Meet the judging panel for the Happiful Poetry Prize 2027
updated on Jul 13, 2026
Meet the four judges who will be pouring over your poems as we approach this year's much-anticipated, new and improved, Happiful Poetry Prize 2027.
Every poem tells a story, and every competition entry deserves to be read with care.
That's why we're delighted to introduce a brand new judging panel for the Happiful Poetry Competition 2027!
This year's entries will be judged by the Happiful editorial team alongside two acclaimed guest judges, Deborah Alma and Richard Tyler.
Together, we'll be looking for poems that move, surprise, and stay with us long after the final line...
Deborah Alma
Award-winning poet, editor, and co-founder of the Poetry Pharmacy bookshops, Deborah Alma has spent years championing the power of poetry.
She is the author and editor of numerous acclaimed collections and anthologies, including Emergency Poet, The National Trust Nature Poems, and These Are the Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS.
Through her work, Deborah has helped bring poetry to new audiences, demonstrating how words can support wellbeing, spark conversation and offer solace during life's most challenging moments.
Learn more about Deborah Alma.
Richard Tyler
Poet, psychotherapist, and Counselling Directory member Richard Tyler brings a unique perspective to this year's judging panel.
Author of As a Kite Falls and holder of the Bardic Chair for Bath, Richard's writing explores themes including grief, nature, transition and what it means to be fully human.
Alongside his wife, Kelly, he co-runs The Willow Tree Foundation, a nature-based healing sanctuary in Wiltshire, where he combines therapeutic practice with the restorative power of the natural world.
Learn more about Richard Tyler.
Kathryn Wheeler
Kathryn's time with Happiful spans almost a decade and has involved everything from handwriting envelopes in the early days to building our much-loved newsletter that reaches over 165k readers, to collaborating with Mr Doodle earlier this year!
Now, in her role as Acting Editor, she leads the editorial team in creating a magazine that supports readers' mental health and wellbeing.
With a passion for poetry, Kathryn (an award-winning journalist, no less) dreamed up the idea for the Happiful Poetry Prize many years ago and is proud to see it go from strength to strength every year.
Follow Kathryn Wheeler on LinkedIn.
Fiona Fletcher Reid
Fiona Fletcher Reid is Features Editor at Happiful and has written extensively about mental health in her books Depression in a Digital Age, Out of Office, and Work it Out as well as for publications like Metro, DIVA, and Grazia.
She believes in the power of personal storytelling as a way to make sense of our lives in the context of mental illness, and in particular, the way that poetry can help put words to complex emotions.
Follow Fiona Fletcher Reid on LinkedIn.
We can't wait to read your work!
Whether you're an experienced poet or sharing your writing for the first time, every entry will be read with care by our judging panel.
