I’m delighted to share news that I had 2 poems shortlisted in the MIST & MOUNTAIN INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE 2024-25, with After the Storm highly commended. It’s always wonderful when poems strike a chord with readers, so my thanks to the judges and all involved in making this competition happen. A poetry film version of After the Storm can also be enjoyed below.

I’m also very pleased to have been highly commended in the Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship Annual Poetry Competition.

Another poem, More than Castles in the Air, was shortlisted (top 10) and highly commended in Ludlow Town Walls Trust Poetry Competition.

Big thanks to the organisers and judges for both these competitions. Also, to all involved in making the celebration of Ludlow in words event such a great evening, by interweaving poets reading their poems into an interesting talk and visual/photographic presentation by Colin Richards about the town and its history.

It was lovely to hear I had 2 poems shortlisted too in Artemesia Arts Poetry Competition 2025 — big thanks to Artemesia and judge Jo Bell. An anthology is due out soon — so watch this space for more details to come!

I’ve also had a poem shortlisted for the poetry category of the Cheshire Prize for Literature 2024/25 — my thanks to the organisers, judge and all those involved in putting together the prize anthology to be launched later this year.

I was also pleased to be longlisted (top 20 out of 459 entries) in The Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) 2025 judged by George Szirtes. Again, much gratitude to all involved with this.

For those who enjoy listening to poetry as well as reading it, iamb is a wonderful and beautiful curation of audio poetry. I’m very pleased to be in wave 22 of this project! My poems An Atlas of Tears, My son’s room and The River Girl (which will be in my forthcoming Indigo Dreams collection Darling Blue) can be read and listened to here. Big thanks to Mark Antony Owen, Creator & Curator, for including me in the project.

I’m also very pleased to have my poem rum and raisin published in The Fig Tree Anthology 2024. Big thanks to The Fig Tree editor Tim Fellows for all the work he’s put into this beautiful book and the anthology launches.

I’m delighted too that These Bodies, which was highly commended in the Rosemary McLeish Poetry Prize 2024, has been published in Confluence, issue 17.

I’ve been so busy with V. Press, that my novel has taken most of my free writing time when I’ve had any. But I’m very pleased also to have a new poem, Wild-swimming, published in Underbelly, issue 4.

A video/film version is also now on Poetry Archive, and can be watched below.
 

 

REVIEW NEWS

When life is busy, it can get hard to prioritise reading. I was delighted therefore to get the chance to do so, reviewing Pam Thompson’s fabulous pamphlet Sub/urban Legends (Paper Swans Press, 2025) for London Grip. Click here to find out more about why I found it such a striking and enjoyable read.

EVENT NEWS

I’m delighted to be the guest poet for Poetry Whitchurch’s online (zoom) September event on Monday, 15 September 2025 from 8-9pm.

I will be reading from my collection Blood Sugar, Sex, Magic (Verve Poetry Press, 2022), which won the CP Aware Award Prize for Poetry 2021 and was highly commended in the Forward Prizes. These poems draw on 40 years of living with type one diabetes, a life-threatening autoimmune condition that is treatable, if still incurable. The book also explores other everyday instances of love, nature and beauty, taking in motherhood, aging and establishing self-identity in a constantly updating world.

I will also be giving a foretaste of my collection Darling Blue, which won the Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize 2024 and is forthcoming with Indigo Dreams. This collection combines ekphrastic poems inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites with a modern fictional personal narrative (love/lust story) designed to reflect some artists’ lifestyles, as well as drawing on links between artistic and romantic passion.

The evening is free and includes an open mic. More details here.