We are inviting event proposals for the National Poetry Library's Special Edition series for 2023/24.

Special Edition is a monthly series of poetry events that take place at the NPL. We're seeking proposals from a broad range of organisers, poets and people new to poetry. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be more involved in poetry – this could be your chance and we’d be delighted to hear from you. We especially welcome proposals from Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse applicants, LGBTQI+ applicants, disabled or neurodiverse applicants and applicants from a low socio-economic or working-class background.

Special Edition transforms the library into the backdrop for all sorts of poetry-related events, whether that's debates, Q&As, collaborative performances, or readings of live poetry. Depending on the number of proposals, we might invite organisers focusing on the same theme to share the stage at an event. We will also create a number of online showcases which we might ask you to contribute to.

In the past, we’ve hosted events from Dead [Women] Poets Society, The Pen Ting Poetry Showcase, The Mum Poet Club and many more.

Please note the following before proposing your event:

The events take place between 8pm and 9.15pm on Wednesday evenings between May 2023 and March 2024.

There is an audience capacity of 52 seats.

Our events run for a maximum of 75 minutes with no interval.

Tickets are booked via the Southbank Centre's website.

If we receive multiple proposals with similar themes, we may look at ways to combine two events in one evening.

We will provide the main event organiser with expenses of £250 to be distributed among the performers. For shared events we will offer £150 per organiser and for Online Showcases we pay £50 for a 10-minute contribution.

We will record the event and make it available to library users with the permission of performers.

To apply for an event in next year's season (from May 2023 to March 2024), please fill in this Google Form by 5pm on Friday 6 January 2023.