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Latest up today from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Podcast) features the return of our friend, Hayley Lynn Gordon. Hayley has been a regular performer around Merseyside in recent years and co-runs her own monthly night ‘Giz A Word'. Giz A Word platforms writers at all stages of their careers as well as offering an opportunity to connect with other creatives. This Podcast primarily talks about Hayley's forthcoming poetry book' Lemonade Grendade' will be available to buy on Amazon and selected independent books stores after its launch this summer. You can also visit @twistedtales.hlg19 and @gizaword.collective on Instagram for updates on Giz a Word poetry events and where to see Hayley Lynn Gordon live. * Post recording note * Hayley advises that since the Podcast was recorded, they have cancelled their scheduled their All Ears Poetry Expo date.

* Re-edit * There was a unfortunate glitch in the second half of the Podcast during which Alistair reads out a wonderful poem called Elephants Don't Jump. In the sake of being fair, we agreed for Alistair to re-record said poem and it is presented as a bonus at the end of the Podcast. New from Spoken Label features making his debut is the amazing Alistair Lawrie. Alistair Lawrie is from Peterhead and now lives in Stonehaven. His short story “Delivery” won the William Soutar Prize in 2016 and his poem “Twists And Turns” won the McLellan Scots Poetry Prize in 2023. His poetry and short stories have been published in “The Interpreter’s House”, “The Poets’ Republic”, “Northwords Now”, “Lallans”, “Poetry Scotland” and various anthologies; he coedited the Scottish sea anthology “A Glimmer Of Cold Brine”. His poetry collection “Caal Cries” was published in 2023 by Drunk Muse Press. He runs weekly creative writing sessions for Mearns Writers. He writes in Doric and English, occasionally Scots “… but the words and the rhythms of those voices I heard as a boy breathe their lilt through all of it”This chat is about Alistair's new poetry book "Opent Petals" available from Drunk Muse Press which describes at the book as "following on from his acclaimed debut, Caal Cries – confirms his position as one of the most accomplished and entertaining poets writing in Scots today. Winner of the 2023 McLellan Scots Poetry Prize, he alternatives adeptly between Doric and English across a range of themes. Whether he’s recalling a telling childhood incident or casting a rueful eye over politics and culture, there is wit and insight aplenty in these poems that will resonate widely."

Latest up from Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Poetry Podcast) features making his debut is the wonderful Half Beard Half Poet. A product of the early 2010s Mancunian poetry scene Half Beard Half Poet (then using the alias Benny-Jo Zahl) burned bright but briefly. Three years after discovering poetry in 2009 he was published as a member of the Working Verse collective alongside Kieren King and Dave Viney Via Flapjack press (The Prequel to the Sequel), co-wrote and performed two plays with Working Verse that debuted in the Lowery theatre (Amateur Thematics – 2012, Writer's Retweet – 2013) and co-hosted Bang Said The Gun: Manchester. In May 2014 at the Evidently poetry night in Salford he gave his last performance, until one fateful day in October 2023, when he walked into a therapist’s office holding notebook and pen… What some people have said about him: “The great ape swings again! I’ve admired these poems for years, but for too long they’ve not been on our stages. It’s amazing to see not only their return but also even more exciting, emotive, excellent new words coming from this engaging and inspired writer and performer. Yes, heavier than metal, and shining twice as brightly! – Dominic Berry, 2017 Glastonbury Festival Poet in Residence and winner of the Saboteur ‘Best Spoken Word Artist’ award 2020 and 2017. “I like the ones with the guinea pigs” – Kim Moores, Love of my life. “That’s pure gold” – Rupert Holmes, singer song writer of “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” upon hearing a performance of the poem on page 17. More details can be found here: https://halfbeardhalfpoet.co.uk/

Latest up from Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Poetry Podcast) features the return of our friend, the amazing Krystal 'Gypsy' Orellano Weldon. Krystal “Gypsy” Orellano Weldon is a Tampa, Florida–based spoken word artist, poet, writer, and composition professor. As an educator, she teaches writing at the college level, where she is passionate about helping students find their voice, develop critical thinking skills, and use writing as a tool for self-expression and empowerment. Her work in the classroom reflects her broader mission to uplift diverse voices and create space for meaningful storytelling.Known throughout the Tampa Bay community for her presence in the open mic scene, Krystal has been featured in events such as Pinot & Poetry: A Toast to Herstory and began her artistic journey with the USF Poets. Her performances are rooted in authenticity, emotion, and cultural expression, resonating with a wide range of audiences.Her writing spans poetry and creative nonfiction, with publications in The Sandbox (St. Petersburg College’s newspaper), The Sandhill Review (Saint Leo University), and recognition as a runner-up in the University of Westminster’s 2017 Mental Health Poetry Competition.In addition to her academic and literary work, Krystal is currently in the process of producing a poetry album that blends spoken word with musical expression. She is also working on her upcoming novel, The Lover’s Passion Lounge, continuing to expand her voice across multiple creative platforms. * Contains as a bonus track - a song from Krystal's forthcoming album 'Gravity 105 BPM G Minor' *

