Future Programmers Lab
Sharing nearly 30 years of festival-making with emerging practitioners who want to programme and produce literature events.
With nearly 30 years of experience producing StAnza: Scotland's International Poetry Festival, we know what it takes to bring outstanding events to life. We want to share that knowledge to help emerging practitioners grow into the next generation of literary professionals, and ensure that Scottish poetry programming continues to be recognised internationally for its creativity, quality, and innovation.
Across 2026 and 2027, we are piloting the Future Programmers Lab, offering three aspiring Scottish literary programmers the chance to develop their professional practice, deepen their understanding of the sector, and expand their networks. Participants receive mentoring from our team, paid research time, and attended our 2026 festival, including the inaugural UK Poetry Festivals Network symposium.
Meet our Future Programmers
Adrija Ghosh
Adrija is a poet and translator, currently pursuing SGSAH-AHRC funded creative-critical, decolonial research at the University of St Andrews. Adrija published two poetry pamphlets, heir of sisyphus (2023) and the commerce between tongues (2022) with Broken Sleep Books, and debuted as a literary translator with Tilottama Majumdar's The Prisoner (Bengali to English) in 2024, published by The Antonym Collections.
More about Adrija
Adrija holds an MSc in Comparative Literature from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Adrija's work has appeared in Wasafiri, Modern Poetry in Translation, bath magg, Gutter, The Dark Horse, among others. In May 2022, Adrija was awarded a translation residency at Dragon Hall, Norwich, by the National Centre for Writing. In 2021, Adrija wrote the short film Sifr, which was named runner-up for the Kashish QDrishti Film Grant.
Hanna Louise
Hanna is a student of Creative Writing (MLitt) at the University of Glasgow. In a previous life, she co-hosted the Aberdeen-based performance night Hysteria and worked as a Creative Changemaker for Aberdeen Performing Arts, organising cabaret, music and poetry events with a focus on platforming queer creatives.
More about Hanna
Hanna's written work has been published by Somewhere for Us, the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and The Elphinstone Review. Hanna now lives in Glasgow, where she can often be found line dancing at Maggie's Rock n Rodeo.
Leah Cameron
Leah is a Glasgow-based artist, writer and recent graduate of the University of Stirling with a Masters in Publishing Studies. Leah became interested in poetry while studying Illustration at the University of Dundee, developing spoken word pieces alongside comics and self-published zines.
More about Leah
Leah's first poetry collection zine, Notes App Poems, has sold over 200 copies. While completing a work placement with Glasgow Zine Library, Leah developed and delivered a workshop teaching early-career artists the essentials of running a small business. This workshop was incredibly well-received and many of the artists in attendance successfully demonstrated the knowledge from the workshop at Glasgow Zine Fest 2025.
Coming from a working class background, Leah wishes to help support a creative and diverse community of artists by offering barrier-breaking insights into the industry and creative practices.
Future opportunities
StAnza is committed to supporting the development of new and emerging producers and we hope to be able to offer more opportunities at future festivals.
Keep an eye on our Jobs & Opportunities page where we'll announce any upcoming programmes and projects.
If you are a funder interested in supporting professional development programmes for emerging producers, please get in touch.
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Running nowCommon Verse
A two-day summit on the role of poetry in Scotland’s cultural life, sparking new collaborations across sectors and art forms.
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