I’m absolutely delighted to announce that my poetry sequence Framed by Woodgrain has won the silver award in the 2022 Creative Future competition. Even more thrilling, the judge was Joelle Taylor, winner of the 2022 T.S.Elliot prize. I’ll be reading my sequence at the London Literary Festival as part of the Creative Future Awards Showcase, at the South Bank, so please come along and say ‘hi’.
Karen Downs-Barton is an award winning poet. Minx, her first collection, is published by Chatto and Windus, Penguin Random House in March 2025. Her pamphlet, Didicoy, won the 2022 International Book and Pamphlet Competition and was the Poetry Book Society recommended pamphlet 2023. Her writing incorporates experimental form and multilingualism alongside lyric pieces exploring an Angloromani heritage, times in state child care, and in diverse occupations including a magician's assistant. Karen has appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Verb, Ledbury Literature Festival, and is currently touring, promoting Minx. Karen gained a Doctorate in Creative Writing from King's College, London and is a regular workshop facilitator for Creative Future UK. Follow her on social media at: @downsbarton Instagram, @karendownsbarton.bsky.social View more posts
Karen Downs-Barton