Writing is not so much a job as it is a relationship.  Regardless of what you write, it is all romance in the beginning: a hedonistic...

With a title that speaks to alternative and unconsidered perspectives, it is fitting that many of the poems in Russell Jones’ first...

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) it’s always ourselves we find in the sea -e.e cummings The Emma Press Anthology of the sea is a...

The great thing about Book Week Scotland is that is gives authors the confidence to host events all over the country, and audiences the...

Originally posted on Jacar Press’s new online poetry review journal Browse. Everyone has an opinion about what poetry is, and should be,...

Are writing competitions worth it?  Worth the effort, the expense, the restrictions, the inevitable nerves, the potential disappointment?...

A dozen people. At least. When Barbara Henderson asked me to put together a poetry session for the inaugural NessBookFest I thought of...

This is not a collection to be read: it is a collection to be lived in. Wander through at a leisurely pace, find the poems and stories...

NessBookFest.  Simply put, an entire literary festival lovingly put together at dizzying speed with wonderful finesse by Barbara...

Dreich was invented for days like this.  We had to concede to turning on the lights when we got out of bed on Saturday, 15th October. The...

It’s happened. It’s finally happened. The first book launch.  Not to me, to someone I know- and I couldn’t be happier. Why?  Because it...

“If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes- then learn how to do it...

After too many years living in damp, dark flats and other people’s houses, we managed to buy a house; a place free from inspections and...

Writers spend years developing their craft in the hope that, at some point, they will achieve something spectacular; the communication of...

The Plan: 1. Be well enough to attend. 2. Arrive 15-20 minutes early. 3. Help set up. 4. In true Bridget Jones’ fashion ‘circulate,...

Deadlines can be a powerful motivation.- whether they have been set by journals, magazines and competitions,  or have been self-imposed; ...

A bit of context to start.  I’ve been dealing with a very rough first pregnancy.  To begin with I just felt extraordinarily tired, then...

It’s tempting to see this as a ‘New Year New Me’ opportunity: to promise myself health, wealth and happiness, (based purely on my own...

Without a doubt, one of my favourite things about going to poetry readings is the chance to hear the stories behind the poet’s work. ...

Several poets read poems written directly in response to the Syrian crisis.  Images of armchair activists, scallop-shell beaches, and  a...