How to Book – N to P Libraries Tour 2026

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage embarks on the next leg of his decade-long tour of UK libraries.

‘I want to celebrate the physical space of libraries and take my work back into places that have given me so much.’

Each spring this decade, Simon Armitage will give readings across the UK, from the flagship libraries of the big cities to smaller libraries serving rural and remote communities. Using the alphabet as a compass, his journey will celebrate the library as one of the great and necessary institutions.

Join Simon on the next stage of his 10-year adventure for a series of free poetry readings live in libraries, with different special guests in each location during the National Year of Reading.

‘My experience of reading and writing began in the village library where I grew up, then in the nearby town library, then in libraries at various places of study and teaching. For many people they are an invaluable aspect of everyday life, giving access not just to books but to services, learning, conversation and creative thinking. I want to pay my respects to these unique institutions. By planning readings up to a decade in advance I’m being optimistic about the future of our libraries, and challenging those authorities who would consider closing them down.’

N to P Libraries Tour : Feb 25 – Mar 6 (and Orkney in May)

Free but booking is essential *
Live in-library events only

* Laureate’s Library Tour events celebrate libraries and their relationship with the local community. Often the libraries are small and the occasion may involve specific local groups doing projects around the visit. Libraries welcome your understanding if tickets are not widely available in the circumstances. For other opportunities to hear Simon Armitage, please click here.

Wed, Feb 25

2.00-3.00pm, North Ormesby Community Hub & Library, 2 Derwent St, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough TS3 6JB

North Ormesby Library launches this year Laureate’s Library Tour! Simon Armitage is joined by stand-up poet, spoken word artist and regular radio broadcaster Kate Fox. Kate has been Poet in Residence for the Glastonbury Festival and the Great North Run. Her poetry collections include On Sycamore Gap, Bigger On the Inside and The Oscillations. She is also the author of Where There’s Muck There’s Bras: True Stories of the North of England’s Women Kate is a neurodivergent advocate whose latest show “Bigger on the Inside” explores neurodiversity through the lens of Doctor Who.

Booking is essential: Members of the library’s poetry workshop and local community groups will be given priority. The remaining free tickets will go live online at 12 noon on Tues, Feb 3 via this link, https://libraries.middlesbrough.gov.uk/simonarmitage

Age 11+ (poetry can contain strong language)

also on Wed, Feb 25

6.30-7.30pm, Newby & Scalby Library & Information Centre, 450 Scalby Rd, Scarborough YO12 6EE

To celebrate libraries saved from closure, Simon Armitage visits community-run Newby & Scalby Library. Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of the Trustees and 60 volunteers, this thriving library has not only been kept open since 2017 but has increased community involvement. For the occasion, Simon is joined by literary activist, theatre maker and published writer, Khadijah Ibrahiim and the library’s guests Beth Mokrini & Rob Nixon, a Folk and Americana music duo from South Yorkshire.

Khadijah Ibrahiim was born in Leeds of Jamaican parentage. Educated at the University of Leeds, Khadijah combines different art forms to re-imagine poetry as performance theatre. She was engaged by Collections in Verse, a Poet in the City and British Library collaboration that commissioned poets to animate British Library exhibitions. More recently, Khadijah worked with the  Royal Ballet and Opera House as librettist for Sing, Dance, Leap, a production celebrating Bradford 2025: UK City of Culture. Hailed as one of Yorkshire’s most prolific poets by the BBC, she performs regularly on both UK and international stages. Her poetry collections Rootz Runnin and Another Crossing (both Peepal Tree Press) explore themes of heritage, migration, and imagined futures through black British lyricism. Khadijah is also the founder and artistic director of Leeds Young Authors.

Ticket guidance: “Since we are small with a very limited number of seats the free tickets have been offered to the volunteers who work at the library, its Patrons and Friends, groups who meet in the library, including the poetry and writing groups, and students from 3 local 11+ schools. Thank you for understanding that seats will not be available for the general public.”

