News and Updates
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Poetry Competition Winner Sees Her Work Writ Large
A young girl from Newport has been named the winner of the first Newport Festival of Words poetry competition, and her poem is now prominently displayed in the heart of the city centre.
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Justice Mansfield, aged 10, a pupil at St Patrick’s RC Primary School, said she was delighted to have been chosen. Her poem, entitled "Newport – the place to be," is now reproduced in full on a giant book placed in John Frost Square by Friars Walk, helping to publicise the inaugural Newport Festival of Words, which takes place in the city this weekend.
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The schools poetry competition was organised by staff at Newport Library to coincide with the launch of the new festival, which has attracted authors from across the country.
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Justice said: “I am so happy to be chosen and very proud of myself and the poem. I feel lucky to be able to share my thoughts on my home city with everyone who sees the book.”
Her mum, Michelle Kelly, added: “I was blown away when I saw the book in Friars Walk. I am beyond proud of Justice for not only being selected but also for how hard she works and the amount of effort she always puts in. She aspires to be an author so this is a massive honour and has provided a wonderful boost to her confidence.”
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Nicole Garnon, Chairwoman of Newport Festival of Words, said: “We thank all the schools which submitted entries for our competition. The standard of writing was excellent, but Justice’s poem stood out as a winner. It is great to see it displayed in the city centre, and we would like to thank Friars Walk for creating the book and for letting us use a unit in the shopping centre on Saturday, March 22, as a base for several free activities during the day.
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“Bringing the festival to life has been a real team effort, and we hope as many people in Newport as possible take part and enjoy the wide range of talks, events, book launches and performances.”
The full programme is available online at newportwordfest.co.uk or can be picked up in Waterstones, Newport Library, Gallery 57 and the Newport Rising Hub.
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The festival has been made possible thanks to sponsorship from publishing group The Three Impostors, Newport City Council and the UK Government through the Shared Prosperity Fund. It will take place at several venues across the city centre.
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Press release 20th January 2025
AN EXCITING new event is being launched in March to celebrate the city’s rich literary history and
to highlight its current crop of talented and diverse writers. Newport Festival of Words will celebrate words in all their forms, from novels and poetry, to songs, nature writing, history and writing for children.
A broad programme of events has already been drawn up, featuring readings, meet the author
events, interviews and book signings as well as story sessions and children’s competitions.
The festival is being launched by a small group of enthusiasts who came together to fill what the
saw as a gap in Newport’s cultural offering. Award-winning author Catherine Fisher is one of those taking part. “It’s wonderful for Newport to have its own literary festival and I’m delighted to be part of the firs
line-up. The programme will have something for everyone interested in books, words and
literature and I wish it every success.”
The idea is that the festival will become an annual event and will get bigger and better every year. The events will take place in several city centre venues from Thursday March 20 - Sunday March
23, 2025. Renowned photographer David Hurn, who set up the city’s former school of documentary
photography, and who has had a long career as a Magnum Photographer, will be in conversation
following the launch of his latest book.
The organisers are delighted to announce that among the list of celebrated authors to appear at
the festival are English crime and historical fiction author Barbara Nadel, award-winning author
Andrew Hurley, Tom Bullough and Tim Lebbon, to name just some of those taking part.
Newport Festival of Words is part funded by the UK Government through the Shared Prosperity Fund, Newport City Council and publishers the Three Impostors. Venues include Newport Rising Hub, the Corn Exchange , Gallery 57, Newport Central Library and Arcadia. The festival has partnered with Waterstones, which will act as book seller during the event.
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Newport schools are invited to take part in a poetry competition launched as part of the city’s first Festival of Words.
Newport Festival of Words will take place from March 20-23, this year.
In addition to a detailed programme of author talks, book launches and interviews, organisers were determined that the city’s children would also be part of this inaugural festival. So the invitation has gone to all schools in Newport to encourage their pupils to be creative and write a poem under the heading ‘My Newport’.
Thanks to support from Friars Walk, the winning poem will be displayed in a giant book which is being specially created and will be displayed in Newport in the two weeks leading up to and including the festival weekend. Each school will be asked to select their winner and those poems will all be published in the
Festival of Words website. An overall winner will be chosen from the finalists by a panel of judges which will include published authors. The winning poet will receive a prize and have their poem displayed in the city centre and their class will be offered an author visit.
“We urge schools to enter this competition and be part of the first Newport Festival of Words"
said chair of the group organising the event and owner of Gallery 57, Nicole Garnon. “The aim is to make the Festival of Words an annual event. The festival aims to celebrate the wealth of literary talent in the city.”
Closing date is February 21 and schools are asked to send entries to Julie Watkins at Newport Central Library on juliewatkins@newport.gov.uk
Newport Festival of Words is part funded by the UK through the Shared Prosperity Fund, Newport
City Council and publishers the Three Impostors. Venues include Newport Rising Hub, the Corn Exchange, Gallery 57, Newport City Library, Arcadia and Friars Walk.
For further information on the Newport Festival of Words and to access tickets visit www.newportwordfest.co.uk
Call out for volunteers
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The inaugural Newport Festival of Words is looking for friendly, hardworking and enthusiastic volunteers who will play an invaluable role in helping to create a welcoming and fun environment for audiences and participants. The festival will run from the 20th to the 23rd March. It is a great opportunity to give something back to the community, whether you’re a fan of literature and music or, simply looking to get into it. In return you get to meet new people, gain experience, discover new writers and see fantastic events for free.
What does it involve?
Site preparation – venue set up including banners, tables and chairs, liaising with session leads
Site production – erecting and maintaining directional signage and posters
Audience support – directing audience members to locations and venues, advising audience
members of site facilities, managing the book signing queue.
Front of House – welcome audience to venue, queue management, ticket checks.
You will need to:
Be over 18yrs old
Enjoy dealing with people and being an advocate for Newport
Be punctual and reliable
Prepared to wear something that identifies you as part of the Festival team
Be available for half or full day throughout the Festival (20th – 23rd March)
If you are interested in joining us or would like a cuppa and a chat then drop us an email on
info@newportwordfest.co.ukThe Newport Festival of Words is looking for friendly, hardworking and enthusiastic volunteers who will play an invaluable role in helping to create a welcoming and fun environment for audiences and participants. It is a great opportunity to give something back to the community, whether you’re a fan of literature and music or, simply looking to get into it. In return you get to meet new people, gain experience, discover new writers and see fantastic events for free.
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