Submissions for our next issue close at midnight tonight! 🌏✨

Our submissions window closes at midnight ⏳

I’ve had a lovely, creative afternoon catching up on the Form and Ideas workshop led by @katrinanaomipoet.bsky.social and hosted by the Women Poets’ Network. I ended up using Hans Christian Andersen to write a golden shovel, as you do.

I really loved ‘How to Leave a Body’, the powerful and startling debut collection from Holly Winter-Hughes. These poems confront both trauma and strength head-on; they are dark, visceral, and incredibly beautiful. @vervepoetrypress.bsky.social

Brilliant evening seeing Evie Hodgetts - current Worcestershire Young Poet Laureate - heading at Dear Listener. Evie’s set was fantastic; she’s definitely one to watch!

It’s lovely to be able to share my poem ‘Her Worldly Goods’, which won 3rd place in the Kathryn Bevis Memorial Poetry Prize and has been published in issue 16 of The Alchemy Spoon.

Late summer / early autumn fields. Sunshine, the last of the blackberries, and the first conkers of the season.

Well, this novel was an emotional rollercoaster! ‘The Safekeep’ by Yael van der Wouden is an intimate, compelling portrait of two women whose lives become intertwined in more ways than one. It’s beautifully written and I enjoyed it immensely; I’m not surprised it won the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Today’s #sealeychallenge read has been the gorgeous ‘Rescue Lines’ by @elcurwen.bsky.social. I was completely drawn in by these poems of loss and rescue, which are framed by the risk and comfort of the sea 💙

The wonderful Mary Shelley was born on this day in 1797. Here’s one of my poems that was published earlier this year in Magma (issue 91), in which I imagine us bonding over our shared experience of young widowhood.

I was delighted to win third prize in the Kathryn Bevis Memorial Poetry Prize recently. My poem, ‘Her Worldly Goods’, has been published in the new issue of Alchemy Spoon, which is launching online at 7.30 this evening. Tickets are free - it would be lovely to see you there!

I was delighted to win third prize in the Kathryn Bevis Memorial Poetry Prize recently. My poem, ‘Her Worldly Goods’, has been published in the new issue of Alchemy Spoon, which is launching online at 7.30 this evening. Tickets are free - it would be lovely to see you there!

It would have been my wife Rebecca’s 40th birthday today. Her birthday is always a sad day, but I try to make it a celebration of her life as well. If you knew Rebecca, I’d love it if you raised a glass (or cup of tea) in her memory today ❤️

Another re-read for the #sealeychallenge - this time, the wonderful ‘Collision’ by @clairewalkerpoetry.bsky.social. I’m a sucker for a fossil poem, and this pamphlet has a whole little sequence about Mary Anning!

SUBMISSIONS are now OPEN for our next issue ‘Dear World’ which will be out in November. Please send 1-3 poems by September 20th. We can’t wait to read them 💜 www.dustpoetry.co.uk/submissions

I loved these brilliant, razor-sharp poems from @kimmoorepoet.bsky.social - one of my favourite #sealeychallenge reads so far.

My latest #sealeychallenge read has been Paviland: Fire and Ice by @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social - a fascinating exploration of the Red Lady of Paviland. Through a combination of prose and poetry, Smith tells the story of this amazing archaeological find and imagines what the future might hold for it.

Poets! @dustpoetry.bsky.social are open for submissions - I loved having my work in issue 13: joy. They have beautiful artwork as well as gorgeous poems- do take a look! www.dustpoetry.co.uk/post/the-wor...

Send us your poems! Submissions now open for Dust’s next issue ‘Dear World’ 💚 www.dustpoetry.co.uk/submissions

Today’s #sealeychallenge read is ‘Littoral’ by Nicholas Murray. I’m looking forward to these poems that promise ‘a cast of mysterious and sometimes sinister figures’, all set against the bleak, slate-grey backdrop of the coast.

For my latest #sealeychallenge read, I’ve been spending time in the company of trees. ‘Arboreal’ by @corinnaboard.bsky.social is wide-ranging and richly evocative, full of the magic and wisdom of the forest. Absolutely beautiful 🌳🌳🌳

Boat trip along the River Avon.