Age 11+ (poetry can contain strong language)

Sat, Feb 28

2.00- 3.00pm, The Nest Community Building and Library, 3 Cygnet Square, London SE2 9FA

Simon Armitage celebrates The Nest’s new library which opened in 2023 as part of a major regeneration project in Thamesmead. Joining him is Rachel Long, who grew up in Thamesmead and whose debut poetry collection, My Darling from the Lions (Picador, UK, 2020 / Tin House, US, 2021) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award, The Rathbones Folio Prize, the Jhalak Prize Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour, and The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. The US edition featured in the New York Times Book Review, and was named one of the 100 must-read books of 2021 by TIME. Rachel Long was Assistant Tutor on the Barbican Young Poets programme and founder of the Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour.

Booking is essential: Free tickets will go live at 9.00AM on Mon, Feb 9 on the Bexley Libraries Eventbrite page. You may not see this Feb 28 event posted on that page until nearer Feb 9. The performance room is fairly small, so only a limited number of tickets will be available. They may go fast.
Age 11+ (poetry can contain strong language)

Tues, Mar 3

7.00-9.00pm with interval, Nottingham Central Library, 1 Carrington St, NG1 7FH

Following Nottingham’s 10th anniversary as a UNESCO City of Literature, Simon Armitage marks the role of libraries by visiting the new Central Library near the Green Heart in the city centre’s award-winning Broadmarsh redevelopment. Simon reads with a variety of local voices including Nottingham’s first Nature Poet Laureate Cara Thompson. Cara won the UNESCO Cities of Literature’s international slam poetry competition and is an Assistant Director of Nottingham Poetry Festival. Cara is also a founding member of the Nottingham Black Creatives Network.

Booking is essential: please see library’s link here for this event and the wider Celebrating Nature, Poetry, and Community programme with Nottingham City Libraries which also includes workshops and other ways of getting involved in this occasion.
Age 11+ (poetry can contain strong language)

Wed, Mar 4

7.00 – 8.50pm with interval, Portsmouth Central Library, Guildhall Walk, PO1 2DX

This special event marks two milestones: Portsmouth Central Library’s 50th birthday and the 100th anniversary of Portsmouth’s city status. To help celebrate the power of libraries in association with Portsmouth Book Festival, Simon Armitage is joined by the library’s line-up of local voices, including Ted Hughes Award winner Maggie Sawkins, Portsmouth’s own Laureate Sam Cox and Majid Dhana of 432 Nomads. The library will also reveal exciting news about the search for Portsmouth’s next Poet Laureate!

Ticket guidance: This event was launched locally as part of Portsmouth Book Festival and booked up rapidly, but a waiting list is available here, https://wegottickets.com/event/68305
Age 11+ (poetry can contain strong language)

Fri, Mar 6

7.30-8.30pm, Newcastle Library, 141-143 Main St, Newcastle, Co Down BT33 0AE

To celebrate libraries as essential, Simon Armitage reads at Newcastle Library, set in the dramatic coastal backdrop of the Mourne Mountains which has inspired centuries of poets and storytellers. Simon is joined by the Irish writer Dean Browne whose debut collection After Party (Picador) is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Dean received the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize in 2020, and Kitchens at Night, won the Poetry Business International Pamphlet Competition. He lives in Cork.

In the days leading up to this event, Newcastle Library will host a series of supporting events, inviting people to explore creativity, heritage and storytelling in different ways. The wider programme features a range of creative workshops and talks, led by local artists and facilitators. Full details via the links below.

Ticket guidance: for the March 6 event, please click here. To book one of the workshops, please try here.
Age 11+

May 2026

Orkney Library & Archive, 44 Junction Rd, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1AG

The grand finale of the N to P Libraries Tour will take place in Orkney Library & Archive in May 2026! Details will be posted nearer the time.

This year’s Laureate’s Library Tour takes place with kind support from the T. S. Eliot Foundation, Mark Pigott KBE and Faber & Faber.