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This year's competition attracted a record number of budding poets, with twelve selected evenly from three age groups to perform in the final. The exceptional twelve finalists seized the spotlight at The Hive, Worcester, mesmerising the judges with their poetic prowess this past Sunday.

Congratulations also to Bethany Lunney, crowned champion in the Year 9, 10, and 11 age group, as well as to Olivia Harvey, reigning supreme in the Year 12 & 13 category.

������Ƶ Young Poet Laureate is run jointly by ������Ƶ Libraries and Severn Arts and funded by Public Health ������Ƶ. The annual competition has been running for several years and aims to encourage young people to express themselves through poetry. It also provides a platform for young poets to showcase their work and gain recognition for their talent.

As Young Poet Laureate, Iona will take part in various projects throughout the year, have her work published, and perform at events and festivals.

Hannah Perrott, Assistant Director for Communities ������Ƶ for ������Ƶ County Council said: The Young Poet Laureate event is a wonderful annual tradition in our county. Congratulations to Iona and to all the finalists for taking part in this year’s final. We're excited to see how Iona will spread the joy of poetry in ������Ƶ and beyond.

Dr Lisa McNally, Director of Public Health for ������Ƶ County Council said: “The Young Poet Laureate competition is a great opportunity for young people to unleash their creativity, build their confidence, and make new friendships. Congratulations to this year’s winners and to all our finalists for their fantastic performances!”

Elaine Knight, Arts Director, Severn Arts added: “Well done to all our finalists and congratulations to our fantastic winners! This year we had our highest number of competition entries so just getting to the final was a huge achievement. The standard of entries was very high, and we would like to thank everyone for taking part this year. The competition provides a wonderful opportunity for young poets to creatively express their thoughts and views. We’re looking forward to working with our new Young Poet Laureate over the coming year.  The 2024 Anthology will be out soon which will showcase a selection of poems from both our finalists and other entries.”

Read Iona’s winning poem ‘Word Metamorphosis'.