BCU Presents Benjamin Zephaniah
Future Writers
In celebration of the life and rhymes of BCU Honorary Doctorate and national treasure Benjamin Zephaniah, who was an extraordinary poet, a passionate writer and a Birmingham icon.
Competition returning on 15 May 2025
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
Returning for its second year, BCU Presents: Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers encourages both children and adults to submit their own poems around a theme.
The theme
This year’s theme is inspired by Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem ‘Nature Trail’, encouraging 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 prizes
First place
- Two tickets to use at The REP, Birmingham
- A brand new Kindle Paperweight and £25 voucher
- A family membership for Birmingham Botanical Gardens (December 2025 - December 2026)
- A family membership for the National Trust (December 2025 - December 2026)
Second place
- Two tickets to use at The REP, Birmingham
- A brand new Kindle Paperweight and £25 voucher
- A family membership for Birmingham Botanical Gardens (December 2025 - December 2026)
Third place
- Two tickets to use at The REP, Birmingham
- A brand new Kindle Paperweight and £25 voucher
All winners will have
- Their poem displayed as part of a nature trail at Birmingham Botanical Gardens from March 2026 - July 2026, as well as a day pass to visit the venue to find their poem
- A certificate and a framed piece of their poem
- A Benjamin Zephaniah book
- An invite to a Future Writers workshop at BCU in 2026
- Their poem included in the Future Writers Winners Anthology and their own copy
- A selection of merchandise from National Trust and Birmingham Botanical Gardens
FAQs
