Hussain Manawer

Born and raised in London's East End, it’s here Hussain Manawer found his love for the poetic arts. At 15 he found fascination with rhythmic lyricism, escapism within metaphorical word-play and hope. This fierce passion has continued into adulthood with the young poet constantly searching for understanding of humankind, whether across borders or life within .

More than a decade later, his debut collection Life Is Sad And Beautiful entered The Sunday Times Charts upon release, sitting there for two consecutive weeks. The collection sold more than 10,000 copies within the first few months, making him the first British Pakistani Poet to hold such a position.

Life Is Sad And Beautiful has since been adapted in the UK’s Key Stage 3 and 4 National Curriculum.

His unique style of poetic storytelling blends a fusion of dynamic life experiences, pain, humor, heartbreak and music, finding him on a variety of stages including supporting Bon Iver at Wembley, Glastonbury, Global Citizen, One Young World and many more.

High profile collaborations include featuring alongside Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry in their latest docu-series The Me You Can’t See and special commissions include The Royal Family, BAFTA, Burberry, Google, The Royal College of Psychiatrists and others.

Having reached millions of people online with his raw emotive pieces expressing grief, loss and an attempt to build a life after loss, he used his reach to create an entirely new Guinness World Record for The World’s Largest Mental Health Lesson; alongside Professor Dame Til Wykes, King’s College London and the Hackney Empire in 2017.

In 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May went on to award him the Point of Light award, recognising his outstanding efforts in helping the country’s mental health crisis. He was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship of King’s College London in 2018.