Writing the North: How the Leeds Lit Fest Continues to Showcase Leeds as an Important Literary City – Column

‘Poets Talking Bollocks’ at Hyde park Book Club. Image Credit: Natasha Dobson.

Each month, Keith Fenton, a Leeds-based performance poet, broadcaster and host of the Poets Talking Bollocks podcast, explores the events, people and debates shaping literary culture in the North. This month, he reflects on an amazing literary week in Leeds as Leeds Lit Fest took over venues across the city with poetry readings, book events and creative workshops.

I sit down to try to take in what the cultural world offered me in June and find it’s late July. I blame the World Cup. 

The month was dominated for many of us in Leeds by Leeds Lit Fest, which ran 6-14 June 2026. Sadly, this clashed with a trip to London which meant I missed some magnificent events. I was particularly sorry to miss my friend Maddi Amos’ amazing iteration of ‘Poetic Off-Licence’, temporarily cast adrift from its fortnightly Monday night slot at Holding Patterns in town, packing them instead to the rafters in Hyde Park Book Club’s basement on a Tuesday night. 

Poetic Off Licence at Hyde Park Book Club. Image Credit: Leeds Lit Fest.

The previous evening I had been in the Hyde Park Book Club snug for a reading from north-east writer Jake Morris-Campbell, sharing his excellent exploration of a pilgrimage through his homeland. From Lindisfarne to Durham, it mirrors the story of St Cuthbert, starting with inheriting his grandfather’s miner’s helmet. In the Q+A afterwards he demonstrated how extraordinarily well-read he is in the mediaeval histories of England’s regions. This was definitely an event which deserved a bigger crowd.

In the basement on Sunday evening, one of the best poets in the business, Kim Moore, gave a wonderful reading and Q&A from her astonishing new collection, ‘The House of Broken Things’. (As an aside, do listen to the Poets Talking Bollocks podcast we did with her in 2024). After, I had to head off, meaning I missed the ‘Say Owt Slam’, which also packed them in on a Monday night. Frustratingly, I watched all the wonderful poets gathering, including two of Birmingham’s finest, Zakariye and eventual winner Astrid, but had to leave before I could hear them.

Kim Moore at Hyde Park Book Club. Image Credit: Leeds Lit Fest.

After the London mini-break, the week continued. It started on the Wednesday evening with Gill Connors’ wonderful ‘Safety in Numbers’ event at Hyde Park Book Club. Inspired by her anthology of the same name, which grew out of her ongoing PhD research at Leeds Trinity into how poetry can help connect women across centuries, the event featured readings from the women included in the collection. 

At midday on Thursday, I was up and at it again, this time with the ‘Manthology’ crowd who put on a showcase at Kirkgate Market. This event represented both pride and possibility for me. I have recently begun dipping my toes into the world of facilitating, particularly for men’s groups, and the previous week I had been asked to lead a workshop preparing a group of men for their performances here. I enjoyed helping a couple of experienced readers prepare, but the gold-dust was in working with a man called Greg. After taking to poetry in recent years while caring for his dying sister, he had never read in public before. To see him take the stage in a public space and read with such confidence was impossible not to feel emotional about. I firmly believe poetry is for everyone, from the elite practitioners to the novices, and it was a matter of intense satisfaction to see someone join our community, even if not early in life. I refer readers to two of my previous columns for why!

Manthology group performing at Kirkgate Market. Image Credit: Leeds Lit Fest.

Thursday evening saw me visit my alma mater Leeds Trinity, albeit on a different campus in the centre of Leeds, to see the cohort following mine deliver an excellent evening of gothic fiction. I also managed to take in a little of the ‘Small Distractions Literary Salon’ on the way home. Organised by Rhiannon Kane, the event grew from the idea that the musicians who come to her venue might also turn their hand to interesting poetry and other types of writing. 

The following night I was back in the snug at Hyde Park Book Club for a Peepal Tree Press showcase, featuring our own Barsa Ray (a previous showcaser at Poets Talking Bollocks and now a New Northern Poet), Sevi Shivaratne (whom I had previously seen perform at Chapel FM) and the extraordinary Shauna M.Morgan (all the way from Kentucky, whom I was hearing read for the first time while wondering why I had never encountered her exquisite poetry before).

Peepal Tree Press at Hyde Park Book Club. Image Credit: Leeds Lit Fest.

Saturday was the fun day of the Festival. In the afternoon, there was Ian Harker’s comic treat, ‘Miss Bianca’s Molly House’, a one-man playlet drifting through the gay brothels of 18th century London. Later, at the Carriageworks, Joe Williams hosted a magnificent ‘Just A Minute’ rip-off called ‘Not a Second More’, with support from Natalie Hughes-Crean and a panel packed with talent: comedian Jack McLean, legendary rapper/poet/beatboxer/playwright Testament, and two of the finest poet-event hosts around, Kristina Diprose and Faye Marshall. It was clear early on that Kristina was favourite to win, and so she did, but all four brought their own personalities into a beautiful mixture that worked so serendipitously it’s hard to believe the selections were random. 

Guests and hosts of ‘And Not a Second More’. Image Credit: Leeds Lit Fest.

The final day was a big one for me. You may remember that I was part of a small community who worked with Kimberly Campanello on her ‘Seacroft Canto’, created as part of her response to Dante’s ‘Commedia’. Charlotte Ginsborg documented the work we did in an amazing film, which premiered at Chapel FM on Sunday afternoon. Sadly, I had to leave before the post-screening Q+A with Kimberly and CEO of the National Poetry Centre, Nick Barley, as I had to rush over to Hyde Park Book Club to host a special edition of my monthly poetry event ‘Poets Talking Bollocks Presents’. 

Away from its normal time and place (usually 2.30pm at The Chemic, this one was 3.45 at Hyde Park Book Club), I was delighted to find a full house and some extraordinary performances, including a few debutantes. Our three showcasers Ebi Solomon, Rosie Stephens and Adam Panichi all gave sparkling extended sets, and an amazing twenty seven others turned it into a real festival showpiece. 

Poets Talking Bollocks at Hyde park Book Club. Image Credit: Leeds Lit Fest.

After a quick changeover, I was back on the stage to introduce a household name who brought Leeds LitFest to a fitting end – John Hegley. His wit, timing, storytelling and poetic flourishes remain undimmed after nearly half a century in the game, sending another full-house into the post-Festival night elated – apart from those who stayed behind to enjoy John’s generous company in the upstairs bar afterwards.

My Leeds Lit Fest was only a small part of what was on offer. It was an extraordinary programme brought together by a five-strong board – Jack Simpson, Fiona Gell, Bronagh Daly, Ian Harker and Alan Benstock – and very little financial help, certainly nothing from local or national government pathways. To put on a Festival of this quality and scale would be a fantastic achievement even with significant financial support, but to do it without is virtually super-human. We should applaud all of those people, and the army of volunteers who stepped forward to help, to the rafters. It does stick in the craw somewhat, though, that money can’t be found to support such important local projects. This is a conversation we need to have: our literary scene should not have to beg for scraps.

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