The Poetry Business publishes contemporary poetry books and pamphlets under the Smith/Doorstop imprint and also publishes the literary magazine, The North.

We are now based in Sheffield city centre. Find our offices in Bank Street Arts, 32-40 Bank Street, Sheffield S1 2DS using this map.

NEW TITLES

Michael Laskey, The Man Alone, New & Selected Poems, October 08, available now:  £9.95, post-free

River Wolton, The Purpose of Your Visit, October 08, pamphlet, available now: £4, post-free

BOOK & PAMPHLET COMPETITION

The deadline for this year's Book and Pamphlet Competition has now passed.

WRITING DAYS

Writing exercises in the morning followed by critical workshop in the afternoon. 

Writings Days cost £25 (£15 unwaged)

Our next days are 13th December and 31st January.  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.

SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES

See here for details of our 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.

TWO SMITH/DOORSTOP POETS SHORTLISTED FOR FORWARD PRIZE

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.”

BOOK & PAMPHLET COMPETITION 2008 IS NOW LAUNCHED.

Judge: Michael Longley
The North issue 41 Now available. Click on the image on the right.

2007 Competition
Winners: Julia Deakin, The half-mile-high club; Yvonne Green, Boukhara; Padraig O'Morain, You've been great; Ann Pilling, Growing Pains. Now available.
Click here for more details.

2006 Competition
The winning book, The Night Trotsky Came to Stay, is now available, and can be orderd from us, or online.
The winning pamphlets are also still available: Andrea Holland, Borrowed, Judith Lal, The Flageolets at the Bazaar. Patrick McGuinness, 19th Century Blues

Ilkley Literature Festival Competition

Annual short story and poetry competition run in conjunction with Ilkley Literature Festival. Visit the site to read some of last year's winning entries and find out about this year's prizes and judges. Closing date 1st September.