The poetry talent search goes into an extra dimension when your press runs a contest for new poetry pamphlets, chapbooks and collections. A new thing for us! Over the autumn, we took in submissions and spent the new year reading over them, making a 25-strong shortlist and struggling in the last stretch to select a final number to be published over the next two years, such was the quality.
Several things noticed - excellent cover e-mails, a large group of polished manuscripts with most submissions, a real attempt by most poets to aim for distinctive, powerful imagistic work and, overall, writing of much, if not huge, potential.
This challenge was taken on with an awareness that contest decisions are always subjective - also that rejections could cause disappointment so all submissions had individual feedback. We hope that all submitters realise that we do not make ourselves the arbiters of good poetry taste - the final choices were the ones that seemed the most inventive and the closest to becoming published - this is always a personal decision but one taken with readership in mind, critical reception and work that conveyed, in some way, our aesthetic.
Whittling down the last 25 was a particularly painful process and eight writers are ones chosen to be published, all being well, over the next 24 months.
We can't wait to work with:
James McConachie
Louise Machen
Regine Ebner
Briony Collins
Polly Oliver
Vikki C.
Helen Laycock
Saraswati Nagpal
It goes without saying that there are other writers in the 25 shortlisted that we would love to work with if time and capacity allow but, for now, plenty of work to do. All of the final 25 will be offered features on the website, something to really look forward to.