Stephen Lightbown

Stephen Lightbown is a Blackburn-born, Bristol-based poet and disability rights champion. Paralysed following an accident in 1996 when he was sixteen, Stephen uses his poems to give a voice to his disability. He has spoken at events across the UK and at festivals such as Shambala, WOMAD, Verve Poetry Festival and Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival. In addition, Stephen has read internationally in San Antonio, Texas. His poems have been widely anthologised, and The Last Custodian is his second poetry collection.

Stephen writes extensively, but not exclusively, about life as a wheelchair user. He is the author of two poetry collections for adults: Only Air (2019) and The Last Custodian (2021), both from Burning Eye Books. 2023 saw publication of his first poetry book for children And I Climbed And I Climbed through Troika Books, illustrated by Shih-Yu Lin; it was shortlisted for CLiPPA 2024.

His website is https://www.stephenlightbown.com/ and he posts on X Instagram and Facebook.