York’s Say Owt Slam has made the shortlist for best regular spoken word night in the Saboteur indie literature awards, with voting for the awards open from 4-27 May. Also on the spoken word night shortlist are London’s ever-popular Bang Said The Gun, Salford’s Evidently, Manchester’s Bad Language, and Project U from Norwich. The shortlist for best spoken word performer includes two contenders from York: Oz Hardwick, professor of English at Leeds Trinity University, and Stu Freestone, co-founder and organiser of the Say Owt Slam join Chimene Suleyman, Sophia Walker and Hollie McNish in the top five. Jackie Hagan’s show Some People Have Too Many Legs is on the shortlist for best spoken word show, along with Sophia Walker, Hannah Silva, Ross Sutherland, and Colin Davies;  while Jo Bell’s 52 Project is included in the shortlist for best one-off event. The shortlist for most innovative publisher is:  Penned in the Margins; The Emma Press; Burning Eye Books; Influx; and Test Centre.  

The Saboteur awards ceremony, organised by Sabotage Reviews, will take place on Sunday, 31 May, at Vout-O-Reenees, Prescott Street, London E1 8BB, with a book fair, performances and panel discussions from 2-6pm (free entry), and awards from 6.30-10pm (£5/£4 concessions). Tickets can be purchased here. The awards are supported this year using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.