Our People
Hannah Trevarthen
Director
Hannah is the Director of Nottingham City of Literature and the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature Network Lead. Prior to this, she worked at English PEN, one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations, in the roles of Events and Partnerships Manager and Interim Director. Between 2019 and 2022, she led Common Currency, English PEN’s centenary celebration, an international multi-partner project funded by Arts Council England. She began her career working in the programming team at Edinburgh International Book Festival. She is on the Advisory Board for Bad Betty Press, an award-winning independent publisher of new poetry, curator of live literature events across the UK, and a member of the Oxford Brookes University Publishing Advisory Board. As the daughter of a librarian and the granddaughter of a voracious reader, Hannah's been reaching for books since she was very young.
Michelle Leonforte
Communications Manager
Michelle has been a lover of literature all her life and she believes passionately in the transformative capacity of the arts. She has a background in communications, civic and ceremonial events and academia.
She holds a PhD in English Literature titled 'International Academic Arenas: Shaping Shakespeare and his contemporaries at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London and The Blackfriars, Virginia, USA. She was the Events Coordinator for the New Researcher's Network for the Society for Theatre Research between 2017-2019.
Michelle joined Nottingham City of Literature as their Communications Manager in Summer 2024.
Paty Bennett
General Manager
Paty is passionate about making arts and creativity accessible to all, and to ensure Nottingham City of Literature offer opportunities for anyone to engage with words, especially for those that may feel that arts are not for them. She believes creativity can change people’s lives.
Paty is keen to promote people-centred environments, spaces for collaboration and co-production working closely with people. She have over 15 years experience working in the arts sector in Mexico and the UK, at Tequila Jose Cuervo Cultural Division, The Mighty Creatives and Attenborough Arts Centre. She has a PhD on learning dialogue in museums. Paty is a Trustee for The Spark Arts.
Growing up in Mexico, she enjoyed reading Hispanic Literature. One of her favourite books is The Flanders Panel, by Arturo Perez Reverte, a book encompassing art, chess and mystery. Octavio Paz’s Labyrinth of Solitude is a classic book that influenced her own views about Mexican identity.
Claire Bradnam
Projects Coordinator
Claire has a background working in the charity sector, managing projects and designing services. She joined the team at Nottingham City of Literature as a Project Coordinator in September 2024. In this role Claire is responsible for supporting the Youth Advisory Board, delivering UNESCO and partnership projects in the city and working collaboratively with other partners from the global Cities of Literature Network. Claire has a love for reading and libraries. She is passionate about supporting people to explore new horizons and share their stories.
Katy Birch
Doctoral Researcher
Katy joined Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature in 2023, expertly undertaking the role of Project Coordinator. She was involved with some of Nottingham City of Literature's biggest projects, including the 2024 Big City Reads campaign, which distributed 2,000 free books across cultural venues, schools and libraries in Nottinghamshire.
Katy is now undertaking a collaborative PhD, Understanding language heritages, supporting literacies and cultural enrichment jointly supervised by Nottingham Trent University, The University of Nottingham and Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature. The PhD builds on the first iteration of Story Valley and will research language heritages and influence the development of cultural educational opportunities in Nottingham. The project will develop a theoretical framework for documenting, safeguarding, and supporting multilingual and local English-language heritages to enhance cultural opportunities and support literacies for young people.
Jo Heidrich
Finance Manager
Jo joined Nottingham City of Literature in 2020 as Finance Manager. Jo qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2001 followed by 10 years leading the Finance Department of one of the East Midlands largest housing providers.
Our Board
Councillor Linda Woodings
Trustee
Linda was elected in 2015. Linda is passionate about people, communities, and neighbourhoods. In Basford, Linda is most proud of helping with the campaign against Colson Transport, wanting everyone to have clean and safe neighbourhoods to live in. Linda’s interests include running, volunteering at Parkrun and Junior Parkrun, as well as cycling, politics and spending time with family and friends.
