Inpress Books

Celebrate Burns Night with the Finest Scottish Poetry

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:15:46 +0100

Not a tim'rous beastie in sight here at Inpress Towers, but that doesn't mean we'll be missing out on the Burns Night celebrations. Here's our pick of the best contemporary poetry from north of the border.

As Though We Were Flying is the new Bloodaxe collection from Andrew Greig, following on from his highly-acclaimed This Life, This Life: New & Selected Poems. The poems here journey through coastal Fife, and take in Orkney and Edinburgh, the two very different places the poet calls home.

The Path to the Sea (Arc) is a beautiful pastoral testament to the last of our great wildernesses, as Thomas A. Clark presents poems of Romantic lyricism and minimalist experiment on the lonely terrain of the Highlands.

When Kafka Met Einstein (Iron Press) is the first full collection of poetry from James Knox Whittet, who hails from the isle of Islay. Whittet is best known for his wonderful anthologies Writers on Islands and 100 Island Poems of Great Britain and Ireland, which gather poems from the likes of Betjeman, Orwell, Woolf, Morgan, Yeats and R.S. Thomas.

Martin Rowson and Andy Croft: Limericks and Sonnets in Stockton

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:09:50 +0100

Event Date: 22/05/2012

The Teesside launch of two collaborations between cartoonist Martin Rowson and poet Andy Croft.

Martin Rowson reads from The Limerickiad (published by Smokestack Books). Combining bad jokes, dodgy rhymes and hilarious cartoons, The Limerickiad does for Literature what 1066 and All That did for History, by re-telling the world’s best-loved classics – from Gilgamesh to Shakespeare – in limericks.

Andy Croft reads from 1948 (illustrated by Martin Rowson) a comic novel set during the post-War London Olympics. Starring Russian spies, London gangsters and useless poets, 1948 is part Cold War film-noir and part Ealing comedy – in Pushkin sonnets.

Martin Rowson’s cartoons appear regularly in The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Daily Mirror and The Morning Star. His books include graphic adaptations of The Waste Land, Tristram Shandy and Gulliver's Travels. Among his other books are Snatches, The Dog Allusion, F*ck and Stuff. Andy Croft’s books of poetry include Nowhere Special, Just as Blue, Great North, Comrade Laughter, Ghost Writer, Sticky and Three Men on the Metro.

Tuesday 22nd May, The Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1LL, 7:45pm. Tickets £5/£4.

What the Dickens? A Mutual Friend launches in Reading

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:10:35 +0100

Event Date: 12/02/2012

An opportunity to enjoy a Dickensian Sunday lunchtime, in the library at the Great Expectations Hotel & Bar, where the great novelist himself once gave a reading.

To celebrate 200 years of Charles Dickens, come along to the launch of A Mutual Friend: Poems for Charles Dickens, edited by Peter Robinson. Readings from Jane Draycott, John Greening, Lesley Saunders, Susan Utting, A. F. Harrold, Derek Beavan, Adrian Blamires, and Kate Noakes.

Sunday 12th February, Great Expectations Hotel & Bar, 33 London Street, Reading, RG1 4PS. All welcome.

New Year, New Website - Coming Soon

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 14:14:04 +0100

2012 is well and truly with us, and we've already got an exciting selection of poetry, fiction and special interest books in the pipeline. Even better, in the coming months we'll be bringing these new titles to you on our brand new website.

Same great books, same free delivery on all UK orders, but with a new and improved experience for you, our valued customers.

Expect a completely overhauled rewards scheme, regular offers and special discounts throughout the year, plus bespoke recommendations you won't find anywhere else. Watch this space!

Shop Small this Christmas: Our Literary Picks

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:16:01 +0100

12 days of Christmas, 12 books to enjoy. Our Christmas Picks feature some of our favourite new books from 2011 - perfect if you're looking to wrap up a good read, without a recipe or ghost-writer in sight.

You'll find the Nobel Prize-winning poetry of Tomas Tranströmer; a hilarious history of English literature told through cartoons and limericks; even a photography collection capturing Wales' colossal efforts in this year's Rugby World Cup. There's also Simon Armitage's Book of the Year for 2011; a quirky collection of travel writing from across the UK; and the latest anthology in Bloodaxe's Staying Alive series.

