Lyrical Mehfil

Khadijah Ibrahiim is a literary activist, theatre maker and writer from Leeds. She is the founder and artistic director of Leeds Young Authors, and executive producer of the documentary ‘We Are Poets’. She and her work have appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4. Hailed as one of Yorkshire’s most prolific poets by the BBC, her work appears in multiple university journals and poetry anthologies, as well as in her own collections with publishers such as Peepal Tree Press.

Maria Ferguson is a writer and performer. Her poetry has been widely anthologised and published in literary magazines such as Magma, The Rialto, The North and The Poetry Review. She was a finalist of the Montreal International Poetry Prize 2024 and her debut collection, Alright, Girl? (Burning Eye, 2020), was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes. On the stage, her one-woman show Fat Girls Don’t Dance (Oberon, 2017) won the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Show; Essex Girl (Oberon, 2019) was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award and won Show of the Week at VAULT Festival. She has been commissioned by the Royal Academy of Arts, Stylist magazine, The Bronte Parsonage and BBC Radio. Her work has been featured in The Guardian and on Radio 4’s The Verb and Woman’s Hour. She is the Associate Producer of LIVEwire Poetry and teaches creative writing in a variety of settings. Her second poetry collection, Swell was published in 2025 by Penguin Random House.

Saud Usmani is a renowned Urdu poet, literary critic, columnist, and travel writer based in Lahore. His award-winning body of work spans poetry, memoir, religious scholarship, and literary journalism. As a critic and essayist, he is known for his incisive voice and wide-ranging contributions to contemporary Urdu literature, including prefaces, reviews, and literary commentary.

Author of several poetry collections, including Qaus and Baarish, and two travelogues, his influence extends across genres. He is a regular columnist for Daily Dunya and has represented Pakistani literature at events throughout the Middle East, Europe, USA, and South Asia. Saud joins the festival from Pakistan, bringing a critical and cultural perspective shaped by decades of deep engagement with the Urdu literary world.

Michael Symmons Roberts is a poet and librettist. His eight books of poetry have received accolades including the Forward Prize, the Costa Poetry Award and the Whitbread Poetry Prize. His words for music have been performed in concert halls and opera houses around the world. He is also an award-winning broadcaster and radio dramatist. Born in Preston, Lancashire, he is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Jo Bell is a poet and writer based in Macclesfield. Formerly a professional archaeologist, she is the author of two poetry collections and co-author of How To Be A Poet, has been frequently featured on BBC radio, and was director of National Poetry Day in the UK.