Chris Sewart

Poet and Writer
Poet, Short fiction writer
Available for:
Collaboration, Festivals and other events, Public speaking, Residencies, Workshops

I am a poet and writer living in Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

My work has been published in numerous journals, magazines and anthologies, including About Larkin, Obsessed With Pipework, Openings, Tale of 3 Cities, The Magazine, Raw Edge, Writing Magazine, Staple, The Coffee House and Smiths Knoll. My poems have either won or been highly commended in a number of poetry competitions (and subsequently published in competition anthologies) including: The Barnet Open; Charnwood Mini-Words; Northamptonshire Anne Tibble Prize; Birmingham Literary Festival; Kent & Sussex Open Poetry; Leicester Mercury Millennium Prize; Lancaster LitFest and Leicester Poetry Society. 

In 2019, I was the recipient of the Philip Larkin Poetry Prize in the East Riding Festival of Words Poetry Competition; and in 2021 and 2022 I was awarded the Gold Prize in the same competition. In 2020 I was awarded 3rd prize in the Walter Swann/Ilkley Literature Festival Poetry Competition.

My poem, Today’s Statistics, was selected for recording and inclusion in The East Riding Archives’ Collecting Covid online exhibition, and I was one of the contributors to New Writing North’s Dawn Chorus collective sound poem which premiered at the Durham Book Festival.

I have experience of teaching creative writing at libraries, in addition to leading writing workshops as part of a creative writing group. In September 2024, I was commissioned to facilitate a day writing workshop for the Philip Larkin Society, Some Dappled Park.

I have contributed to a number of the Philip Larkin Society’s Tiny in All That Air podcasts, filmed poems for their YouTube channel and delivered my poetry presentation, Living One Street from Larkin, at the society’s 2024 conference at Hull University.

In 2023 I was commissioned to write and perform a selection of my work at the East Riding Theatre for A Joyous Shot: an Evening of Poetry and Music, which was part of the Philip Larkin in Beverley mini-festival.

During the last year I have been a regular guest on The Beverley FM Morning Mix show. Doing a monthly poetry slot, reading and recommending contemporary and classic poets’ work, in addition to reading my own poetry.

In 2024 I was Festival Poet at the Stage 4 Beverley Festival. In this role I delivered a workshop; performed at the festival curtain raiser including organising and emceeing the open-mic poetry offering; and supported Roger McGough at his ‘Alive & Gigging’ tour appearance. I was Festival Poet again at the 2025 festival which included the premiere of my solo show, Yarn Bombing and Other Poems.

I have had over 20 short stories published. My short story, The Joined, was highly commended in the 2022 Hammond House International Writing Prize. I have also had stories published in the Waterstones/Sunderland University short story anthologies for 2017 and 2018, and the Crossing the Tees 2022 short story anthology. In 2024 my short stories Last Christmas and Return of the Egrets were short-listed for the Parracombe Prize and Plaza Short Story Prize – and included in the respective competition’s anthologies.

In 2025 I will be collaborating on a photography and poetry project that reimagines Philip Larkin’s photographs of Hull and East Riding.

I have a BA (2016) and MA (2022) in Creative Writing from the Open University.

I am a member of the Society of Authors and The Philip Larkin Society.