News 2025
2025 News
DECEMBER 2025
Lots of news to close the year!
Firstly, my poem ‘Winter Fuel’, a commission written in my capacity as Poet-in-Residence to the Pre-Raphaelite Society, has been published in the PRS Review, where it has received the most beautiful treatment, in a publication that always has very high production values. I’m grateful to Editor, Zaynub Zaman, for such an inspiring commission; and to Graphic Designer, Charlotte Newman Casey, for her care and imagination in presenting my work.
Further information about the PRS can be found here:
https://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org/
Finished Creatures is one of my favourite contemporary poetry magazines, so I’m delighted that my poem ‘Buddleia in the blood’ in included in the latest issue, among many other poets I admire. Editor Jan Heritage has curated a fascinating collection of ‘trespass’-themed poems, in a stylish publication that is a pleasure to handle and read. Jan hosted successful launches (one online, one in-person) and it’s heartening to see how well-supported the magazine has been.
More information, including purchasing details, can be found here:
https://finishedcreatures.co.uk/
I was surprised, but absolutely delighted, to learn that, due to a recent resurgence in interest, my 2023 pamphlet (m)othersongs has received a fourth print run! With endorsements from Polly Atkin and Wendy Pratt – two poets I admire enormously – (m)othersongs was widely and favourably reviewed (including the PBS Bulletin) and is available directly from publishers V. Press via this link:
https://vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/mothersongs.html
NOVEMBER 2025
It’s always great to have publications to look forward to, so I was very pleased to learn that my poem ‘The Bacchanal of the Andrians’ – which uses only those letters from the painting of the title – will appear at ever-elegant webspace After... Poetry on 1st May 2026, timed to coincide with the full moon. Many thanks to Mark Anthony Owen for his thoughtful curation of these ekphrastic poems.
More information about After... Poetry can be found here:
OCTOBER
Sarah James, in her incarnation as V. Press, was a wonderful publisher to my pamphlets, Something so wild and new in this feeling (2021) and (m)othersongs (2023). I’ve long admired Sarah as both a poet and a person, so I was privileged to have an early read of her latest poetry collection, Darling Blue, and to provide an endorsement. Published by Indigo Dreams Press, I recommend the book heartily, and I wish Sarah every success with it.
https://www.sarah-james.co.uk/?page_id=17191
SEPTEMBER
It’s always a privilege to receive an early glimpse at another poet’s work, and I was very glad to write an endorsement for Sue Burge’s latest poetry collection, watch it slowly fade, which has just been published by Yaffle Press. I will be among the guest readers at Sue’s Zoom launch on Sunday 14th September, at 7pm. All are welcome, and registration is free via emailing Sue at the address on the flyer, where people can also enquire about purchasing the book.
AUGUST 2025
Earlier this year I had the beautiful honour of winning 1st prize in the inaugural Kathryn Bevis Memorial Poetry Prize. My poem, ‘On finding a cow’s jawbone in my city garden’, has now been published in The Alchemy Spoon, and I’m delighted to be reading at the magazine’s Zoom launch on Friday 29th of August, at 7.30pm. The evening will also feature my fellow prize-winners, alongside poets published in the magazine, and is guaranteed to be a corker. All welcome, and registration is free via this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-launch-of-issue-16-of-the-alchemy-spoon-tickets-1593877914749
Copies of The Alchemy Spoon can be purchased here:
https://www.clayhangerpress.co.uk/store/p62/The_Alchemy_Spoon_Issue_16.html#/
I love receiving the latest issue of the PRS Review, which is invariably bursting with fascinating content and beautiful production values. My latest poem written as the Pre-Raphaelite Society’s Poet-in-Residence has been given sumptuous treatment by editor Dr Zaynub Zaman and layout artist Chuck Newsey. The poem, ‘Dismantling De Morgan’, responds to my visiting the wonderful Evelyn De Morgan exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery earlier this year, and I’m grateful to curator Leonie O’Dwyer for allowing me to include her inspiring quotation. I’m obscuring the poem here to avoid spoilers!
For more information about the PRS, please visit:
https://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org/
MAY
I am delighted to share two pieces of competition news this month...
Firstly, my poem ‘On finding a cow’s jawbone in my city garden’ has received the beautiful honour of winning 1st prize in the inaugural Kathryn Bevis Memorial Prize, selected from a shortlist of incredible fellow poets. Many thanks to the judges for this privilege, and warm congratulations to everyone concerned. Kathryn Bevis was a brilliant, inspiring and generous poet, so this prize feels particularly meaningful. A great loss to the poetry community, people can read more about Kathryn here:
https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/blogs/news/in-memory-of-kathryn-bevis
Additionally this month, my poem ‘Observance’ was shortlisted in the Dark Poets Club Poetry Prize, from over 2,000 submissions. Formerly published by Black Bough Poetry, the poem has been stylishly reproduced at the link below. I’m grateful to the competition judges for this lovely boost, and I send my congratulations to all concerned.
https://www.darkpoets.club/post/observance
Saturday 31st of May
A reading klaxon... I am really looking forward to being a guest-reader for Louise Longson’s forthcoming ‘Last Saturday’ Zoom event, taking place on Saturday 31st of May at 7pm. This particular reading celebrates National Creativity Day, and features the sparkling talents of Julie Stevens, Mark Antony Owen, Sarah Reeson, Beth Brooke, Maggie Mackay, Nina Parmenter, Martin Kennedy Yates and Corinna Board. Registration is free, via the link below, and all are welcome.