And if you're after something specific for that perfect gift, simply head over to our Contact section, send us some ideas, likes and dislikes, and we'll put together a personalised list of recommended books, just for you.

Glass Characters Launch at the Lit & Phil Newcastle

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:10:13 +0100

Event Date: 23/11/2011

Red Squirrel Press invite you to the launch of Bob Beagrie’s new poetry collection, Glass Characters.

Bob Beagrie is a poet, educational playwright and senior lecturer in creative writing at Teesside University. Glass Characters is his eighth publication and his work has also appeared in various anthologies and journals and has been translated into Urdu, Dutch, Finnish, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Wednesday 23rd November, Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE, 7pm. Please tel 0191 232 0192 to book a ticket.

Counting Costa Success: More Award Plaudits for The Last Hundred Days

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:11:38 +0100

The Last Hundred Days by Patrick McGuinness, published by Seren, has been shortlisted for the 2011 Costa First Novel Award.

Praised by the judges as "Funny, insightful and compelling", the story of a young English tutor journeying to Bucharest in the dark days of crumbling Communism was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize earlier in the year.

The winner from the four-strong shortlist will be announced on 4th January 2012, with the overall Book of the Year named on 24th January.

Buy The Last Hundred Days. You can also read the first ten pages of the novel here.

MPT Launch at Lauderdale House in London

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 11:11:15 +0100

Event Date: 10/11/2011

The Autumn issue of Modern Poetry in Translation, The Dialect of the Tribe, celebrates the poetry of minority languages and explore the struggle for what John Clare called ‘self-identity’, a chief factor in which is bound to be language, one’s own peculiar tongue and the dialect of the tribe.

Readers will be MPT's Editors David and Helen Constantine, Philip Gross, Christopher Pilling, Saradha Soobrayen and Karen McCarthy Woolf.

Thursday 10th November, Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill, London, N6 5HG, 8pm to 10pm. Tickets £5 / £3. Telephone: 020 8348 8716.
For more information go to www.lauderdalehouse.co.uk.

A Lively Jaunt through Literary History: The Limerickiad

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 15:15:37 +0100

New to Inpress this month is this little beauty of cartoons and limericks by the renowned satirist and illustrator Martin Rowson.

Witty, outrageous and tongue-in-cheek, The Limerickiad throws a healthy dollop of hilarity at the classics we know and love, from Dante to Homer, Gilgamesh to Shakespeare. We reckon it'll make a cracking stocking-filler for any avid reader this Christmas. It's available in hardback now.

What's more, why not come along to the London launch of the book, featuring Martin Rowson himself and Radio 4's Laurie Taylor. It's at the London Review Bookshop on 22nd November. More details on our Events page.

Buy The Limerickiad.

The Limerickiad: Launching at the London Review Bookshop

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 15:15:30 +0100

Event Date: 22/11/2011

Witty, uproarious and tongue-in-cheek, over the past five years Martin Rowson’s limericks and cartoons have retold the story of world literature, appearing each week in the Independent on Sunday. Now collected together for the first time, The Limerickiad takes us from Gilgamesh to the Complete Works of Shakespeare, showcasing the author’s reverence for the original texts alongside a healthy dollop of hilarity and pure filth. Martin Rowson will be at the bookshop to present some of the cartoons, introduced by Laurie Taylor, presenter of Radio 4's Thinking Allowed.

Tuesday 22nd November, The London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JL (nearest Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Holborn), 7pm. Tickets £7. To book, visit the LRB website.

Esther Morgan Graces T.S. Eliot Prize Shortlist

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:12:19 +0100

Esther Morgan joins the likes of John Burnside, Carol Ann Duffy and Sean O'Brien on the shortlist for the 2011 T.S. Eliot Prize, with her new Bloodaxe collection, Grace.

The book just happens to grace the cover of our latest Inpress catalogue, so the judges clearly share our good taste!

