GOBS is closing

October 2026

After seven years of poetry, creativity and community, we've made the difficult decision to close GOBS Collective.

We'll be winding down our activities over the coming months, with our final public event taking place as part of Nottingham Poetry Festival in June 2027.

While this marks the end of GOBS as an organisation, there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved, connect with our community and celebrate everything we've created together.

GOBS Collective was founded in 2020 by Bridie Squires and Ioney Smallhorne, with the support of John Berkavitch and Apples and Snakes, emerging from the legacy of Nottingham's much-loved Mouthy Poets collective. Our mission was simple: to inject vibrancy into Nottingham's poetry scene and create a welcoming, supportive space where poets, writers and performers could develop their voices, share their work and find their people.

Over the past seven years, we've grown into a thriving creative community, delivering workshops, performances, open mics, festivals, publications, development programmes and opportunities for collaboration. We've watched emerging writers find their confidence, friendships form, creative partnerships flourish and extraordinary work come to life. We're incredibly proud of what we've achieved together, and grateful to everyone who has contributed to making GOBS what it is today.

Why are we closing?

GOBS has continued to grow and thrive, and we're incredibly proud of the strong, vibrant community we've built together. However, sustaining an organisation like GOBS requires a significant amount of time, energy and ongoing coordination. Changes in personal circumstances and capacity mean that we can no longer provide the level of leadership and support needed to sustain the Collective in the long term, against a backdrop of uncertain, project-to-project funding.

After careful consideration, Bridie and the GOBS Board have made the decision that bringing the organisation to a planned close is the most responsible way forward. While this hasn't been an easy decision, it allows us to honour our existing commitments, celebrate everything we've achieved and bring this chapter of GOBS to a thoughtful and positive conclusion. Most importantly, we're proud to be closing GOBS at a time when its creative community is thriving, with the hope that the connections, collaborations and opportunities it has created will continue long into the future.

We're not finished yet

Although GOBS is closing, there's still plenty of poetry, creativity and connection to come! We'll continue delivering our existing programmes and hosting opportunities for our community to come together throughout the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.

From poetry gatherings and performances to creative development projects and celebrations, there will be opportunities to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new people and make the most of our remaining time together. We warmly encourage everyone who's been part of GOBS, whether you've attended one event or been involved for years, to join us for these final activities.

Visit the Events section of our website to explore our upcoming programme and find out how to get involved.

Our final public event will take place as part of Nottingham Poetry Festival in June 2027, bringing our seven-year journey to a close.

The community doesn’t end here

GOBS has always been about more than an organisation. It's about the people, the poetry, the friendships, the collaborations and the connections that emerge when creative people come together.

Although the organisational infrastructure that has supported GOBS will come to an end, the relationships, skills, confidence and creative networks that have developed through our work will continue. We hope that the community we've nurtured will remain connected, supporting one another and finding new ways to create and collaborate.

Perhaps something entirely new will emerge from the foundations we've built together. We're excited to see what the future holds for Nottingham's poetry community.

Thank you

To every poet who has trusted us with their words, every performer who has stepped onto our stage, every participant who has joined a workshop, and every facilitator, volunteer, partner, funder and supporter who has helped make our work possible: thank you. Your creativity, generosity, energy and commitment have shaped GOBS into the community it is today.

We're incredibly proud of what we've achieved together, and we hope you'll join us over the coming months to celebrate, reconnect and make a few more memories.

Want to get involved before we close?

Visit the Events section of our website to explore our upcoming activities and join us for the final chapter of GOBS Collective.