Caster Cultural Fellow in Poetry

**Interviews will be held on 08 May 2026**

Are you a poet with a developing national and/or international profile for whom a poetry fellowship would make a significant artistic and professional difference? 

The University of Leeds has a strong tradition of encouraging new poetry and of exploring the poetry of the past. Poetry@Leeds (previously the University of Leeds Poetry Centre) fosters a supportive environment for research, teaching and public engagement, celebrating and facilitating excellence in poetry, within and beyond the University. Our work demonstrates the powerful insights, across disciplines, time periods, languages and cultures, to be gained from researching and writing poetry.

As a Caster Cultural Fellow situated in the School of English and Poetry@Leeds, you will be funded full-time for a 24-month period in which to develop your creative practice in a University context. You will also have opportunities to interact with the academic community across the University's research disciplines and engage with students and external partner organisations. You will be supported in shaping the fellowship according to your own interests and professional goals, which may include gaining experience teaching in higher education and/or developing innovative, public-facing collaborations or projects that draw upon the University’s research strengths and external partnerships.

Made possible by the generosity of the Caster family, Caster Cultural Fellowships are designed to nurture creativity at a crucial stage in a poet’s development. Previous Caster Cultural Fellows in Poetry include Helen Mort, Malika Booker, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Zaffar Kunial and Matt Howard. The work of these Fellows continues to shape the contemporary poetry landscape in the UK and internationally, earning recognition in the form of prizes and awards including the Forward Prize, the Cholmondeley Award, the Windham Campbell Prize, the Scotland National Poetry Prize, the Ledbury Second Collection Prize, and the ASLE-UKI Book Prize Award.

 What we offer in return

• 26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days that the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) – That’s 42 days a year!
• Generous pension scheme options plus life assurance
• Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state-of-the-art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.
• Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team.
• Access to on-site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.

And much more! 

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

 poetry@leeds.ac.uk

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