Four Northern Poets & a New Sheffield Poet Laureate at Off the Shelf 2026

What a wonderful night at Off the Shelf Festival of Words: Four Northern Poets.

It was fantastic to see Hive poets – Nathan Graham, Molly Knox, Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith and Beth Davies – sharing their work on the stage of the grand Firth Hall, with the Lord Mayor of Sheffield in attendance.

And wonderful to meet Sheffield’s new Poet Laureate, Ruth Yates, as Beth handed her the baton on the night. A big thank you to Beth for her two years as Laureate, and for sharing a beautiful new poem commissioned especially for the occasion, celebrating all things books as part of the National Year of Reading.

Huge thanks to Off the Shelf Festival of Words as always for inviting us to be part of another brilliant festival and for continuing to champion young and emerging writers.