Poetry London Autumn Readings
Join us to celebrate the launch of the autumn issue of Poetry London, one of the UK’s most prominent poetry magazines.
Hear extended readings from award-winning poets Liz Berry, Ian Duhig, Donovan McAbee and Rachel Long, presenting their recently published work. The launch also includes the announcement of this year’s Poetry London Prize, with readings of the winning poems.
Liz Berry’s collections include Black Country (Chatto, 2014) and The Republic of Motherhood (Chatto, 2018). Her most recent book, The Home Child, a novel in verse, won the 2024 Writers’ Prize Book of the Year.
Ian Duhig FRSL worked with homeless people for fifteen years before becoming a writer. He has since published seven books of poetry, won the Forward Best Poem Prize and the National Poetry Competition twice, and his New and Selected Poems from Picador was awarded the 2022 Hawthornden Prize for Literature.
Donovan McAbee is a poet, songwriter, and essayist. His work has appeared in the New York Times, TIME magazine, The Poetry Review and a variety of other places. His poetry collection Holy the Body is scheduled to be released in 2026.
Rachel Long’s debut collection, My Darling from the Lions (Picador 2020/Tin House 2021) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, and was named one of the 100 must-read books of 2021 by TIME magazine.
Need to know
For your visit
This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.