The Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition 2025 Winners' Launch

About

Join the The Poetry Business at Wordsworth Grasmere to celebrate the winners of the 2025 International Book & Pamphlet Competition, chosen by Kim Moore. The winners Ian Harker and Annina Zheng-Hardy will be reading poems from their prize-winning pamphlets, alongside the competition runners-up, Sally Baker and Ilse Pedler.

The Winning Collections

Gain Access by Ian Harker

"I've always loved poems about work, but I've never read anything quite like this. Written from the viewpoint of a social housing officer, we get an insight into the emotional toll it takes to do a job where you want to help people but instead become part of an under-resourced system that is often casually cruel and fails the people it should be protecting. These poems are full of humour, keen observation and insight about society and our roles within it." – Kim Moore

Ian Harker is a poet from Leeds. A director of Leeds Lit Fest and Communications Officer at The Leeds Library, his pamphlet A – Z of Superstitions was published by Yaffle Press in 2023, along with a debut pamphlet and collection from Templar Poetry. He was shortlisted for the Tempest Prize judged by Andrew McMillan and Patience Agbabi, and was a 2024 Ilkley Lit Fest New Northern Poet.

Abeyance by Annina Zheng-Hardy

"…scorching in its condemnation of capitalism and exploitation of labour, whilst asking questions about what we place value on… This was another pamphlet that stayed with me, and I'm really excited to see what this poet might do next." – Kim Moore

Annina Zheng-Hardy (she/her) is a poet and fiction writer from Sichuan and New York, currently writing between London and Newcastle. Her poems and short fiction are forthcoming or have appeared in Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, bath magg, Honey Literary, and elsewhere. She is a member of the Southbank Centre New Poet's Collective 2023-2024.

The Runners-Up

Sally Baker works as Reader in Residence for The Reader, teaches poetry and is currently studying for a PhD in Place Writing Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. Poems have appeared in Pennine Platform, Propel, The North, Strix and the Nine Arches anthology After Sylvia. She was commended in the Magma, Manchester Cathedral and George Crabbe competitions. A poem from her pamphlet, The Sea and The Forest, published by The Poetry Business, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize. She was born in Suffolk and now lives in the Pennines, where she grows flowers.

Ilse Pedler lives in Cumbria and works part time as a veterinary surgeon. Her first collection Auscultation was published in 2021 by Seren. She is the poet in residence at Sidmouth Folk festival and one of the editors of Bending the Arc, a Substack of Thrutopian writing.

How to book and attend

Tickets are free. If you book and can no longer attend, please get in touch to cancel your ticket to allow others to attend.