Join Syntax Poetry Festival for the crowning of Peterborough Poet Laureate 2019.

Finalists will read or perform their entry to a team of judges before the official crowning of Peterborough’s newest poet laureate. The newly appointed laureate will begin their reign at the start of the festival and spend their year working with the Syntax team to celebrate Peterborough’s thriving poetry and spoken word community.

The night will be hosted by the incredible Kat Francois – poet, performance artist, playwright, director, and comedian. She has performed up and down the country as well as internationally and was the first person to win a televised poetry slam. This event is brought to you with the support of Apples and Snakes and Vivacity Culture and Leisure Trust.

If you’re age 13-18 years old, join Kat for a spoken word poetry masterclass as part of the festival on Saturday 2 November, 10.30am – 3.30pm. Find out more

Kat Francois is a performance artist, poet, actor, playwright, director, comedian and youth workshop facilitator. Kat was the first person to win a televised poetry slam in the UK, on BBC3 in 2004. A year later she went on to win the World Slam Poetry Championships in Rotterdam. Kat has performed on radio and television including Blue Peter, the Big Poetry Slam, and BBC Breakfast. Kat also featured on Sky1 in 2016 on ‘Whats Up’ As a playwright, Kat has written and performed two solo plays, SEVEN TIMES ME, RAISING LAZARUS, and two comedy shows, KATS GO YOUR TONGUE and THE KAT FRANCOIS COMEDY SHOW, which received a 5-star review at the Camden Fringe Festival.