Poetry London: Autumn Readings
Poets Marjorie Lotfi, Nick Makoha and Michael Symmons Roberts share recently published works alongside the announcement of this year’s Poetry London Prize.
The event also features readings of the Poetry London Prize winning poems.
Marjorie Lotfi is the author of The Wrong Person to Ask (Bloodaxe Books, 2023), which won the 2024 Forward Prize for Best First Collection. It was also shortlisted for the Saltire Prize for Best Book of Poetry and was one of the winners of the inaugural James Berry Prize and a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation.
Dr Nick Makoha is Ugandan poet and playwright based in London, and the founder of Obsidian Foundation. His new collection, The New Carthaginians is published on Penguin, and his debut collection, Kingdom of Gravity, was shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection.
Michael Symmons Roberts has published eight collections of poetry, all with Cape, and has won the Forward Prize, the Costa Book Award and the Whitbread Prize for Poetry, as well as major prizes from the Arts Council and Society of Authors.
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.