Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition 2024 Prize Ceremony

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Tom Branfoot
Tom Branfoot. Photo by Aaron Wyld

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition 2024 Prize Ceremony at Manchester Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter 10 January 2025 Entrance is free — Visit now

At the prize-giving ceremony of the Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition 2024, there will be readings from the winning and highly commended poets, each responding to the ecopoetry theme.

Encompassing environment and place, the international poetry prize was open to anyone and invited poets to address the mounting pressures of the climate emergency, and human influence and impact over the environment.

The competition was judged by its organiser and Manchester Cathedral Writer in Residence (and organiser of Bradford’s regular poetry reading series More Song) Tom Branfoot, along with the poets Ella Duffy and Emily Oldfield, and Dean Rogers Govender of Manchester Cathedral, who said “the winners represent remarkable achievements”.

Tom Branfoot said: “We had a record number of entries to the competition this year, with around 550 individual poems. It was a privilege to read ruminations on the climate emergency, reflections on nature, and brilliant evocations of place by global poets. The high quality of submissions made judging difficult, yet the shortlisted poets shone out.”

The winning poem was Dominic Leonard’s ‘Eschatology’, described as: “an unsettling meditation on nature, consumption and pollution underpinned by a theological impulse.” From West Yorkshire, Dominic Leonard’s poetry pamphlets love, bring myself (2019) and Dirt (2021) are published by Broken Sleep, and his writing can be found in The Poetry Review, PN Review, Poetry London and the TLS. In 2019 he won an Eric Gregory Award and in 2022 he won the Oxford Poetry Prize.

Second prize went to Rachel Bower (soon to be seen reading from her debut novel, It Comes From The River, at Blackwells) for ‘Bilberry Bumblebee Haibun (Bombus monticola)’, and third prize was awarded to Faber & Faber author Richard Skinner for ‘Ingleby Greenhow’.

Rachel and Richard will be performing in the Cathedral, and Dominic will perform virtually. Of the 10 poets named in the highly commended category, five will be on stage: Sally Baker, Janet Dean, Yanita Georgieva, Madeleine Heyworth and Penny Sharman. The remaining commended poets are Lauren Camp, Mary Anne Clark, Ross Cogan and Carolyn Oliver.

A pamphlet featuring all winning and highly commended poems will be available at the free event, and light refreshments will be served.

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition 2024 Prize Ceremony at Manchester Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter 10 January 2025 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition 2024 Prize Ceremony

Manchester
Event venue
Festa Italiana

The 2022 Festa Italiana was a roaring success, with great food options and captivating live music performances throughout the weekend.

Cathedral Gardens
Cathedral Quarter
Park
Cathedral Gardens

Cathedral Gardens is a partially lawned public space in Manchester city centre, located between Manchester Cathedral and the National Football Museum.

Manchester
Restaurant
The Cosy Club

Elegant and welcoming restaurant and bar in the Corn Exchange, with an attractive domed ceiling and plenty of original features like the staircase and tiles.

Manchester
Music venue
The Stoller Hall

The baby in the family of Manchester’s concert halls, The Stoller Hall greatly enhances the city’s already enviable live music provision.

Proper Tea Cathedral Quarter Mancheste
Cathedral Quarter
Café or Coffee Shop
Proper Tea

Proper Tea sits opposite Manchester Cathedral, serving up artisanal teas (with instructions on how long to leave them brewing), sandwiches, soups and excellent cake.

Manchester
Restaurant
Kitchen In An Arch

An offshoot from the much-loved Umezushi, this specialist deli is a one-stop-shop for all your sushi making needs, and also hosts occasional workshops to improve your culinary skills.

The National Football Museum Manchester
Manchester
Museum
National Football Museum

The National Football Museum is now open to the public, ready to show off its impressive array of football-related exhibits and activities.

What's on: Literature

Tom Branfoot. Photo Eleanor Hall, Museum of the Home
LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

free entry
Okechukwu Nzelu
LiteratureHuddersfield
Polari at Huddersfield Literature Festival

Huddersfield Literature Festival is back with a packed programme this May, and this Polari-themed special caught our eye, featuring writers including Okechukwu Nzelu and Rosie Garland.

from £10.00

Culture Guides

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.