As part of Nottingham Poetry Festival 2026
Celebrated writer, poet, and TV producer Henry Normal brings his sharp wit and gentle wisdom to Nottingham City Libraries as part of his Nottingham Library Tour. Henry will perform a captivating set at Libraries across the city, blending humorous observations with poignant reflections on family, mental health, and everyday life.
Supported by a range of fantastic talent throughout his tour, these events are not to be missed!
Henry is a writer, poet, TV & Film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Literature festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival.
In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to Television. He co-wrote and script edited the multi-award-winning Mrs Merton show and the spin off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family. With Steve Coogan he co-wrote the BAFTA winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan’s Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible and all three of Steve’s live tours and the film The Parole Officer. Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1990, Henry Executive Produced all and script edited many of the shows of its 17-and-a-half-year output during his tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during his time include the Oscar nominated film Philomena, I believe in Miracles, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, Uncle, Marion and Geof, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf, Hunderby, Camping and Alan Partridge.
Since retiring in April 2016, Henry has written and performed 10 x BBC Radio 4 shows combining comedy, poetry and stories about family. His 11th BBC Radio 4 show ‘A Normal Journey’ will be recorded this autumn.
Born in St Ann’s, Nottingham in 1956, Henry now lives in Fairlight, Nr Hastings with his wife and screenwriter Angela Pell and their son Johnny. In April 2018, Two Roads publishers released his book of memoirs ‘A Normal Family’ which was written with his wife Angela Pell, drawing on his family experience. It immediately became a best seller on Amazon and has already been reprinted. The paperback was released on 21st March 2019. Henry performs poetry at Literature Festivals around the UK and has fourteen poetry books available from Flapjack. His latest collection ‘Collected Poems and other landfill’ will be released Autumn 2026.
He was recently given an honorary doctorate of letters by Nottingham Trent University, another by Nottingham University and has a beer and a bus named after him in Nottingham!
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Keith Ford was born and bred in South Shields, refined and defined in Nottingham. A lover of words and people, his poetry comes from the head and the heart, touching on life and death and every tram stop in between. He has somehow been left holding the bonny baby that is Speech Therapy, Nottingham’s longest running, always rambling, spoken word night.
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Neal is a poet theatre maker from Nottingham who started writing and performing through mouthy poets who writes about disabled experiences he has one collection of poetry called identity bike ride and has toured the one man show five years about his time at a Sen school .he is also the founder of UK disability writers group tentacles.
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Nottingham based working class political poet with multiple viral poems.
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Naomi is a spoken word performer and theatre maker, celebrating rebellion and revelling in rage whilst maintaining a healthy preoccupation with the eroticism of bird feeders. Her solo spoken word show ‘Gobbess‘ – which has toured the UK and internationally, with shows at Edinburgh Fringe, Glastonbury Festival and in Oslo, has been described as ‘Laugh-out-loud funny…pure magic…unmissable’. (Discover Brighton) and ‘An act of creative mastery’ (UCLAN). Naomi has been published by Backlash Press and Ink, Sweat and Tears and was recently shortlisted for The Bournemouth Writing Prize as well as longlisted by Black Cat Poetry Press this year.
Her new show Monster has been described as ‘astonishing, immersive. Funny, unsettling, intelligent and deeply human. Bold unpredictable and intimate. Monster lingers long after the curtain falls, inviting us to embrace our own strangeness’. Bespoke black book.
‘Expressive and captivating, with Fleabag-like intensity, witty, heartfelt and hilarious.’- Reviews Hub
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Described as “rumbustious” by The Stage (March 2026) Dan Webber (he/him) is an award-winning LGBTQ+ poet, comedian, promoter and producer based in Derby. He has performed at festivals and venues across the country including Glastonbury Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The UK Ghost Story Festival, The Other Place (The RSC) and at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern. He performed as part of the 25th Birthday Celebrations for Leicester Comedy Festival and was named BBC Local Poet for Derby, for National Poetry Day in 2016. Dan made his West End debut headlining Incite at The Phoenix Artist Club in 2017.
