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The Poetry Business

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GreenBlast4 (talk | contribs) at 17:58, 12 January 2025 (→The North). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Poetry Business is an independent press, and a writer development agency, based in Sheffield. Since 1986, they have run workshops, mentorships, competitions and more. The poet duo, Peter and Ann Sansom, are the directors of the Poetry Business.[1]

About

The Poetry Business was established in 1986.[2] As a publisher and writer development agency, they've been understood to have a knack for discovering, developing and publishing outstanding new poets.[3] They publish The North magazine, which was 70 issues old in August 2024,[4] and several imprints, and their poets "have won or been shortlisted for almost every major poetry prize, including the Forward Prize on 11 occasions and 10 Poetry Book Society awards".[5] In 2016, four of their titles, Mark Pajak's Spitting Distance, Geraldine Clarkson's Dora Incites The Sea-Scribber to Lament, Tom Sastry's Complicity, and Zeina Hashem Beck's There Was And How Much There Was, were named The Poetry School's Books of the Year.[6] The press themselves have won the Michael Marks Award for Pamphlet Publishers in 2012 and 2017.[2]

The North

The North's name serves as "a clear nod to the firm's regional roots." Its first issue included work by such poets as Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Schmidt, and has since gone on to have great names, including Andrew McMillan as editors.

Activities

The Poetry Business have often participated in local and national events, such as festivals, and recently worked with the poet Sarah Wimbush and the National Coal Mining Museum for England, to produce an anthology of poetry to mark the 40th anniversary of the Miners' Strike.[7][8][9] The COAL Anthology, noted as "a moving and impactful tribute to the resilience and spirit of our mining communities", includes work from poets Simon Armitage, Liz Berry, Helen Mort, and newer voices.[10]

The press have often worked with Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage.[11] In 2016, a Guardian article mentioned the press among some "of the best poetry publishing" in the UK.[12]

Competitions

The Poetry Business run several annual literary competitions, including the International Book & Pamphlet Competition, and the New Poets Prize.

The New Poets Prize

The New Poets Prize, "an annual pamphlet prize that creates new publishing and mentoring opportunities for poets between the ages of 17 and 24."[11] One of the press's imprints, the New Poets List,[13] is dedicated to publishing the New Poets Prize winners, which include:

  • 2016: Phoebe Stuckes, for Gin & Tonic
  • 2016: Theophilus Kwek, for The First Five Storms
  • 2016: Jenny Danes, for Gaps
  • 2016/17: Lizzie Hawkins, for Osteology
  • 2016/17: Sarah Fletcher, for Typhoid August
  • 2016/17: Ian Burnette, for Wax
  • 2016/17: Stefan Kielbasiewicz, for Stealing Shadow
  • 2017/18: Warda Yassin, for Tea with Cardamom
  • 2017/18: Emma Jeremy, for Safety Behaviour
  • 2017/18: Joe Carrick-Varty, for Somewhere Far
  • 2017/18: Tristram Fane Saunders, for Woodsong
  • 2019: Abbie Neale, for Threadbare
  • 2019: Ben Ray, for The Kindness of the Eel
  • 2019: Jay Gao, for Katabasis
  • 2019: Callan Waldron-Hall, for Learning to be Very Soft
  • 2020: Lucy Holt, for Have a nice weekend I think you’re interesting
  • 2020: Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith, Ugly Bird
  • 2020: Georgie Woodhead, for Takeaway
  • 2020: Gboyega Odubanjo, for Aunty Uncle Poems
  • 2021: Charlotte Shevchenko Knight, for Ways of Healing
  • 2021: Karl Knights, for Kin
  • 2021: Hannah Hodgson, for Queen of Hearts
  • 2021: Safia Khan, for Too Much Mirch
  • 2022: Beth Davies, for The Pretence of Understanding
  • 2022: Tom Branfoot, for This Is Not an Epiphany
  • 2022: Chloe Elliott, for Encyclopaedia
  • 2022: Serena Alagappan, for Sensitive to Temperature
  • 2023: Caleb Leow, for The Hoarders
  • 2023: Freya Bantiff, for All Appears Ordinary
  • 2024: Jayant Kashyap, for Notes on Burials
  • 2024: Cia Mangat, for Lobe

References

  1. ^ "Our Team". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  2. ^ a b "History". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  3. ^ "The Poetry Business: Digital Residencies". The Writing Squad. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  4. ^ "The North Magazine". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  5. ^ "Press + Awards". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  6. ^ Onwuemezi, Natasha (2016-12-22). "Poetry School names its Books of the Year". The Bookseller. ISSN 0006-7539. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  7. ^ "Sheffield-Based Independent Press The Poetry Business To Publish anthology Of Mining-Related Poems, Prose And Photographs". Cumbria Times. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  8. ^ Robinson, Joshua (2024-11-06). "New Book of Poetry Launched at the National Coal Mining Museum". Kirklees Local TV. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  9. ^ Wilson-Barrett, Alexis (2024-11-04). "Powerful New Poetry Anthology Launches at National Coal Mining Museum". Yorkshire Press. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  10. ^ "Powerful new book of poetry launched at NCMME". National Coal Mining Museum. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  11. ^ a b "About". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  12. ^ Tobler, Stefan (2016-09-28). "A northern powerhouse really is coming – in publishing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  13. ^ "New Poets List". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
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