Professor Lynda Pratt
Trustee
Dr. Clare Harvey
Trustee
Dr. Clare Harvey is an acclaimed novelist and academic researcher. She also has a background in freelance journalism, charity PR, and teaching English learners. Originally from Devon, Clare has lived and worked all over the world, but is now settled in Nottingham with her family. She has a particular fascination with historical and biographical fiction, and the borderlines between 'fact' and 'fiction'. She is also a little obsessed with using remix as a new approach to writing, which she has experimented with in her own PhD research and flash fictions, as well as in writing workshops and socially-engaged creative practices through her work with Inspire Culture's I am A Reader & I Am A Writer projects. Clare joined the Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature trustee board in 2025.
Kerry Featherstone
Trustee
Kerry is a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Loughborough and he joined Nottingham City Of Literature in July 2024.
Kerry reads widely in poetry, non-fiction and fiction and some of his favourite writers are Carolyn Forche, Jasper Fforde, Fred Vargas and Bruce Chatwin. Reading has always been important to Kerry in terms of education, entertainment, imagination and well-being. Kerry enjoy teaching students how to appreciate the craft of writers, but also to learn that craft in order to use it in their own writing.
Dan Baxter
Trustee
Dan Baxter is Interim Venue Director and Director of Marketing and Communications at Nottingham Theatre Royal and Concert Hall. He is a senior cultural executive with a strong track record in strategic financial management, high-level governance, and operational leadership across complex producing and commercial arts venues. Dan is passionate about maximizing audience reach, championing inclusion, and fostering resilient cultural organizations. Dan joined Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature trustee board in 2024.
Dr Nick Owen, MBE
Chair
Chair of the board of trustees, Dr Nick Owen, was awarded an MBE for services to arts-based businesses in 2012. He is a creative and entrepreneurial leader who has been committed to providing access and progression routes to arts and culture throughout his career. Developing and supporting the work of young artists in particular has been at the front and centre of his work in the sector. Nick has substantial experience of formulating business strategy, leading cultural change, delivering sustainable growth, building national and international partnerships, and leading teams in the cultural and education sectors. He is currently CEO of the national charity, The Mighty Creatives (TMC) and has successfully led the organisation not only through many periods of change, uncertainty and existential threat but also through a programme of sustained achievement and impact.
Amy Bere
Trustee
Amy is Director of Culture at Nottingham Trent University, where she is responsible for the development of cultural engagement for students and staff, and for our partnerships with cultural and arts organisations in the City of Nottingham. My background is in cultural strategy and leadership, and she has worked extensively in arts engagement for all ages, backgrounds and abilities. At NTU, students are encouraged to be creative writers and avid readers with regular activity through our WRAP workshops, performance poetry cafes and live events with brilliant authors, as well as curated book giveaways and exchanges across their campuses. Amy likes a bit of escapism in her own reading so she is drawn to fantasy fiction, graphic novels and nature writing. She encourages everyone to read authors from around the world, support local independent bookshops and for true magic, to make friends with your local library and librarians.
The Youth Advisory Board
Mia Hagues
Chair
Mia Hagues is a poet from a small town just outside Nottingham. She is the YAB Chair. She usually writes on trains, and has founded her own writing group, ‘The Right to Write Collective’, through which she hosts bimonthly open mics at Mansfield Museum. The poetry world is one she found by accident, and she wants to help others stumble across it too, making it more accessible. Her open mics are a safe space for first time performers, and her dream is to become a published poet.
Henry Lambert
Vice Chair
Henry Lambert is a Notts-based writer of poetry and prose, who has been writing since he was 7, compelled by Mary Oliver poems, open mics and an eternal need to learn bigger and fancier words.
He is a member of the Nottingham City Of Literature youth advisory board and the speakeasy collective and has worked with a Writing East Midlands writing group for an Arts Award in creative writing. Henry was commissioned as our first Young Writer in Residency programme at Bromley House Library. He has also performed twice at the Unislam young writers showcase in Birmingham, having been one of the youngest poets to do so.
On top of juggling A levels and poetry, his literary focus is primary given to writing a nautical dystopian novel that he intends to publish in the near future.
Grace Sanders
Member
Grace is a lyricist and aspiring journalist, and a new member of the Youth Board.
She recently graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BA in Classics, and is currently working as the Literary Co-Editor at LeftLion magazine, where she is able to delve into the cultural impact of literature on Nottingham in more detail.
