BCU Presents Benjamin Zephaniah
Future Writers
In celebration of the life and work of BCU Honorary Doctorate and national treasure Benjamin Zephaniah, who was an extraordinary poet, a passionate writer and a Birmingham icon.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:20:05
Speaker 2
Benjamin Zephaniah, it's a name that I've known since I was young, since I've been in school. And knowing that I had the opportunity to kind of, like, do something in his honour and maybe just write a poem that hopefully he would have enjoyed and would have liked. It really just I felt like I needed to do it.
00:00:20:07 - 00:00:30:15
Speaker 2
it's just really amazing to kind of be in the same sentence as Benjamin Zephaniah. And I'm incredibly grateful for his poetry. It has inspired me in many ways,
00:00:30:15 - 00:00:34:08
Speaker 2
that I didn't realise it did until writing this poem. And
00:00:34:08 - 00:00:36:01
Speaker 2
yeah, it's just absolutely phenomenal.
00:00:36:02 - 00:00:38:08
Speaker 2
I'm just very happy.
00:00:38:10 - 00:00:44:23
Speaker 1
Before, I was literally just freaking out because I really wanted to win,
00:00:44:23 - 00:00:49:08
Speaker 1
But I was also terrified of winning. But I'm really happy that I won
00:00:49:10 - 00:00:58:05
Speaker 1
because that was the first poem I ever wrote. And I wrote it after I read a book about Benjamin Zephaniah and I was inspired.
00:00:58:07 - 00:01:13:08
Speaker 2
Since I stepped in the hall, I know that Benjamin is here because I know how much he loves, he loved the word and loved the nature. Especially this theme is a, he was fighting for his whole life.
00:01:13:11 - 00:01:20:24
Speaker 2
And I was so happy to see all the writers come along, They are our future.
The Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers 2025 competition ended with an incredible awards ceremony at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. This year's competition encouraged writers of all ages to submit poems inspired by Benjamin's poem 'Nature Trail'. The awards ceremony, which was hosted by Kathryn Stanczyszyn and included speeches from Qian Zephaniah and this year's competition judges, awarded 18 winners across six categories.
Nature Trail at Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Discover our new poetry trail this Spring, taking place from 2 March - 17 May.
Nestled within the Gardens are 18 beautiful poems from the winners of Birmingham City University's Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers 2025 competition.
Thousands of emerging writers from across the UK took part in the competition and were asked to submit poems inspired by Benjamin Zephaniah's 'Nature Trail'. The winning pieces explore nature-based themes including the environment, the importance of looking after our planet, the spaces where we spend our time, and the impact of nature on everyday life.
The poems will take you on journeys from Birmingham to Barbados, forests to farms, and soil to sand! Read or listen to the winning poems on the trail. Audio recordings can be accessed via a QR code with a smartphone at each trail post.
As you discover each poem, take the time to reflect upon the impact that Benjamin Zephaniah had on our city, and these incredibly talented writers.
The trail runs until Sunday 17th May and is free for all visitors to enjoy. Trail posts are located in the glasshouses, and across the Gardens.
About Benjamin Zephaniah
Born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, Benjamin Zephaniah became a national treasure through his writing and extraordinary poetry, later becoming an actor, a musician and a professor of poetry and creative writing. His love of animals, nature, and his strong beliefs in human rights, made him popular with many. Benjamin drew on his lived experiences of dyslexia, incarceration, racism and his Jamaican heritage, and he aimed to make his work accessible for all. His writing shaped generations of both adults and children, and he left a remarkable legacy on the city he was born and the nation he called home.
The competition
BCU Presents: Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers 2025 encouraged both children and adults to submit their own poems around a theme.
The theme
This theme for 2025 was inspired by Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem ‘Nature Trail’ and encouraged budding writers to submit poems about the environment, the spaces where they spend their time, the impact of nature on their everyday life, and the importance of looking after the planet.
The categories
- Year Three and Year Four
- Year Five and Year Six
- Year Seven, Year Eight and Year Nine
- Year Ten, Year Eleven, Year Twelve and Year Thirteen
- Young Adults (18-29)
- Adults (30+)
The Winners 2025
Year Three and Year Four Category
Year Five and Six Category
Year Seven, Eight and Nine Category
Year Ten, Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen Category
Young Adult Category
Adult Category
The judges for the 2025 Competition
Ade Adepitan
BCU Chancellor, TV Presenter and Author
Ayan Aden
Birmingham Poet Laureate 2024-2026
Shaherazad Umbreen
Director of Brand & Marketing at National Trust
Professor Gregory Leadbetter
Professor of Poetry at BCU
Madeleine Kludje
Deputy Artistic Director at The REP Birmingham
Selina Brown
Founder of the Black British Book Festival and Author
Naush Sabah
Lecturer in Creative Writing at BCU and Editor of Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal
Ty'rone Haughton
Artistic Director at Apples and Snakes
Sponsors and partners
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National Trust
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PBLJ
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Birmingham Botanical Gardens
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Apples and Snakes
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Benjamin Zephaniah
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The REP
