Thank you for visiting our website. The Poetry Business publishes contemporary poetry books and pamphlets under the Smith/Doorstop imprint and also publishes the literary magazine, The North.
TWO SMITH/DOORSTOP POETS UP FOR FORWARD PRIZES
Smith/Doorstop and The Poetry Business congratulate Catherine Smith and Allison McVety on having their poetry collections shortlisted for the prestigious Forward Prize on 31 July 2008.
This marks a further success for us following our Forward shortlisting in previous years and other nominations such as Michael Laskey's Tightrope Wedding for the T. S. Eliot Prize.
Catherine Smith has been shortlisted for The Forward Best Collection Prize, worth £10,000, for Lip. She was on holiday when she heard.
“I was in the Outer Hebrides and got a text from a friend, and had no idea what she was talking about so had to ring her to confirm she hadn't gone mad. I couldn't get a paper till the next day so it was all very surreal.” Asked about her own poetry she says, “I'd say it tries to find the dark heart of the
human experience but I hope it's also darkly funny. Does that sound
ridiculous?!”
Her Smith/Doorstop book, The Butcher's Hands, was also shortlisted for a Forward Prize (Best First Collection) in 2003.
Lip is available to buy from this website here, and The Butcher's Hands here.
Allison McVety has been shortlisted for The Forward First Collection Prize, worth £5,000, for The Night Trotsky Came to Stay. She was on a break when she heard the news.
“I read about being shortlisted and spilt my coffee over a white dress. When I went back to the office it was like soaring at 60,000 feet. No-one could grasp how someone could work in a computer environment and write poetry. I am completely blown away and completely overjoyed. I am just taking pleasure in being nominated.”
Asked about her poetry she says, “It is primarily about identity and inheritance, not bricks and mortar, but blood and DNA. In my poetry I try to translate and re-translate to find some truth and re-tell the ordinary.”
The Night Trotsky Came to Stay can be ordered through this website here.
WRITING DAYS
Writing exercises in the morning followed by critical workshop in the afternoon.
Writings Days cost £25 (£15 unwaged)
Our next days are 30th August, 27th September and 25th October. They run from 10:15 am to 4:00pm, and take place at our new offices in Sheffield (map).
Not essential, but it would help if you let us know should you plan to attend.
BOOK & PAMPHLET COMPETITION
Get full details of the Book and Pamphlet Competition, now in its twenty-third year!
SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
See here for details of our new sponsorship and advertising opportunities.
NEW ADDRESS
The Poetry Business
Bank Street Arts
32-40 Bank Street
SHEFFIELD S1 2DS
UK
Tel: 0114 346 3037
You can still contact us by email.
The Poetry Business is funded by Arts Council England.