Sunday 18th of May
After a sellout in February, I’m very pleased to be repeating my ekphrastic poetry workshop, ‘Beyond the Frame’. Once again, this workshop is being delivered through The Writing Well, a brilliant writers’ resource founded and run by Kate Oldfield. More information can be found here, and please do investigate the rest of the website too, as it’s a treasure trove of resources and support:
https://the-writing-well.com/bookings/p/ekphrasticpoetry-2
I am participating in not one, but two Zoom readings on Sunday 11th of May! Firstly, I will be reading my poem ‘The groundbreaking women of Kew’ at the online launch of the new, ‘Soil’ themed, edition of The Alchemy Spoon – alongside some other wonderful poets published in this issue. Secondly, I will be giving a longer reading as a guest at the online launch of a new anthology of nature-writing, The Language of the Land. Supported by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, this beautifully-produced book is co-edited by my good friend Sue Burge, and I’m very happy to contribute to its launch celebrations.
Both events start at 7pm, so I will be reading early on for The Alchemy Spoon, and joining the launch of The Language of the Land a little later on. Both events are free to attend. The information to register for the launch of The Alchemy Spoon can be found at the link below, while anyone wishing to support the launch for The Language of the Land will find booking details in the graphic.
APRIL
I’m very pleased to share news of two publications this month. Firstly, my poem ‘Sycamore’s Prayer’ has been published by Atrium Poetry. Inspired partly by the felling of the much-loved tree at Sycamore Gap, and partly by my admiration for the sycamore that grows just beyond my own garden, I wanted to explore the vulnerability of trees, and their resilience too. I’m grateful to editors Claire Walker and Holly Magill for giving my poem such a lovely platform. ‘Sycamore’s Prayer’ can be read at the following link, and I encourage readers to explore more of the work at this excellent poetry website as well:
https://atriumpoetry.com/2025/04/11/sycamores-prayer-sarah-doyle/
Secondly this month, and also responding to aspects of the ‘grown world’, my poem ‘The groundbreaking women of Kew’ has been published in the ‘Soil’-themed latest edition of The Alchemy Spoon poetry magazine. My poem celebrates the first female gardeners employed at Kew Gardens in the late 19th Century; a fascinating subject for poetry. Always well-produced, and including colour images in addition to intelligent poetry, the magazine contains work from lots of other great poets, and can be purchased via this link:
https://www.clayhangerpress.co.uk/store/p61/The_Alchemy_Spoon_Issue_15.html#/
MARCH
Due to popular demand, I am rerunning my five-week email poetry course again this month. If there is sufficient take-up, I may well run it again later in 2025 as well, so please feel free to get in touch (via my Contact page) if that’s of interest. In the meantime, it’s been a source of joy and great pride to see poets publishing work inspired by or begun in various workshops of mine (from one-offs to my five-week course). Here are some examples:
‘A dunnock’s prayer’ by Corinna Board:
https://carmenerror.com/?page_id=422
‘A Jar of Starfish’ by Claire Walker:
https://inksweatandtears.co.uk/claire-walker-2/
‘Red Hills with Flowers’ by Corinna Board
https://www.afterpoetry.com/poem/feb-28-2025-corinna-board
‘prayer of the suckling pig’ by Cindy Botha:
https://inksweatandtears.co.uk/on-the-second-day-of-christmas-we-bring-you/
FEBRUARY
Sunday 9th of February
I am excited to be rerunning my ekphrastic poetry workshop, ‘Beyond the Frame’ – this time for The Writing Well, an inspiring writers’ resource founded and run by Kate Oldfield. More information can be found here:
https://the-writing-well.com/workshops
One of the highlights of my poetry year is co-judging the Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Prize with PRS Chair (and my great friend) Serena Trowbridge. Once again, we read lots of wonderful poems and had rewardingly difficult decisions to make. Ultimately, though, we are delighted with our final five winners, listed here. Enormous congratulations to all!
https://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org/copy-of-competitions
JANUARY 2025
Published towards the end of 2024, I have enjoyed reading the latest edition of Under the Radar magazine, which includes my poem, ‘And the wind rose’. Co-edited by Jane Commane and Caleb Parkin, this issue features work exploring the theme of ‘Sound’. A wind rose is a graphic representation of typical wind conditions recorded over time at a specific location, and my poem is part of a larger meteorological collection that I’m working on. ‘And the wind rose’ uses the sounds made by winds as a metaphor for our own utterances and expression:
And the wind rose
I pucker my lips to form their names, divide
myself into quadrants, divide again: four, eight,
sixteen. I am air gathered, a bloom of breath
blustering my lungs to bellows, summoning
cardinals in the spinning language of weather.
[…]
If you’d like to read the rest of my poem – and lots of other brilliant work besides – then Under the Radar can be purchased at this link:
https://ninearchespress.com/magazine
Completing a seasonal quartet, it was a great pleasure to record some gorgeous wintery Pre-Raphaelite poetry for the Pre-Raphaelite Society’s podcast. Whether you’re wallowing in DG Rossetti’s winter-bitten wold, or swooning among Swinburne's sonorous fruitless furrows, please do have a listen here:
https://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org/podcast/episode/918614a8/poetry-readings-for-winter