The winner will be announced at the South Bank Centre in January - you can see the full shortlist here. Why not also check out our Facebook album of previous winners and nominees?

Buy Grace by Esther Morgan.

Jayne Joso at The Drop, Stoke Newington

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:11:50 +0100

Event Date: 27/11/2011

Jayne Joso will be returning to her first novel, Soothing Music for Stray Cats, reading from it for the very first time alongside a host of other writers at Storytails.

“Jayne Joso’s novel skillfully melds the esoteric and the everyday, the surreal and the banal, to create a strangely gripping narrative full of dark humour.” — Joe Moran

“An unexpected and moving story about the redemption of misfits and the consolation of strangers.” — Natalie Haynes

Sunday 27th November, The Drop, below The Three Crowns pub, Stoke Newington, London, N16 0LH, 3-5pm. Free.

Poetry Book Society Manchester Benefit

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:10:01 +0100

Event Date: 04/11/2011

Poets reading include Simon Armitage, Julian Turner, Sean O’Brien, Bill Herbert, Vona Groarke, John McAuliffe, Jake Polley, Paul Farley, David Morley, Jean Sprackland, Rommi Smith, David Wheatley, Michael Symmons Roberts, Helen Mort, Jeffrey Wainwright and Amanda Dalton.

The Manchester PBS benefit is a collaboration between the Poetry Book Society, The Writing School at MMU and the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester.

Friday 4th November, Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, The University of Manchester, Bridgeford Street, off Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, 6:30pm. Tickets £10 - on sale now. To book, please contact the Martin Harris Centre Box Office (Mon-Fri between 2-4pm) on 0161 275 8951 or visit www.quaytickets.com.

Martina Evans reading at the Sugar Lounge, London

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 09:09:46 +0100

Event Date: 12/10/2011

Martina Evans will be performing an excerpt from Petrol, her new verse novel, alongside actress and screenwriter Tracy Babin, novelists Rebecca Chance, Syd Moore, Helen Smith and Alison Wonderland.

Wednesday 12 October 2011, The Sugar Lounge, 145 Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3PZ, 7pm. Nearest tube: Finsbury Park. Admission free; no booking required. www.thesugarloungelondon.com

Tomas Tranströmer Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 12:12:10 +0100

The cheers at those famous Nobel doors were even louder than usual this morning, as Sweden's own Tomas Tranströmer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Having narrowly missed out to Mario Vargas Llosa last year, what a fitting day for one of Europe's foremost poets to claim the award: on National Poetry Day no less (6th October). His work was chosen “because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality”.

Here in the UK, Tranströmer's New Collected Poems are published by Bloodaxe Books. Translated by Robin Fulton, this is the most authoritative, comprehensive edition of his poetry published anywhere.

Buy Tomas Tranströmer's New Collected Poems.

Being Human at Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:15:29 +0100

Event Date: 24/09/2011

NCLA is delighted to welcome Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley, presenting Being Human alongside poet Vicki Feaver as the first event in their Autumn programme. They will discuss Bloodaxe's latest world poetry anthology, and will read poems that will touch your heart and make you think about the world surrounding you.

Saturday 24th September, Northern Stage, 2pm. Tickets: £4/£2. Tickets are available at Northern Stage. Box office 0191 230 5151. For more details, visit the Northern Stage website.

Kathleen Kenny and Joan Johnston at the Lit & Phil, Newcastle

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:15:59 +0100

Event Date: 06/10/2011

Kathleen Kenny's new poetry collection, Travelling Like Eggs, will be launching at Newcastle's Lit & Phil, along with Joan Johnston's new collection, The Daredevil: Scenes from a Bigamist Marriage.

Thursday 6th October, The Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE, 7pm. Tel: 0191 232 0192. £3 entry, wine included.

Celebrate Seren's 30th Anniversary in Bridgend

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:15:47 +0100

Event Date: 01/10/2011

Seren is 30 this year, and to mark the occasion, they're having an Open Day at their office in Bridgend. There will be readings by Robert Minhinnick, Mike Jenkins and Guest of Honour Dannie Abse, Open Mic slots, Meet the Editor, lots of lovely Seren books at bargain prices, birthday cake and lucky dip.

