Stuart Bartholomew is the director and co-founder of Verve Poetry Festival. As well this he is also the co-founder and publisher of sister press Verve Poetry Press. His programming and publishing vision is to celebrate the full breadth of quality poetic activity in the UK and beyond – whatever the style or source – in colourful and exciting ways.

Lizzie Palmer is a festival producer, administrator, community researcher & bookseller. She’s still trying to live up to the success of receiving a Blue Peter badge for a poem she wrote when she was 9. Lizzie joined the team in 2019 after working on a successful community arts festival and hopes to build on the team’s already fantastic work to grow the festival.

Kibriya Mehrban is a poet and arts marketer from Birmingham. They got excited about VERVE when the first crowdfunding call-outs appeared in 2016 and has been an avid supporter ever since. Their poems have appeared in the Emma Press anthologies This is Not Your Final Form (2017) and Second Place Rosette (2018).

Rick Sanders, aka Willis the Poet, is a comedy stand-up poet based in the mighty West Midlands. He has appeared at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival, Lakefest, and Apples & Snake’s Bright Smoke event with the RSC in Stratford. Rick lends us an enormously experienced hand by volunteering with us at the festival.

Leo Kemsley is a Birmingham based poet and game master. He co-hosted the Grizzly Pear open mic night for two years and now hosts Tell it to the Music open mic night. You can find his poetry published under the name Leo Dragstedt or if you ask him nicely he’ll probably send it to you. He loves dogs, YA fiction and mac and cheese.