Masthead

Black Iris was founded by Sarah Gibbons and Lauren Thomas after they found a shared love for poetry, summer parties and inventing cocktails.

Sarah Gibbons : Co-Editor

Sarah Gibbons is a poet and fiction writer based in London. Her poetry and fiction has been widely published, as well as placed in national and international competitions. She’s been long-listed for the National Poetry Competition, and her book I Go to the Devil won the 2024 Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize at the Wigtown Book Festival.

Lauren Thomas: Co-Editor

Lauren Thomas is a poet based in Hertfordshire. She has been published in various print and online publications, including Magma, The New Welsh Review , The London Magazine, Poetry Wales and Lighthouse. She was the winner of the Live Canon International Poetry Competition 2025