Feastival, Bridgend's Food Festival, is also in town that day, with stalls, produce, cookery demonstrations and more.

Saturday 1st October, Seren HQ, 57 Nolton Street, Bridgend, CF31 3AE, 11am-4pm. RSVP to seren@serenbooks.com if you are attending, or check out the Seren Facebook page for more information.

E- By Gum: Our First Ever Ebooks are Now On Sale

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:11:46 +0100

With the e-reading revolution well and truly upon us, we're delighted to launch the first ever Kindle editions of three of our beloved books.

For fiction lovers, we have the special 50th anniversary edition of The Day of the Sardine by Sid Chaplin (Flambard Press). The Radio 4 Book at Bedtime from 19-23 September, it's a classic of kitchen-sink grit and troublemaking in 1960s Newcastle, and "an overlooked but untarnished gem" (The Independent). Download it here.

And if short stories are more your thing, we have A Book of Blues by one of the UK's most important young writers, Courttia Newland, also published by Flambard. Download it here.

To bring a bit of poetry to your Kindle screen, we have Farewell to the Earth by Christopher James (Arc). This is a mercurial second collection from the twice-winner of the Ledbury Poetry Prize - the title poem won the National Poetry Competition, no less. Download it here.

Buy the Kindle editions of The Day of the Sardine, A Book of Blues, or Farewell to the Earth today.

Record Awards Year for The Poetry Business

Thu, 8 Sep 2011 09:09:58 +0100

Our friends at The Poetry Business are already having a 25th anniversary year to remember.

This year they have received more awards / shortlistings than at any other time in their history, and they continue to roll in with news that Ed Reiss' debut, Your Sort, has been shortlisted for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize.

Your Sort has already been highly commended in the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem for 'Ka'aba', and is available to buy here.

Literary Walk in Newcastle: The Day of the Sardine

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 10:10:31 +0100

Event Date: 25/09/2011

Ouseburn Literary Walk: The Day of the Sardine by Sid Chaplin

To mark his abridgement of this groundbreaking novel for Radio 4's A Book at Bedtime, Sid Chaplin's son, playwright and screenwriter Michael Chaplin, will lead a literary walk through the novel's settings - Sandyford, Shieldfield and the Ouseburn Valley.

Published 50 years ago and set during the era characterised by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's phrase, 'you've never had it so good', the novel tells the story of Arthur Haggerston, educational no-hoper and budding tearaway, as he leaves school, dabbles with the confusing business of sex and enters the world of work, struggling to find a moral compass as the old working-class culture of east Newcastle begins to crumble around him.

Universally praised by the critics and most recently published by Newcastle's Flambard Press and now available as an eBook, the novel is many things: sharp, funny, deeply humane and a brilliant representative of the city and its people on the cusp of profound industrial and social change. Michael Chaplin will talk about and read from the book on the walk and offer insights into the life of his father, who lived nearby and died 25 years ago, and the process of adapting the book.

The book is serialised on A Book at Bedtime from Monday-Friday, 19-23 September at 10:45pm and is read by Joe Caffrey.

Sunday 25th September, Dobson Gates, Old Jesmond Cemetery, Jesmond Road (south side), 2pm. To book places on the walk, email or phone Flambard Press on editor@flambardpress.co.uk or 0191 2333865.

'Poetry & Prosecco': Two Rivers Book Launches in Henley

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 09:09:45 +0100

Event Date: 29/09/2011

Two Rivers Press poets Jane Draycott, Lesley Saunders, Gill Learner, A.F. Harrold and Peter Robinson will be reading at 'Poetry & Prosecco' in Henley's Le Parisien. Tickets are £6 and include a glass of the aforementioned beverage.

At the same time, Two Rivers will also be launching their new editions of Christopher Smart's Cat Jeoffry and Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol - lovely christmas presents they'd make, too...!

Thursday 29th September, Le Parisien, Henley-on-Thames, 6:30pm.

