James Caruth was born in Belfast and lived there until 1982 before moving to Cape Town, South Africa. He now lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. His first collection, A Stones Throw, was published by Staple Press in 2007 and a long poem sequence, Dark Peak, was published in pamphlet form by Longbarrow Press in 2008.

Tithes, a sequence of poems based around the South Yorkshire village in which Caruth lives was published in the anthology The Footing by Longbarrow Press in 2012.

He has collaborated with the artist Paul Evans, on the Anthropocene project on the Seven Wonders of the Peak and with artist Joanne Berry on Companion Stones a commission by Arts in The Peak.

His poem ‘The Deposition’ won the Sheffield Poetry Prize in 2010.

James was an overall winner in the 2013-14 Book & Pamphlet Competition.