Latest up from Spoken Label (Poetry Podcast) features making her debut, the amazing Talin “Tally” Vartanian.Talin “Tally” Vartanian is a writer, actress, and photographer who resides somewhere in Los Angeles, CA.When she’s not struggling to keep her head above water, she loves to play video games, walk on hiking trails, and cook something new in her tiny kitchen.The Instagram feed, which we do an in-depth study on, can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/talinthepoet/

* Re-edited Podcast * Latest up from Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Poetry Podcast) features the return of our friend, Amanda Crundall. Amanda Crundall (a.k.a. “The Glam Poet”), is an accomplished and multi-faceted author, poet, spoken word performer, poetry workshop facilitator and radio presenter, at Beverley FM. She is based in East Yorkshire, UK.Her poetry, known for its raw emotion and honesty, explores vulnerability and resilience, resonating deeply with readers and audiences. She is unafraid to share own vulnerabilities, frailties and her darkest moments as well as her joys and loves. Amanda’s truth, humility, honesty and openness, connects profoundly with those who have encountered her work. Many find comfort, inspiration and empowerment in her writing - enabling them to feel understood, acknowledged and not so alone. Amanda has performed at various events and festivals: the Festival of Love, Doncaster; Scunthorpe Pride; No Limits Festival; and Ripon Poetry Festival. Her writing has featured in: The Script Magazine; the High Wolds Poetry Anthologies; the Dark Poet's Society; LiveWire Poetry and Online Anthologies. As the co-founder and former co-host of “Rabbiting On” spoken word/poetry group, she helped establish a thriving poetry community. Amanda has been delighted to see the group go from strength to strength, since passing over the baton with hosting duties. Amanda has published two poetry books. The most recent is “The Emboldened Heart” which is the primary focus of this Podcast.

Latest up from Spoken Label (Poetry / Spoken word Podcast) features the return of our friend, the amazing Aakriti Kuntal.Aakriti Kuntal is a poet, writer and multidisciplinary artist.She spends most of her time writing and reading, seeking refuge in nature. At other times, she explores photography, asemic writing, visual art and short experimental films. Her work has appeared in The Night Heron Barks, Rasputin: A Poetry Thread,IceFloe Press, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, and Poetry at Sangam, among others. She is the author of the chapbook “God, am I your eyelid?” (Sigilist Press, USA) and the full length collection “Night breaks apart, like pomegranate seeds in my palm (The Indian List).Her accolades include the Reuel International Prize (2017); she was shortlisted for the RL Poetry Award (2018) and nominated for Best of the Net.

* containing topics not suitable for all *Latest up from Spoken Label (Author / Poetry Podcast) features making her debut, Annie Acre. Annie Acre is a placemaker / poet and strange storyteller based in Manchester, made in Darwen, Lancashire. She regularly performs spoken word around her adpoted city and has been published in Ink Sweat & Tears and Worktown Words. Annie is the editor of Urban Scrawl zine. She hopes you like what she’s doing with the the place x anniesacre.co.uk @annies.acre urbanscrawlmag.co.uk @urbanscrawlmag

