The Festival received more than 1,000 entries from across the West Midlands, the wider UK and around the world, a testament to the vibrancy and reach of contemporary poetry.

Competition judges, Helen Ivory and Martin Figura, praised the quality and ambition of the submissions, reflecting on the challenge of selecting winners from such a strong field.

Helen stated: “One thousand poems is a lot of poems. Congratulations to everyone who made it from the big pile on our table to the smaller pile. The odds are ferocious. If you didn’t manage that, be assured there were many who came very close, and yours was almost certainly one of those. And then there are the 5, who found their way from the smaller pile to the even smaller pile, hardly a pile at all, of prize winners. It was quite a battle.”

Martin added: “The advantage of there being 2 of us is, we can have proper discussions, rather than it being alone going mad arguing with yourself. We were rigorous and, we think, fair. Big congratulations and thanks also to all the commended poets and their excellent poems which moved us and interested us so much they survived several readings and stayed in both our heads long after reading.”

Councillor Chris Burden, City of Wolverhampton Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “The WoLF Poetry Competition is a wonderful celebration of creativity, and it’s inspiring to see writers from Wolverhampton and across the world sharing their work with us. The quality and imagination on display this year highlight the strength of our cultural community.

“My congratulations go to all the winners, shortlisted poets, and everyone who took part – your contributions help make our city’s literary festival something truly special.”