Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

The Poetry Business

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 were established in 1986,[2] and is now "headquartered just a stone's throw from Sheffield's historic cathedral."[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]

Alongside Peter and Ann Sansom, Ellen McLeod serves as the third co-director and business manager for The Poetry Business.[3] The press are one of the few in the North or England, alongside And Other Stories in Sheffield, Peepal Tree in Leeds, Valley Press in Scarborough, Comma Press in Manchester and Dead Ink in Liverpool.[7][8][9]

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,[3] and has since gone on to have great names, including Andrew McMillan and others, as editors.[10]

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.[11][12][13] 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.[14]

Since 2021, they've gone on to work with The Writing Squad on a series of digital residencies. The first Poet In Residence, hosted throughout February, was Helen Bowell.[15] The press have often worked with the former and the current poet laureates Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage,[16] who were both first published by them,[17] with Armitage's pamphlet Human Geography also being the press's first.[3] In 2016, a Guardian article mentioned the press among some "of the best poetry publishing" in the UK.[8]

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."[16] One of the press's imprints, the New Poets List,[18] 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


The Poetry Business's digital residencies, or the 'Poet in Residence' programme, has included New Poets Prize winners Jenny Danes, Hannah Hodgson, Chloe Elliott, and more.[15]

The International Book & Pamphlet Competition

Established in 1986, the International Book & Pamphlet Competition is an older competition, and hailed as "the first of its kind in Britain."[19] It's notable winners have been Peter Daniels and Moniza Alvi in 1991, published together as Peacock Luggage in 1992,[20] Dean Browne in 2021 for Kitchens at Night,[19] Hilary Menos in 2019 for Human Tissue,[21] Michael Laskey in 1988 for Cloves of Garlic, and Daljit Nagra in 2003 for Oh My Rub![22] Judged by the poet Kim Moore in 2025, the competition is in its 39th year.[23]

History

An almost four-decade old firm, they're now "one of the most respected in publishing."[3] For over 20 years, Peter Sansom and Janet Fisher served as The Poetry Business's co-directors. After Fisher's retirement, Ann Sansom took over as co-director as the team were first moving to Sheffield.[7]

In the past, "for several years", they've had the poet Suzannah Evans as assistant editor working on their New Poets list. Evans published her first pamphlet in 2012, after winning the Poetry Business pamphlet competition, judged by Carol Ann Duffy that year.[24][7]

In 2019, an unsuccessful Arts Council grant bid caused a funding crisis, putting the firm in jeopardy. The year otherwise had been one of great success, considering increased book and magazine sales, and a thriving teaching programme. McLeod has mentioned that "the absence of regular funding brings continuing challenges" in the field. Earlier, in 2008/2009, losing grant funding from the Council had led them to move from Huddersfield, where the outfit was based in a Victorian arcade for 20 years, to Sheffield. They first moved to Bank Street Arts, and are now based in Campo Lane. The Poetry Business, which has relied on two-year Arts Council grants, was saved in 2019 by crowdfunding from 380 supporters. The appeal attracted donations of £19,047 against the amount of £14,000, required to cover the cost of The Poetry Business's planned work.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ "Our Team". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  2. ^ a b "History". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "35 pioneering years at the Poetry Business". BookBrunch Limited. 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. ^ a b c d Blackledge, Richard (2019-04-30). "How readers saved The Poetry Business in Sheffield after funding emergency". The (Sheffield) Star. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  8. ^ a b Tobler, Stefan (2016-09-28). "A northern powerhouse really is coming – in publishing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  9. ^ "Who Needs London? Regional Publishing and Other Stories". The Lit Platform. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  10. ^ "The Poetry Business: Call for submissions for The North Issue 68". National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE). Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  11. ^ "Sheffield-Based Independent Press The Poetry Business To Publish anthology Of Mining-Related Poems, Prose And Photographs". Cumbria Times. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  12. ^ Robinson, Joshua (2024-11-06). "New Book of Poetry Launched at the National Coal Mining Museum". Kirklees Local TV. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  13. ^ Wilson-Barrett, Alexis (2024-11-04). "Powerful New Poetry Anthology Launches at National Coal Mining Museum". Yorkshire Press. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  14. ^ "Powerful new book of poetry launched at NCMME". National Coal Mining Museum. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  15. ^ a b "The Poetry Business: Digital Residencies". The Writing Squad. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  16. ^ a b "About". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  17. ^ "Alastair Niven on Independent Publishers". Independent Publishers Guild. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  18. ^ "New Poets List". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  19. ^ a b "Four thrilling new worlds". The Friday Poem. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  20. ^ "Peter Daniels". Peter Daniels. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  21. ^ "Three pamphlets: Selima Hill, Natalie Shaw and Rachael Matthews". The Friday Poem. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  22. ^ "Awards". Daljit Nagra. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  23. ^ "The 39th Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition". Orbis Journal. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  24. ^ "Suzannah Evans". The Royal Literary Fund. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poetry_Business