Last up from Spoken Label (Our Spoken Word / Writer Podcast) features Part 2 of our extended chat with the Environmental Poetry collection ‘I am Nature’, this time an extended chat with the wonderful Andrew Sumner andPatricia (Pat) Sumner. Andrew Sumner grew up near Stroud in Gloucestershire,surrounded by deep woods and floriferous meadows thronged with butterflies. These places he explored with his mother, father and younger sister. Sadly, all that rich nature has since gone under the plough and the conifer. Later, his father’s work took the family south to Somerset and the new and differentlandscapes of the Somerset Levels, the Quantock Hills and the Mendip Hills. Andrew’s poems have been published in group anthologies and poetry collections, including ‘Travelling with the Saints’ (Y Lofa, 2013) and ‘Both Sides of the Border – An Anthology of Writing on the Welsh Border Region (Gwasg Carreg Gfwlach, 1998). He has illustrated a children’s book written by hiswife, Pat and enjoys walking, gardening, turning wood, drawing, painting, and researching family history. * Patricia Sumner (Pat) grew up on the Isle of Anglesey and nowlives in the Vale of Clwyd. She has loved creative writing ever since she was very young. As an adult, she studied under the poet and author Dr Gladys Mary Coles,namong other writers. It was at these Creative writing classes in Chester that she met her husband, Andrew. As a poet, she has had two collections published. Her pamphlet ‘Beyond the Glass’ came first in a national poetry competition run by Thynks Publications. Pat’s second collection of poems and readings, ‘The Promise of Dawn: Rites of Passage for all Beliefs’, is published by Veneficia Publications. Pat has won awards for some of her poems and plays, and her poetry has appeared in magazines and anthologies. Pat has a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Philosophy, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education.  This book (which is recommended) can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Am-Nature-Environmental-Poetry-ebook/dp/B0FH7PRW78/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SAZ97SPX6WAQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.boHw9Hvv-eiwk0u6a82ZqWgjmK5G_sB28inaUJj0xhnHDE2LARcrHr8SrLCATjQSwE33nT3rAzsmfAznxsyx5IGxWZdQS_e_hS0b6ZwycAw.ulpWQy3YfH1rRkpCS96xbDozvPLa_m20qWAIz00uIUc&dib_tag=se&keywords=andrew+sumner&qid=1771620249&s=books&sprefix=andrew+sumner%2Cstripbooks%2C591&sr=1-1

New from Spoken Label (Author / Artist Chat Podcast) an returning chat with Amanda Nicholson. Amanda Nicholson is the author of ‘Ghost of Me’ which was a finalist in the thriller category of The Author Elite Awards after its release in March 2020. It is now being re-released this February. She also runs the Substack page ‘I Am Not Calm’. Book will be available on all of the usual place.

Latest Podcast from Spoken Label (Author / ArtistPodcast) features making her debut, Lucy Beth.  Lucy Beth (she/her/hers) is a multi-award-winningemerging performer, theatre-maker and lecturer from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. ​​She graduated with Distinction from the University of Glasgow’s MLitt Theatre & Performance Practices Course after being awarded a PGT Excellent Scholarship bythe University. ​​Lucy has worked on various stage, screen, and audioprojects. Her recent credits include Blanca in Ten Feet Tall's production of "Guilty" by Rona Munro at Granite Noir Festival. Penny in “How To Train Your Dad To Be A Feminist” at the Aberdeen Arts Centre, and she has alsostarred in TMM Recruitment’s Christmas Advert, “Scary Tale of New Work,” ​Beyond conventional performing, part of Lucy's practiceconcerns dialect preservation. She speaks Doric and seeks to create and perform works in Doric as a means of continuing to render the dialect present. Her Doric works have reached critical acclaim and have earned Lucy several awards. ​Her Doric solo theatre show, “Ma Name Is Isabelle” wasperformed at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was highlighted as one of SNACK Magazine’s Picks of the Fringe. It also received an Edinburgh Fringe TheatreAward from the Fringe Theatre Awards. The show has received 5-star reviews in the press. ​ Lucy won the Best Newcomer Award at The Doric FilmFestival for her film, "Fit Wye Nae" in 2024. In 2025 she performed in "Sticky Business", winner of the Best Film Award at the 2025 Doric Film Festival. ​​Lucy’s Doric poetry won her a place in the finals of the Loud Poet's Slam Poetry Competition in Aberdeen in June 2025 and made a guest appearance at the LoudPoet’s Edinburgh Fringe show, which was awarded 5 stars.  ​​She was one of the Young Women’s Movement’s 30 Under 30 Honourees for 2025. ​​Lucy was also a 2025 Scottish Emerging Theatre AwardsWinner.  More details can be found at: https://www.lucy-beth-performer.com/

First of a two part Podcast today from Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Poetry Podcast) features discussing 'I am nature' an Environmental Poetry book with two of their poets, Leaf Pettit and Diana Sanders. Leaf Pettit lives in the vale of Clwyd with her husband and three children. Rural north ales has been her home since she was three years old and she has developed a deep connection with its landscape and environment, choosing to raise and home-educate her children. Leaf has been active in caring for local green spaces and has played a leading role in a community project to develop a green space at the heart of her village, including planting native hedging to forma wildlife corridor and wildflower areas. Leaf has a BA (Hons) in Literature Life and thought and imaginative writing and an MA in Creative Writing. Leaf's work has also appeared in the writer's wheel magazine and a couple of local publications, including the 'stillness' pamphlet produced from the Wellbeing Weekend at Saint Eidan Pilgrim Church in 2023. Diana Sanders is a composer and award winning poet. She is the composer of six published works for flute and has curated several events that combine music and poetry, some of which have been on podcasts and local radio. Her poetry publisjed has been published in magazines and anthologies in the UK, USA and India and her poem 'Birth' was third in the Welsh Poetry Competition in 2016. She has a BA from Nottingham Trent Creative University in Creative Arts (Music and Drama), In partnership with her friend, Pat Sumner, she runs a monthly writing group. She is the editor of the local Friends of the Earth magazine and is passionate about caring for the environment. More about this book can be read here: https://www.veneficiapublications.com/product-page/i-am-nature

