We’re kicking off our Persuasion & Poetry Festival in style with another fabulous event at Goldfinch Books – our local independent bookshop, café, bar and event space – and produced in partnership with Winchester Poetry Festival.

Join us for an evening of scintillating poetry, hosted by award winning local poet and Austen aficionado Ellora Sutton, and featuring readings by our star guest poet Rachel Long, as well as readings by local poets.

Join us for drinks and merriment, a glimpse into Jane Austen’s writing process and some of her own poetry, as well as poems inspired by her work and themes.

If you’d like to read a poem – either your own, one of Jane’s or a poem that Jane knew and loved – get in touch to book a slot!

**Poetry rules: readers are invited to read one poem, or an extract of a longer poem, max one side of A4. Each slot will be 3 mins max. For info on poets Jane Austen knew and loved, start here **

If you want to listen – grab a drink from the bar and sit back to enjoy an evening of delightful company and inspiring writing!

Rachel Long is a hugely talented poet – shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, The Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Jhalak Prize Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour), is widely published (The Guardian, Poetry, Granta, The Poetry Review, and The White Review) and works as a tutor and mentor (The Arvon Foundation, Faber Academy, The Poetry School, and The Irish Writers Centre), a curator and has judged multiple poetry and literature competitions.

Ellora Sutton is a poet and PhD student based in Hampshire. She was the Poetry Book Society Spring 2023 Pamphlet Choice with Antonyms for Burial (Fourteen Poems), and her most recent pamphlet, Artisanal Slush is out now from Verve Poetry Press. She has been poet-in-residence at Jane Austen’s House and Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery, as well as being the poetry reviewer for Mslexia. Her PhD research uses poetry as a means of assessing the impact of gender bias in urban planning.

Details:
Date: Friday 12 September
Time: 7:30pm – 8.30pm
Location: Goldfinch Books, 21 High Street, Alton
Tickets: £6.50 per person

✍️ This event is supported by Winchester Poetry Festival

 This event is part of our Persuasion and Poetry Festival, running from 12-21 September 2025