All That Lives: 'CSI' Poetry with Valerie Laws in Newcastle

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:16:27 +0100

Event Date: 06/09/2011

Wine and entertainment at this free event to launch All That Lives, 'CSI'-style poetry by Valerie Laws.

This is Valerie Laws' tenth book and her third poetry collection, mixing sex, death and pathology. Her works have already been exhibited as audio-visual poetry installations in London and Newcastle.

"Laws' images are vivid and the language rattles and sparks... she chooses her subjects carefully, seeking the intense and the pregnant within them and offering the reader something of the 'real' experience they contain."
Poetry Review

Tuesday 6th September, Blackwell's, Newcastle Haymarket, 6pm. Free event with wine.

Jayne Joso in Chester

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 09:09:56 +0100

Event Date: 26/10/2011

Jayne Joso will be reading from her new novel Perfect Architect at Chester Literature Festival.

A love letter to architecture, Jayne Joso’s second novel is set in the dazzling and eccentric world of the star architect.

Wednesday 26th October, Wesley Centre, St John’s Street, Chester, CH1 1DA, 1pm. Tel: 0845 241 7868; tickets £3; click here for further details.

Not Tonight Neil in Bangor

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:16:10 +0100

Event Date: 29/09/2011

Join Ian Gregson for the launch of his new novel, Not Tonight Neil.

Not Tonight Neil is an innovative mix of psycho-thriller and period satire, set in 1969 on a Manchester council estate.

Thursday 29th September, Palas Bookshop, Bangor, 6:30pm. rsvp jan@cinnamonpress.com

Cardiff Book Launch: Migrations / Surfacing

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:16:03 +0100

Event Date: 28/09/2011

Join Cinnamon Press authors Anne Cluysenaar and Steve Griffiths for the Cardiff launch of their new collections, Migrations and Surfacing.

Wednesday 28th September, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 7pm. rsvp: jan@cinnamonpress.com

Joy Change: Judy Kendall in Liverpool

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:12:37 +0100

Event Date: 22/09/2011

Join Judy Kendall at the Liverpool Poetry Café, reading from Joy Change.

"Judy Kendall’s poems… demand that we make connections. … they invite both sensual associations and the enquiring mind. … what is left unsaid is rich with sharply-cut details…"
Philip Gross

Thursday 22nd September, Liverpool Poetry Café, Bluecoat, School Lane, L1 3BX, 8-10pm.

This Line is Not for Turning: Cambridge

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:12:32 +0100

Event Date: 22/09/2011

Join the authors of This Line is Not For Turning in Cambridge: with poets Nathan Thompson, Geraldine Clarkson, Jacqueline Haskell, Jean Long, Jane Monson and Jan Fortune.

Thursday 22nd September, Heffers’ Bookshop, Trinity Street, Cambridge. Free event with drinks. rsvp: jan@cinnamonpress.com

This Line is Not for Turning: London

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:12:24 +0100

Event Date: 21/09/2011

Join the authors of This Line is Not For Turning in London: with poets Robert Vas Dias, David Gilbert, Anthony Rudolf, Sheelagh Neuling, Ian Seed, Linda Black, Jacqueline Haskell, Eluned Rees, Rebecca Perry, Jean Long and Jeff Hilson.

This Line is Not for Turning, edited by Jane Monson, is a unique anthology of contemporary British prose poetry, published in October 2011 by Cinnamon Press.

"These prose poems are compelling in their elegance, their swift and subtle movements, their embodiment of serious play. In this 'borderline' form, life's accepted compartments are thrillingly broken down."
Moniza Alvi

Wednesday 21st September, Pages of Hackney Bookshop, 70 Lower Clapton Road, Hackney, London E5 0RN. Tel 020 8525 1452. Free event with drinks.

Three Cinnamon Poets at Lumen

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:12:21 +0100

Event Date: 20/09/2011

Join Chris Considine, Steve Griffiths & Christine Webb at Lumen in London. Poets from the floor also welcome.

Tuesday 20th September, 88 Tavistock Place, WC1H 9RT (Tube: Russell Square or Kings Cross), 7pm. Entrance £5/£4, wine.

