Poet Hilary Steele described the moment she was named the 2026 Peterborough Poet Laureate as ‘ exciting and moving’ .

Hilary, who has worked in local education, runs Peterborough Stanza and works for The John Clare Cottage in Helpston. Said she ‘felt overjoyed and proud’ to have won the role. She is looking forward to building on the work of previous laureates and taking on everything the role has to offer. 

Hilary won the laureateship with strong ideas on what she will do in her year as laureate and with her poem ‘Gildenburgh’ which is one of Peterborough’s former names. The poem is rich in heritage, optimism and it celebrates what Peterborough means to Hilary and others, so beautifully. 

Hilary said, ‘I’m honoured and excited to be Peterborough’s Poet Laureate for 2026. I’m looking forward to promoting the city’s heritage, arts scene and, above all, its people. I will do everything I can to support the bid for the 2029 City of Culture. We have so much to offer as a city, so much to share, and I feel so lucky to have the chance to be a part of that’.

The role is unlike any other, it is considered a Civic role, and the laureate acts as an ambassador for the city, its poetry community and the work created in their year can  document various events and moments in the life of Peterborough. In 2025, Alex Tyler championed different causes like Saving Woodston Library and shone a light on important events like Veteran’s day.

Previous laureates include Mark Grist, Keely Mills, Malika Speaks, Charley Genever,  and Clare Currie, who have all gone on to become professional working poets or creatives.

The role is now 28 years old and believed to be the second longest after the national laureate role. And it’s managed by Syntax Poetry, who are a collective of poets and creatives based in and around Peterborough.

The final had 9 worthy competitors, at the Poet Laureate Award ceremony, which was held again at the University Centre Peterborough, Wednesday (4 February). It was a night full of creativity, fun and it showcased some incredible talent from the city. The finalists came from all different parts of the city, ages and had a range of different life experiences. Which meant there was a poem for everyone. 

The final was hosted by Peterborough’s first ever laureate, Toby Wood. The judges were Kat Beeton from UCP, Hana Sayeed, from the Peterborough Cultural Alliance and Alex Tyler, Peterborough’s 2025 Poet Laureate. It was a sold out night, that was full of laughs, and an incredibly supportive audience. Plus it was hosted again by the team at the University Centre Peterborough, including their students and student ambassadors. UCP on the same night launched their first humanities master’s degree, which is in Creative Writing. Applications to take part in the course are open now. 

Throughout the year Hilary will bring their own aims to the role that she wishes to achieve, but she will also work to make poetry even more part of the life of the city, chronicling special events, and celebrating the poetry community.

In addition, Hilary can be commissioned to write poems by any number of partners and organisations across the city.

It’s going to be a very inspiring year for Hilary and it’s going to be exciting to see what the new Peterborough Poet Laureate gets up to in 2026.