Apples & Snakes
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
Apples & Snakes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Apples & Snakes
- Legal name
- Apples and Snakes
- Website
- https://applesandsnakes.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Apples & Snakes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performance Poetry & Arts Education
- akta.pro primary industry
- Spoken-Word Poetry Slams (MPAGACAF)
Keywords
Where Apples & Snakes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Apples & Snakes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Workshop and Performance Fees: Revenue generated through the Book a Poet service, charging schools and organizations for poet performances and workshops. Half-day bookings from £275 + VAT, full-day from £375 + VAT.
- Masterclass Sales: Sale of online masterclasses through the Marketplace, priced at £3 per class, featuring established performance poets.
- Grant Funding: The organization receives funding from Arts Council England and John Lyon's Charity to support festival programming and educational initiatives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | SPIN Live Performance |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Half-Day Poet Booking |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Full-Day Poet Booking |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Online Masterclass |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Apples & Snakes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Apples & Snakes is a UK charity that produces and delivers performance poetry programming, including live events, festivals, school and library workshops, artist development programs, and an online marketplace selling spoken word masterclasses. It is England's designated home for performance poetry, with a roster of established poets and a programmatic emphasis on Black British and Global Majority artists.
Product overview
Apples and Snakes is a UK-based arts organization (Charity Number: 294030) serving as the home for Performance Poetry in England. The organization operates as a unified platform offering multiple interconnected programmes rather than a single product. Its core offerings include: the Marketplace for purchasing online masterclasses from professional poets; Book a Poet for booking live performances and workshops; and SPIN for live performance poetry shows. Educational programmes include Wordcraft (primary school residencies), Schools Poetry Festivals, Wordcup (national youth slam), Telling Tales (library workshops), SPINE Festival (annual pan-London children's arts festival), Library Takeover, and CPD for teachers. Development programmes support emerging and established poets through Young Producers Programme, Words A Stage, Poets in Your City, and Future Voices. The organization also produces Apples and Snakes the Podcast. All programmes foreground Black British and Global Majority artists and aim to develop and champion performance poets through empowering creative experiences.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SPINE Festival: Annual pan-London spoken word and arts festival for children and families delivered in libraries and schools.
- WordCup
- SPIN
- Wordcraft
- Telling Tales
Products and services
- Book a Poet
Quantifiable outcome
- SPINE Festival delivers over 160 events across 17 London boroughs (2020 data)
Companies that use Apples & Snakes
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Apples & Snakes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Apples & Snakes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Brent LibrarycorePrimary library partner for SPINE Festival, working with Apples and Snakes to deliver annual pan-London spoken word and arts festival for children and families.
- Otter Barry BookscorePublishing partner for SPIN! 10 Exciting New Voices in Poetry anthology edited by Joseph Coelho, featuring fifty poems from ten debut poets.
- Half Moon TheatreminorCo-commissioned theatre show 'The CAT-Astrophic Adventures of Dollop and Crinkle' with poets Henry Madd and Kirk-Ann Roberts for SPINE Festival programming.
- Keats-Shelley Memorial AssociationminorPartner in Content Cottage digital literature project on Romantic Poetry alongside First Story.
- First StoryminorPartner in Content Cottage digital literature project on Romantic Poetry alongside Keats-Shelley Memorial Association.
- ArvoncoreAnnual partner for Words A Stage poetic performance development programme for poets aged 21-30.
- Sky ArtsminorApples and Snakes Artistic Director Lisa Mead sat on the judging panel for the poetry category at the inaugural Sky Arts Awards.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Apples & Snakes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Arvon: National creative-writing charity that runs residential courses and the Words A Stage partnership with Apples and Snakes, sharing a focus on developing writers' performance practice.
- First Story: Charity placing writer-in-residence programmes in low-income schools; co-partner on the Content Cottage digital literature project and competes for similar school-literacy and creative-writing funding.
- Spread the Word: London-based writer development organisation supporting diverse literary voices through residencies and programmes, directly comparable in audience development and underserved-community focus.
- Poetry Society: The UK's national poetry charity, running the National Poetry Competition, workshops, and educational programmes that overlap directly with Apples and Snakes' performance-poetry mission and school outreach.
Emerging players
- Magma Poetry: UK poetry magazine that runs readings, workshops, and competitions, intersecting with Apples and Snakes' spoken-word programming in audience development and emerging-poet platforms.
- Ledbury Poetry Festival: One of the UK's major poetry festivals, hosting readings, workshops, and education programmes; overlaps with Apples and Snakes' live-event programming but is event-led rather than charity-led.
Broad incumbents
- National Poetry Library: Housed at Southbank Centre (where WordCup 2026 is staged), it is the UK's most comprehensive poetry library with a wider archival and events remit than Apples and Snakes' performance focus.
Regional players
- Literature Wales: National literature agency for Wales delivering writers-in-schools and performance events; structurally and operationally similar to Apples and Snakes but operating within Welsh language and regional contexts.
- Literature Works: South West England's literature development agency running author events, workshops, and educational programmes; comparable in mission to widen access to creative writing and performance.
- Scottish Book Trust: Scotland's national literature development agency running writer residencies and poetry programmes in schools, comparable to Apples and Snakes but with a Scottish geographic remit.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Apples & Snakes social profiles
Digital presenceApples & Snakes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Apples & Snakes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Apples & Snakes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Apples & Snakes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Apples & Snakes
What does Apples & Snakes do?
Apples & Snakes is a UK charity that produces and delivers performance poetry programming, including live events, festivals, school and library workshops, artist development programs, and an online marketplace selling spoken word masterclasses. It is England's designated home for performance poetry, with a roster of established poets and a programmatic emphasis on Black British and Global Majority artists.
Is Apples & Snakes a public or private company?
Apples & Snakes is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Apples & Snakes founded?
Apples & Snakes was founded in 1982. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Apples & Snakes based?
Apples & Snakes is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Apples & Snakes make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Workshop and Performance Fees are the primary driver. The others are masterclass Sales and grant Funding.
Who are Apples & Snakes's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Arvon, First Story, Spread the Word and Poetry Society. Emerging players are Magma Poetry and Ledbury Poetry Festival. National Poetry Library is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Literature Wales, Literature Works and Scottish Book Trust.
Does Apples & Snakes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Apples & Snakes.
What industry is Apples & Snakes in?
Apples & Snakes's product category is Performance Poetry & Arts Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGACAF, Spoken-Word Poetry Slams.