The Last Hundred Days in running for Man Booker Prize 2011

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:15:47 +0100

The Last Hundred Days by Patrick McGuinness (Seren) has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2011.

Although widely known for his poetry, this is McGuinness's first foray into fiction, and he joins the likes of Sebastian Barry, Julian Barnes and Alan Hollinghurst as one of the lucky thirteen in the running. The Last Hundred Days is set in 1980s Bucharest, as the Romanian capital is brought to its knees by the collapsing Ceaucescu regime, and has already drawn plaudits from Time Out magazine, amongst others.

The Man Booker shortlist of six will be announced in early September, with the overall winner set to collect the £50,000 prize at a ceremony in London's Guildhall on 18th October.

Buy The Last Hundred Days.

Forward Poetry Prize 2011: Shortlist Announced

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:11:07 +0100

Our publishers are well represented on this year's shortlist for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Three out of six, not bad!

The shortlist includes Sound Archive, the debut offering from Welsh poet Nerys Williams, published by Seren. And what a beautiful cover it is, too!

Also in the running are Loudness by Judy Brown (Seren) and Confer by Ahren Warner (Bloodaxe), both due out in September.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on the eve of National Poetry Day, in October.

Spend Your Summer in the Caribbean with Peepal Tree Press

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:14:18 +0100

As yet more rain falls on Inpress HQ this July(!), we're pleased to bring you some rays of literary sunshine, courtesy of our latest new publisher: Peepal Tree Press.

Peepal Tree is where you'll find the very best in poetry, fiction, biography and historical studies from the Caribbean. Based in Leeds, the Peepal Tree list includes well-known names like Kwame Dawes, Courttia Newland, Lakshmi Persaud, David Dabydeen and Manzu Islam. The press specialises in Black British writing, too, including the recent poetry anthology Red: Contemporary Black British Poetry.

Peepal Tree also publish the Caribbean Modern Classics series, restoring essential novels from the likes of Austin C. Clarke, Wilson Harris and Andrew Salkey to their rightful place in the world canon.

Rebecca Goss in Northwich

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:16:43 +0100

Event Date: 19/07/2011

Rebecca Goss will be reading from The Anatomy of Structures at the Summer Wordfest with Vale Royal Writers and the Dead Good Poets Society.

Guests also include: Dinesh Allirajah, Martin Dawas, Joan Poulson and Colin Watts, plus open mic.

Tuesday 19th July, The Blue Cap, Sandiway, Northwich, Cheshire. £3 on the door. From 8pm.

Gladys Mary Coles at Maghull Arts Festival

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:16:28 +0100

Event Date: 13/07/2011

Gladys Mary Coles will be reading from her two Flambard Press poetry collections, Song of the Butcher Bird and The Echoing Green, and from her novel Clay at Maghull Arts Festival.

Wednesday 13th July, Meadows (Maghull) Library, Maghull, Sefton, Merseyside, 6 to 8pm.

Andrew Forster at the Ledbury Poetry Festival

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:16:07 +0100

Event Date: 10/07/2011

Summer is finally here, and festival season begins at Ledbury, where Flambard Press poet Andrew Forster will be reading from his collection Territory. Andrew will also be joined by Helen Mort.

Andrew Forster's previous collection, Fear of Thunder, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2008.

Sunday 10th July, Burgage Hall, Ledbury, 12:30 to 1:30 pm, £8. For more details about this event, visit www.poetry-festival.com

100 Reasons not to be Lonely in London: Speak to Strangers by Gemma Seltzer

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:15:45 +0100

“The best interactions are the unexpected ones.”

Why not try it for yourself. Pick one thing that you can do once each day that will make your life better. Then do it. For one hundred days.

As part of comedian Josie Long’s project One Hundred Days to Make Me a Better Person, Gemma Seltzer creates stories inspired by conversations with strangers living in London, about their everyday lives. In suggesting we do the opposite to what we have been taught from childhood not to, these one hundred, hundred-word short stories encourage a more positive vibe in the capital. Penned in the Margins have re-crafted what was originally a blog and published these snippets of London joy for us to share.