Collections include ‘Genre Fluid’ (2019), ‘The Derby Witness’ (2022) both published by Big White Shed, and ‘Whispers From The Woods’ (2025) published by The University of Derby Press. All three publications are held within the National Poetry Library. A stage-show version of Genre Fluid was named Best Solo Show at Morecambe Digital Fringe in August 2020. Commissions include poetry for Vocalzone, The National Forest, SHOUT Festival, Coventry Pride, The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Derby Feste, Derbyshire LGBT+ and 1623 Theatre Company’s Queer Folio project. Dan has supported Barbara Nice, Cheryl Hole and LGBT Poet Laureate Trudy Howson.
Dan has competed in poetry slams and competitions across the country, most notably the ‘Poetry Is Dead Good’ Midlands Poetry Slam, the ‘Loud Poets’ Edinburgh Fringe Slam, the inaugural ‘Comedy Bloomers’ LGBTQ+ Comedian of the Year competition, and the Mind Over Matters CIC ‘Mind Over Slammers’ national poetry slam.
Dan’s poetry was highly commended in the ‘Queer Lit Now Awards’ and has been included in ‘Gay In May’ Queer Literature Festival (Germany), ‘Sent From’ (Fringe Arts Bath), and as part of the LGBT Foundation Community Art Trail, Manchester. Magazine publications include work in Queerlings Magazine, Mugwort Magazine, dif, Carnations, Violets & Lavender and Zimmer Magazine. Podcast appearances include The Folklore Podcast, Make Poetry Weird Again and The Decaf of Flat White Podcast.
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Pete Ramskill is a Nottingham-based poet, comedian, and spoken word artist known for his quick-fire punchlines, relatable storytelling, and warm stage presence. Pete’s work finds the funny and the profound in the chaos of modern life from parenting and plumbing to pop culture and pension plans.
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Award-winning poet, multiple slam champion, and co-founder of Bad Betty Press. He is the author of the poetry collection Alanis Morissette and pamphlets Solomon’s World and Blank. His work has been featured on BBC Radio and at major UK festivals, and he is a co-curator of the Boomerang Club and founder of OOIPP fest.
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Sophie Diver is a writer and poet from Nottingham, UK. She is the singer and lyricist of the egg punk band No Peeling. A BBC New Creative, her radio drama The Cupboard aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2021. In 2023 she supported Brian Bilston’s sold‑out Nottingham Poetry Festival show and in 2025 she was selected as part of the Writing East Midlands mentorship scheme. Her writing has featured on Champyun Cloud’s space pop album Third Atomic Number and The People’s Poetry Podcast, as well as in Dear Damsels and Ink, Sweat and Tears. She has also been commissioned by the music retailer Rough Trade.
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Gabrielle Cracknell is a poet and fiction writer, originally from Suffolk, now based in Nottingham. Her work has been published by Atrium Poetry, Beir Bua Press and The Tenth Magpie and performed at the Poetry in Aldeburgh festival and First Light Festival. In 2021, she was shortlisted for Streetcake Magazine’s Experimental Writing Prize and in 2026, she was runner-up in the Film Kernow Writing Competition. Last year, she was a poet-in-residence with the National Centre for Writing and Suffolk Community Libraries. She recently had a poem exhibited at Nottingham Central Library as part of Simon Armitage’s Laureate Library Tour program.
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Bristolian emigrated to Nottingham in 1997, wrestles with and usually overwhelmed by computers during the day, spoken word burglar by night.
Part of Gobs collective, seen in their Earth production at Nottingham Playhouse, Slam at Nottingham Central Library and open mics at Peggys Skylight, Hockley Hustle, Speech Therapy, Dot2Dot festival. Featured on BBC Radio Nottingham Upload.
In need of a challenge to bring out my best inner poet, so I’m up for this! 🙏
Love, peace, respect!❤️🕊️👊
Johnny
We’re delighted to welcome you back for another inspiring celebration of words, voices, and creativity, taking place from 5th–14th June 2026. Over ten vibrant days, Nottingham will come alive with poetry in all its forms, from headline acts, to intimate readings, open mics to workshops, performances, and special events across the city.
Whether you’re a lifelong poetry lover, an emerging writer, or simply curious to explore something new, there’s something here for you. Join us as we bring together local talent and acclaimed poets from around the world to share stories, spark ideas, and celebrate the power of language.
Come along, take part, and be inspired, we can’t wait to see you there!
