A local teen has been announced as Birmingham’s new Young Poets Laureate (2022 – 2024) at the 2022 Birmingham Literature Festival this month (6th October).
Rising poetry star Iona Mandal is an A level student at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls in Kings Heath.
The 16 year old from West Heath already has a plethora of poetry accolades, scooping her first award – the Children’s Book Show Award for Poetry (2013) – at the tender age of 7.
The first Bengali of Indian diaspora to be selected as Birmingham Young
Poets Laureate, Iona’s poems have been published in children’s books and anthologies and shared in venues as the House of Lords; BBC Radio (Leicester); Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London; and the Natural History Museum, London.
Now, the teen is looking forward to sharing her love of words and language to inspire the young people of Birmingham, under the mentorship of new Birmingham Poets Laureate, Jasmine Gardosi. Iona is proud of her Indian roots and love for her mother tongue, Bangla. She is particularly excited to share the rich repertoire of South Asian poetry in Birmingham which is home to a big Asian community.
Iona said: “Being chosen as the Birmingham Young Poets Laureate has instilled in me a
sense of honour, catalysed my personal odyssey with poetry and renewed my appreciation for the wonders of our city, which is home.”
In her free time, Iona also contributes regularly to the Special Interest Group magazines of the Mensa High IQ Society, of which she has been a member since the age of 11. She also volunteers with a community arts organisation, plays the clarinet, bakes, and enjoys
spending time with her two pet budgerigars Peri and Winkle.
Congratulations, Iona, from all at B31 Voices! ![🎉]()
Some of Iona’s Awards & Achievements
- Children’s Book Show Award for Poetry (2013)
- David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Global Poetry Award (2014): Under 8 winner and overall runner-up for her poem Its Our World.
- Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s (CND) Poetry Prize (2014, 2015)
- Elmet Trust Ted Hughes Young Poet Award (2016)
- Forward Arts Foundation National Poetry Day Prize in The Lost Words Competition (2018) judged by Robert Macfarlane.
- National Schools Poetry Competition for Peace (2018, 2019, 2020).
- A commended Foyle Young Poet (2020)
- Stephen Spender Poetry Translation (SST) Prize (2019 & 2020) for translating poems from English to Bengali.
- Through the Young Poets Network, Iona’s poems have been published in children’s books and anthologies and shared in venues such as the House of Lords; BBC Radio (Leicester); Shakespeare’s Globe, London; and the Natural History Museum, London.
- Iona has used her poetry skills to raise funds for YoungMinds, St. Mary’s Hospice, Birmingham, and the NHS during the COVid-19 pandemic.
- Many of her poems have won accolades in speech and drama festivals across the UK.