Buy Speak to Strangers by Gemma Seltzer.

Jayne Joso at Ace Stories, Brighton

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:10:30 +0100

Event Date: 17/07/2011

Novelist Jayne Joso will be appearing at Ace Stories in Brighton.

Jayne Joso is the author of two novels: Soothing Music for Stray Cats and Perfect Architect.

This event is now in its second season, and is supported by Arts Council England.

Sunday 17th July, Hotel Pelirocco, 10 Regency Square, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2FG, 6pm. Tickets £3 on the door. For more details, click here.

Ramsey Nasr in conversation and reading at London Review Bookshop

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 10:10:17 +0100

Event Date: 18/06/2011

Part of World Literature Weekend.

Prize-winning poet, essayist, dramatist and actor Ramsey Nasr was voted Poet Laureate of the Netherlands in 2009. A man of many passions, including classical music, drama, poetry and travel, as city poet of Antwerp in 2005 his appearances were attended like pop concerts. Banipal’s publication of Heavenly Life, a collection of his poems translated by David Colmer, brings his work for the first time to an English-speaking audience.

Saturday 18th June, London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, London WC1A 2JL, 7pm. Tickets £9. To book, click here.

Graham Pears at The Lit & Phil, Newcastle

Tue, 31 May 2011 16:16:59 +0100

Event Date: 16/06/2011

Red Squirrel Press invite you to the launch of A Time For Justice by Graham Pears, the sequel to The Myth of Justice.

DC Frances Whittle – better known as Jet – struggles to work within the limitations of the system, will he do what he needs to do to ensure a time for justice arrives?

Thursday 16th June, The Literary and Philosophical Society, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE, 7pm. Admission £3. Contact the Lit & Phil on 0191 232 0192 or email library@litandphil.org.uk to book tickets or for more info.

Kevin Cadwallender at The Lit & Phil, Newcastle

Tue, 31 May 2011 16:16:54 +0100

Event Date: 02/06/2011

Red Squirrel Press invite you to the launch of Kevin Cadwallender’s dynamic new poetry collection, Defragmenting Sappho.

"Kevin has taken the torn cloths of Sappho’s poems, grafted them together with his own crafted words and has created a seamless garment."
Eddie Gibbons

Thursday 2nd June, The Literary & Philosophical Society, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE, 7pm. Admission £3.

Dennis O'Driscoll & Julie O'Callaghan at The Wordsworth Trust

Thu, 26 May 2011 16:16:34 +0100

Event Date: 07/06/2011

Dennis O'Driscoll will be reading with Julie O'Callaghan at the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere, as part of their Summer Poetry Readings series.

More information about this event can be found here.

Tuesday 7th June, The Wordsworth Hotel, Grasmere, Cumbria, 6:45-8:30pm. Tickets £7.00/£8.00 (on the door).

The Scottish Poetry Book of the Year: The Breakfast Room by Stewart Conn

Wed, 18 May 2011 10:10:08 +0100

Stewart Conn has won the Poetry category of the Scottish Book of the Year for his Bloodaxe collection The Breakfast Room. Having scooped a cool £5,000 for the honour, the book will now be in the running for the £25,000 accolade of Scottish Book of the Year, joining books by Jackie Kay, Leila Aboulela and Sue Peebles on the shortlist.

Stewart Conn is one of Scotland's leading poets. Born in Glasgow in 1936, he grew up in Ayrshire, and has lived in Edinburgh for many years. He was Edinburgh's first Makar or Poet Laureate in 2002-05. His other books include Ghosts at Cockcrow (2005), also from Bloodaxe.

Buy The Breakfast Room by Stewart Conn.

Readings from Reading Poetry

Tue, 17 May 2011 15:15:03 +0100

Event Date: 20/05/2011

Two Rivers Press welcome one and all to readings from Reading Poetry: An Anthology.

Peter Robinson will be introducing the poets: Wendy Klein, Jean Watkins, Adrian Blamires, Claire Dyer, David Cooke and Paul Bavister.

Friday 20th May, Waterstone's Broad Street, Reading, 6:30-8pm. Free event with wine, followed by optional jaunt to Poets' Café at 21 South Street.