Latest up from Spoken Label (Poetry Podcast) features the return of our friend Sarah James (also known as Sarah Leavesley ) talking about her new poetry book 'Darling Blue'. Darling Blue interweaves ekphrastic poems with a book-length fictional poetry narrative of love, lust and letting go. The poems inspired by Pre-Raphaelite artworks include QR codes, which readers can scan to view the pieces after or alongside their reading. Blue here is more than a colour or inspiration; it is desire, secrecy and sorrow – the essence of ‘feeling / really alive’, yet ‘distance’s illusion’. “A fascinating creative hybrid weaving ekphrasis and cohesive narrative, Darling Blue deftly balances its fictional speaker’s personal response to various Pre-Raphaelite artworks, with rich descriptive hints that resonate way beyond the mere visual. Exploring the complex tensions between the public sphere and private activities, this collection is a gallery tour of the narrator’s unfulfilling relationship with an unattainable partner, through to the ultimate redemption of self-worth and new love. James’s finely crafted and intelligently controlled poems brim with vivid imagery and lush sensory detail, reminding the reader ‘how brightly sunlight shines through // when freed from a cracked mirror’.”Sarah Doyle, Pre-Raphaelite Society Poet-in-Residence “James uses the lyric and ekphrasis to create a profound and moving collection on the cost of love; what endures and how we survive its wake. As vivid and emotive as its pre-Raphaelite sources, Darling Blue is also startlingly direct, eloquent and consoling on the things we find hardest to put into words. An unmissable collection.”Luke Kennard More details about said book can be found here; https://www.sarah-james.co.uk/?page_id=17191

Latest up from Spoken Label features making her debut, Suzy Aspell. Suzy is a Bedfordshire poet, living and writing in Luton. Curious about world cultures, she has worked in the travel industry for many years including repping in Spain and teaching ESL in Taiwan. Her poems are published in numerous anthologies, online and print magazines. Suzy also tutors GCSE English students struggling with ADHD and Dyslexia. She is passionate about art, politics and the planet and has a very pampered cat full of mischief and brio. Her debut book 'Webstrung' is now out. More details here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-suzy-aspell-webstrung-tickets-1978839759991 OR https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1917408056?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_TTZ92CBDFTX850KXECZ5_1&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_TTZ92CBDFTX850KXECZ5_1&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_TTZ92CBDFTX850KXECZ5_1&bestFormat=true

Happy New Year all folks! Back with a bang, the first Spoken Label (Spoken Word Podcast) Podcast of the year features the Hongwei Bao. Hongwei Bao (he/him) is a Nottingham-based queer Chinese writer, translator and academic. He is part of the Fifth Word Playwrights, GOBS Spoken Word Collective and Nottingham Playhouse Writers’ Room. He is also a Middle Way Mentee for writing fiction and a New Earth Theatre theatremaker. His work explores queer desire, Asian identity, diasporic positionality and transcultural intimacy. Hongwei is the author of Dream of the Orchid Pavilion (poetry pamphlet, Big White Shed, 2024), The Passion of the Rabbit God (poetry collection, Valley Press, 2024) and Queering the Asian Diaspora (nonfiction, Sage, 2024). His short story ‘A Postcard from Berlin’ was a runner-up for the Plaza Prize for Microfiction in 2023. Hongwei has performed poetry at Bad Betty Live, City Arts Nottingham, Dandelions Poetry, DIY Poetry, ESEA Authors LitFest, ESA NE Newcastle, Five Leaves Bookshop, Fluent in Both, Lighthouse Bookshop Edinburgh, Kif Kif Antwerp, Nottingham Central Library, Nottingham Poetry Festival, Nottingham Playhouse, Notts Poetry, Nowhere Netherlands, Paper Crane Poetry, Prague Pride, Shaded Writers, Speech Therapy, and The Common Press London. Instagram: @patrickbao123 Bluesky: @queercomrades Self-Portrait as a Banana can be purchased from here - https://amzn.eu/d/0GOtbOo