Another train journey, another chance to catch up on my relaxed #sealeychallenge reading. This one’s a reread and a favourite of mine.

Today’s #sealeychallenge read has been ‘A Dress with Deep Pockets’ by @jenferoze.bsky.social. I’d heard a lot of good things about this pamphlet, and rightly so - there are so many outstanding poems in this little collection. I’ve already set it aside for a reread!

SOME NEWS: Dust will open for submissions 20th August - 20th September. This will be for our fifteenth issue which will have the title and theme ‘Dear World’. We can’t wait to read your poems 💛 (Poems sent before 20.08.25 won’t be read)

I always either completely love or utterly hate sequels/revisitings, and happily ‘Julia’ by Sandra Newman falls into the former category. This is such a gripping read; I found it really interesting to think about the world of Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ from a female perspective.

Picnic and a mooch by the river with my son today.

My second read for my relaxed #sealeychallenge has been ‘Forest’ by @jlmmorton.bsky.social. I loved this brief but immersive glimpse into the life and journey of a pine, with the accompanying illustration by Sarah Gillespie make this a truly beautiful little volume.

On my way to Birmingham for a @ninearchespress.bsky.social Dynamo Poets meet-up 🙂 Today’s #sealeychallenge read is this really interesting-looking pamphlet from the brilliant @wendycaitlin.bsky.social and @galiamelon.bsky.social

At the Scottish Dolphin Centre on Monday. I was a bit gutted that we didn’t spot any dolphins (and to add insult to injury, the only thing we did spot was Trump flying over with his fleet of helicopters). The scenery was beautiful, though.

Roseisle, Scotland

The Sueno’s Stone in Forres - the largest surviving Pictish-style stone of its type in Scotland. It stands 21 feet tall!

Spynie Palace, a Bishop’s palace in Moray dating from the 1400s.

In his happy place 💙

Beach treasure

I’m so looking forward to this coming out!

Today's the last day! UK and Irish emerging poets, you have till midnight tonight! Good luck! bsky.app/profile/foxa...

CALL OUT FOR SUBMISSIONS! Editors @cloudscholar.bsky.social, Lola Oh and @williekinard.com are looking forward to receiving your submissions for Magma 94: REMIX More info & to submit: magmapoetry.com/call-for-sub... Closing date: 31st July, 2025 Image: Williams Chechet

I recently attended a @ninearchespress.bsky.social masterclass on form with Erica Hesketh and completely fell in love with Erica’s poetry. This is some of the most honest and insightful writing on early motherhood I’ve come across - an astonishing debut collection.

So happy to see this brilliant pamphlet out in the world!

I’ve just finished reading Iain Reid’s ‘We Spread’ for my book club and oooo, it’s a good one. There’s so much that I’m dying to discuss with the group! This novel manages to combine being a creepy, suspenseful page-turner with offering sensitive reflections on aging, art, and relationships.

Went to see an exhibition about the 90s at a museum. Am now feeling ancient.

⭐ SUBMISSIONS WILL OPEN AUGUST 2025 ⭐ From 1 ~ 15 August we will be accepting: ⭐ Novellas/Short Story Collections ⭐ Poetry Pamphlets ⭐ Essay Books ⭐ Children's Fiction ⭐ Children's Poetry More submissions info can be found on our website: buff.ly/AxFMzjg

I got a little mention in the Poetry Society newsletter 😊

I’m really looking forward to this workshop on ‘Mashups and Collisions’ - hope to see some other poet friends there!

Look at this little cutie I met today 🥰

Perhaps a little too close to home at this particular historical moment, but I thought that Don DeLillo’s ‘The Silence’ was brilliant. Taking place after an unnamed crisis sees the world’s electronic systems fail, this novel is dark, intriguing, and deeply unsettling.

Dive into Dust’s latest issue, which you can read in full at the link below, or join us as we post the issue, one poem each day, starting here in a moment! 🌊

“And when the fishermen were laid out like seals on the shore where the sullen waters ebbed, anchor, starfish, tree of life” Today’s poem from the new issue is The Road to Duffus by Stephen Boyce: www.dustpoetry.co.uk/post/the-roa...