Mind Over Slammer


Mind Over Slammer comes to Band on the Wall for an evening of poetry, spoken word and live performance 

Twelve slammers will take to the stage for the Manchester heat and battle it out across three rounds with the winner and first runner-up securing their places in the Mind Over Slammer National Grand Finale in London.

The Grand Finale will see qualifiers from across the country compete for £3,000 in prize money:

🥇 1st Place — £1,500
🥈 2nd Place — £1,000
🥉 3rd Place — £500

The 2027 Mind Over Slammer National Champion will also earn a place in the 2028 UK & England Slam! Championships, run by Farrago Poetry, since 1994. From there, the international pathway extends to the European Poetry Slam Championships and World Poetry Slam Championships.

Whether you’re a seasoned poetry fan or discovering spoken word for the first time, come and experience an evening of powerful voices and live performance  

Tuesday 24th November 2026
Doors: 7.30pm
Show: 8pm–11pm
DJ: 11pm–Midnight

Slam applications are open now: Application form

Headliner: Carson Wolfe
Carson Wolfe is a Mancunian poet and the Grand Prize Winner of The Disquiet Literary Programme 2024. Their work has appeared with POETRY, The Rumpus, The Common, and Rattle. In 2023, they won New Writing North’s Debut Poetry Prize and have received awards from The Aurora Poetry Prize, The Edward Thomas Fellowship, and were longlisted in The Poetry Society’s National Competition. They are the author of two chapbooks, Boy(ish), and Coin Laundry at Midnight.

Host: Biz Bond
Biz Bond is a poet and producer based in Manchester. By day she uses big data to tell stories; by night, the same but in rhyme form. Biz was one of Craig Charles’ Class of 2025, is a former member of the Southbank New Poet’s collective and was deemed ‘good value for money’ by Simon Armitage – come find out why.

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Prize money funded separately.