A Rose Loupt Oot: Celebrating the UCS Work-in at Clydebank College

Tue, 17 May 2011 11:11:01 +0100

Event Date: 25/05/2011

A Rose Loupt Oot: Poetry and Song Celebrating the UCS Work-in

This book, recently published by Smokestack Books, brings together a variety of poems, songs, cartoons, drawings, photographs, and witness statements by more than fifty contributors. This special launch event will take place at Clydebank College, on the site of the former John Brown’s.

Some of the book’s contents are old - from the time of the work-in forty years ago - and some are new. Some of the contents are by household names like Jackie Kay and the late Edwin Morgan, and some - notably the book’s witness statements - are by those extraordinary “ordinary people” whose vision and solidarity helped the work-in to historic victory.

Wednesday 25th May, the Cunard Suite, Clydebank College, College Square, Queens' Quay, Glasgow, G81 1BF, 6:30pm for 7pm.

Jayne Joso at Storytails

Wed, 11 May 2011 14:14:18 +0100

Event Date: 29/05/2011

Join Jayne Joso and a host of other writers, reading at Storytails.

A love letter to architecture, Jayne Joso’s second novel is set in the dazzling and eccentric world of the star architect.

Sunday 29th May, The Drop, below The Three Crowns pub, Stoke Newington, London N16 0LH, 3-5pm. Free.

Red Squirrel Press launches Almost Persuaded in Newcastle

Fri, 6 May 2011 11:11:29 +0100

Event Date: 12/05/2011

Red Squirrel Press invite you to the launch of Dick Curran’s novel, Almost Persuaded.

Dick Curran is a prize-winning playwright. Almost Persuaded is a comic rites of passage novel set at the end of the last Millennium. If follows Tony Palmer on his roller-coaster pilgrimage without purpose, through a jungle of sex, love, religion, technology, crime, family politics and country music.

Thursday 12th May, Studio, Theatre Royal, 100 Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6BR, 7:15 for 7:30pm. Free admission and refreshments. Box Office 08448 11 21 21.

Red Squirrel Press: Literary Lunch in Newcastle

Fri, 6 May 2011 11:11:24 +0100

Event Date: 11/05/2011

Red Squirrel Press in association with the Lit & Phil invite you to a Literary Lunch with poet and playwright Tom Kelly, hosted by John Grundy.

In aid of the Lit & Phil Appeal, Tom Kelly discusses his literary life, his poetry, his most recent play, Nothing Like the Wooden Horse, and Tom and Catherine, a musical on the lives of Tom and Catherine Cookson.

Wednesday 11th May, The Lit and Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE, 12:30pm. Tickets: £10, includes buffet lunch and wine. Contact the Lit and Phil on 0191 232 0192 or email library@litandphil.org.uk to book tickets or for more info.

Red Squirrel Press Launch in South Shields

Fri, 6 May 2011 11:11:12 +0100

Event Date: 10/05/2011

Red Squirrel Press and South Tyneside Libraries invite you to the launch of the anthology of the prizewinners of the Second Annual James Kirkup Memorial Poetry Competition.

All three judges, Red Squirrel Press poets Kathleen Kenny and Andrew McMillan and BBC Radio 3’s Ian McMillan, will be reading on the night.

Tuesday 10th May, Central Library, Prince George Square, South Shields, NE33 2PE, 7:30pm. Contact the Library on 0191 424 7860 to book tickets.

Reading Poetry: An Anthology at The Troubadour

Tue, 3 May 2011 12:12:50 +0100

Event Date: 30/05/2011

That’s ‘Reading’ as in the Berkshire county town—and centre of the Thames Valley’s poetic energies. Join Two Rivers Press in marking Reading’s distinctive contribution to contemporary poetry with editor Peter Robinson, together with some of the anthology’s contributors: Jane Draycott, Ian House, John Froy, Susan Utting, Gill Learner, A F Harrold and Lesley Saunders.

Monday 30th May, The Troubadour, 263-267 Old Brompton Road, London SW5, 7-10pm.