Most of her creative writing happens through music and writing original songs with her band. These usually explore themes of transformation, loss and learning to find and love yourself.
Alicia Rafferty-Haslam
Member
Alicia Rafferty-Haslam is currently studying politics, German and history at A Level and is hoping to go on to study politics and German at university. She is interested mostly in novels and longer pieces of work and has a particular interest in historical fiction, such as the works of Alisson Weir as well as more political novels such as the works of Reni Eddo-Lodge or Maya Angelou. She enjoys reading a wide range of works from cultures all round the world as well as translations from other languages.
Jennifer Rajasekar
Member
Jennifer Rajasekar is an Indian writer, poet, and lyricist currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She has written lyrics for Indian films and web series, blending storytelling with music to create emotionally resonant work.
In 2026, Jennifer served as the Young Producer for the Nottingham Poetry Festival and was a member of the Big City Reads Youth Selection Panel. Her poetry and prose explore themes of love, memory, healing, and human connection.
Jennifer is currently working on her debut novel while continuing to write poetry, songs, and literary fiction.
Shalmika Sivakumar
Member
Shalmika Sivakumar is a creative writing graduate (MA, Nottingham Trent University) and an aspiring educator who loves finding romance hiding in mundane moments and turning them into stories. She’s currently writing her debut romance novel, Peach Soda, and reaches for poetry whenever inspiration or a good trip away catches her off guard.
Since moving to Nottingham, she’s found her creative home through Speak Easy, which has kept her close to her writing roots. Two years as social media intern for Nottingham Poetry Festival taught her to tell stories across every kind of media and she’s since grown into her role as Speak Easy’s Comms Coordinator.
Flynn Ledger
Member
Flynn Ledger is a Mansfield-based poet, occasional fiction writer. He is a frequent attendee of the Speak Easy spoken word collective, and works as a shadow writer for the Mansfield Young Writers Group run by Writing East Midlands.
Flynn has a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University, and is going back to do his Master’s in 2026. He was a writer-in-residence at Bromley House Library in 2025, and he has been published in several anthologies since, including GREEBO’s ‘Power’ zine, Write Queer’s first and second publications, and the WEMterns ‘A Question of Hope’ collection. His poem ‘Roots’ was recently shortlisted for the Writing On The Wall poetry competition and will appear in the respective anthology shortly!
Lucy Bronwen Davies
Member
Lucy Bronwen Davies is an ecological artist and facilitator, graduating with a First Class BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University in 2024, where she received the Ecological Awareness and Sustainability Award.
Currently she works as a freelance facilitator, events producer and content curator across arts organisations, schools and community spaces in Nottinghamshire. Lucy has been in residence at Haarlem Artspace and the East Midlands Graduate Project with Surface. She had exhibited predominantly across the East Midlands including ILKON, BACKLIT and Surface. Alongside Chairing Connecting Notts, a Board Trustee of Young Creatives Nottingham, and a current studio holder and member of the Chaos Magic Collective at BACKLIT.
Aarya Handa
Member
Aarya Handa is an emerging writer and creative based in Nottingham. She is the 2026 Under 25 Writer in Residence at Nottingham Women’s Centre. Aarya is also a member of Nottingham City of Literature’s Youth Advisory Board and Connecting Notts’ Youth Board, where she is a youth voice advocate.
She works with local organisations such as the Renewal Trust and the National Literacy Trust to deliver activities for children and champion reading for leisure. Aarya was on the Youth Selection Panel for the books of the ‘Big City Reads’ 2026 campaign and contributed a poem to Adoption East Midlands’ creative writing project, which was selected for publication in their ‘Book of Belonging’ booklet. She is currently working on multiple poetry collections, which she hopes to publish in future!
Ava Richmond Blum
Member
Ava is a Nottingham-based poet and aspiring journalist, for whom writing has always been an escape.
For several years she has been working to promote higher literacy rates across communities in Nottingham, volunteering in a primary school in Sneinton for two years to aid children with their literacy skills. She also provides tuition services in English.
More recently she has embraced her creative side, performing her poetry at several open mics with Right to Write and Speak Easy - and planning on more in the future!