About Us

Aoife O'Connor is a queer woman of colour, poet and producer based in Derby. She is an experienced slam and spoken word performer and co-founded an intersectional female-led performance night to tackle the lack of diverse spaces in Derby.
They have worked in many different aspects of poetry and performance, including workshop facilitation, coaching slam teams and producing and facilitating events, but she prioritises writing and performing work inspired by her lived experiences.

Dan Webber is an award-winning LGBTQ+ poet and producer based in Derby. He has appeared at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Reading Fringe Festival and as part of the 25th Birthday Celebrations for Leicester Comedy Festival. His first collection ‘Genre Fluid’ was published by Big White Shed in June 2019, a show of the same name was named Best Solo Show at Morecambe Digital Fringe in August 2020. 

Commissions include ‘The Derby Witness’ a poetry and street art project for Derby Feste, ‘Whispers From The Woods’, a poetry and nature trail produced with Arts Melbourne for The National Forest, ‘15st 9lbs at time of writing’ for SHOUT Festival, Birmingham, ‘Genre Fluid: Quarantine Edition’ for Coventry Pride, and ‘322 Ways of Escape’ as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations for The Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent.

In September 2021, Dan supported Cheryl Hole as part of The University of Derby Freshers week and in February 2022 ‘Genre Fluid’ and ‘The Derby Witness’ were accepted into The National Poetry Library. In July 2022, Dan competed in the Loud Poets Edinburgh Fringe Slam at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. In September 2022 Dan appeared alongside Barbara Nice as part of the Derby CAN ‘Over To You’ season

Harry is a writer and editor from Yorkshire who lives on a flood plain in rural Derbyshire. He is an award nominated poet, a published short fiction writer and critic and a soon-to-be published non-fiction author. He has more than a decade of experience in journalism, an MA in Creative Writing, and vaguely knows how to fix old tractors and washing machines.

Sophie Sparham is a poet and writer from Derby. They have written commissions for BBC Radio 4, The V&A and The People's History Museum. They co-hosts the night Word Wise which won best spoken word night at the 2019 Saboteur Awards. Their latest collection 'The Man Who Ate 50,000 Weetabix' came out in April 2021 via Verve Poetry Press. Sophie's work has been published in Orbis, Under the Radar and The Morning Star. Their poem Sunrise Over Aldi won third place in the 2020 Charles Causley International Poetry Competition.

Jade Melady is a disabled female graphic designer based in Long Eaton, on the outskirts of Derbyshire. She graduated from the University of Derby in Media Production with a first class honours degree.

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Jade has been working in and around the design and marketing industry for over 10 years, and became self employed just under 5 years ago. She specialises in business marketing materials and advertising. She loves working with organisations and small businesses, and advocates for disabled and chronically ill women through her online platforms. 

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Jade came on board with the Derby Poetry Festival in 2023 to help launch the Derby Poetry Festival 2023 and build DPF's online platform. 

Lili is a graduate of the University of Derby’s Creative Writing programme. She currently works with Writing East Midlands as their Digital Marketing Executive and has joined the Derby Poetry Festival team to support their 2024 programme of events. In the past, she has worked as an English tutor and transcriptionist alongside her voluntary work in the arts. She has a strong interest in how underrepresented voices can be elevated through literature and enjoys encouraging creativity in young people.