And now, the winning poems…
1st prize
Portrait of the artist with daughter and dead hamster by Andrew George
“This poem has such immediacy – and a great title – yet also drew me back to reread time and again. There is the sadness of the everyday – detailed in a careful, heart-ache of a reveal – as counterpoint to the larger tragedies of the world. The narrative treads the right side of mawkishness and is all the more impactful for that. Very much a lump in the throat here.”
2nd prize
Night feverish by John Woodall
“I do enjoy a prose poem done right. This one packs a heck of a lot in – satire, magic realism, a celebration of Wolverhampton, even a big song and dance number in snowfall. What’s not to love!”
3rd prizes
Art therapy at hostel no.14 by Anna Bowles
“This one struck me because of the clever unfolding of narrative – the to-and-fro of the dialogue, particularly. The poem tackles extremely difficult and emotive subject matter, which sadly remains relevant in too many parts of the world. Not a word is wasted here.”
Advice to a travelling companion in dementia land by Jan Westwood
“Often the most relatable subjects are the most difficult to write about with originality. This poem has a deceptive lightness, alongside great warmth and compassion. The ending is a thing of great heart and beauty.”
Eight-year-old girls by Suzanna Fitzpatrick
“This one is cartwheeling joy in four line stanzas. The stocky and straightforward construction is perfect for the playful, humorous, yet righteously stubborn, nature of its subjects.”
shortlisted poets: Andrew George, Anna Mindel Crawford, C.P. Nield, D A Angelo, David Bingham, Dominic Fisher, Elizabeth Gibson (twice), Italo Ferrante, Joe Williams, Joy Winkler, Kristina Diprose, Lesley Curwen, Liz Lefroy (twice), Mark Rowan, Martin Kennedy Yates, Nina Parmenter, Pam Job, Paul McMahon, Penny Ayers, Roy McFarlane, Suzanna Fitzpatrick
Wolverhampton poet and Associate Artist at the Arena Theatre, Dave Pitt, selected the winning poem and five commended poems in the WV postcode prize.
The winning poem is Foundry fathers by Karen Evans
commended poets: Arran Potts, Holly Sissons, Ranvinder Jassal, Santosh K Dary, Suzie Pearson