Beth Davies - Sheffield Poet Laureate

The Sheffield Poet Laureate role was established by previous Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid as a civic role, aiming to increase opportunities and visibility for poetry across the city. Beth Davies is the current Sheffield Poet Laureate 2024-26, having been selected by previous Sheffield Poet Laureate Danaé Wellington and following in the footsteps of previous laureates Warda Yassin and Otis Mensah.

Beth Davies’ debut poetry pamphlet, The Pretence of Understanding, was published in 2023 by Sheffield-based publisher The Poetry Business, after winning the 2022 New Poets Prize. She won second place in the 2021 Dead Cat Poetry Prize and in the 2022 Magdalena Young Poets’ Prize. Beth has performed her work at events as part of Off The Shelf festival (2024), Durham Book Festival (2023), Sheaf Poetry Festival (2020, 2023), Wakefield LitFest (2022), and South Yorkshire Poetry Festival (2017). More information about her work can be found at bethdaviespoet.com

Beth is hoping to use her Poet Laureate tenure to connect with people from different walks of life across Sheffield through poetry. If you have an idea for a project or a potential collaboration, feel free to reach out via the contact form on her website, or via Bluesky or Instagram where she can be found under @bethdaviespoet.