Blog
Welcome to our blog where you can catch up with the latest news and read guest posts by our writers.
July 26, 2018
An extract from Larkinland by Jonathan Tulloch
Jonathan Tulloch’s remarkable Larkinland is a novel which expertly and minutely captures the essence of Philip Larkin and his poetry. Tulloch deftly builds Larkin’s poems into a sustained landscape, fills it with Larkin’s characters and just for good…
July 24, 2018
Summer Sale: a whole week of half price books
The sun is shining, school’s out for the summer, and – what’s this? All our books are half price! Fiction, non-fiction and poetry – and this is just a tiny portion of it… Whether you’re looking for some poetry to dip into, or an immersive holiday r…
July 20, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘History’, Zoë Skoulding
Last night, in front of a packed audience, we were thrilled to witness Zoë Skoulding accepting a Cholmondeley Award for an outstanding body of poetic work. In celebration, our Friday Poem today is ‘History’, a poem from Zoë’s latest collection, The M…
July 13, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘Swan’, Ross Cogan
Our Friday Poem this week is ‘Swan’, from Ross Cogan’s new collection, Bragr. Whether it’s myth intended to explain the constellations, the secret of eternal life, or the bloodthirsty tale of the mead of poetry, Ross Cogan’s collection Bragr (meaning…
July 10, 2018
The Chicken Soup Murder Shortlisted for Rubery Book Award
We are thrilled to announce that Maria Donovan’s debut novel, The Chicken Soup Murder, has been shortlisted for the 2018 Rubery Book Award’s Fiction category. The Chicken Soup Murder is one of eight titles to reach the shortlist. Part crime fiction a…
July 4, 2018
Short Story of the Month | ‘Dolls’ Hospital’, Christopher Morley
Our new Short Story of the Month is ‘Dolls’ Hospital’ by Christopher Morley. A young boy’s persistent curiosity sets him on an adventure to the mysterious Doll’s Hospital, in which he learns that not only dolls need mending. Christopher Morley was bo…
June 29, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘Dear Anne Monroe, Healthcare Assistant’, Bryony Littlefair
July 2018 marks 70 years of the National Health Service Act and the NHS. In celebration, acclaimed poet Owen Sheers has produced a new ‘film-poem’ showing twenty-four hours in the NHS, ‘To Provide All People’ – now available to watch on BBC iPlayer….
June 29, 2018
RSL elects Barney Norris as one of 40 new fellows
Award-winning playwright and author Barney Norris has been named as one of the Royal Society of Literature’s new 40 Fellows under 40. Playwrights Bola Agbaje and James Graham join him on the diverse list, which is 73% female and 30% BAME. ‘We want th…
June 25, 2018
National Poetry Day commission for Katrina Naomi
In preparation for National Poetry Day, BBC Local Radio has commissioned new poems for #PoetryForAChange – twelve UK poets, including our very own Katrina Naomi (author of The Way the Crocodile Taught Me) will be writing under the theme of ‘change’:…
June 22, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘Teaching the Trumpet’, Kim Moore
In advance of Kim Moore’s appearance on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions this Sunday, our Friday Poem is ‘Teaching the Trumpet’, from Kim’s debut collection, The Art of Falling. The Art of Falling is Kim Moore’s first poetry collection and has already…
June 21, 2018
This Sunday: Kim Moore on BBC 3’s Private Passions
Tune in to Private Passions on BBC Radio 3 this Sunday at 12:00pm, when Seren poet Kim Moore will be in conversation with host Michael Berkeley. In this episode of Private Passions, Kim Moore explores her musical passion for brass, from Handel’s Mess…
June 15, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘The Pub at the End of the World’, Tamar Yoseloff
Our Friday Poem this week is ‘The Pub at the End of the World’ by Tamar Yoseloff from her recent New & Selected collection,A Formula for Night. A Formula for Night: New and Selected Poems encompasses selections from four published volumes: Sweeth…
