My two favourite poems in issue 93 of Magma, which very conveniently happen to be printed side by side. It’s always a treat to read anything new by Amy L. King or Zain Rishi - two hugely talented writers.

My beautiful old girl, Beatrice. She’s 22. I’m so grateful to have had another Christmas with her.

Mary Shelley’s novel ‘Frankenstein’ was published on this day in 1818. Here’s a poem that I had published in Magma last year, in which I imagine Mary Shelley - who was also a young widow - as a companion in my grief.

New year, new project, new notebook. I’m in my happy place.

I read 57 books this year, which I’m pretty pleased with. My favourite novel was definitely ‘Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile’, which was recommended to me by the lovely Sam Henley Smith at Fiction Prescription (do check out her bibliotherapy service if you’re a book lover!). Narrated in fragments

A weird, witchy Christmas read. Olga Ravn’s ‘The Wax Child’ tells the story of a seventeenth-century witch trial, as seen from the perspective of a child fashioned from wax who watches and hears everything. I really loved this one!

One of my favourite poems from the past year: ‘On finding a cow’s jawbone in my city garden’ by @poetsarahdoyle.bsky.social Published in issue 16 of The Alchemy Spoon.

There’s something about Christmas that just makes me want to curl up with cosy childhood classics. This year, I’ve been reading ‘The Box of Delights’.

A beautiful and heartbreaking poem by Mary Mulholland - from the Winter 2025 edition of Poetry News.

Worcester Cathedral Christmas Tree Festival, as lovely as ever, and Rebecca’s name on the memorial banner for the St. Richard’s Hospice Christmas tree.

I’m so grateful to the wonderful Liz Berry for this endorsement of my forthcoming poetry collection, ‘The Way the Water Held Me’ (available to pre-order now using the link below 👇)

I was so sad to hear that Northern Gravy didn’t get funding for another year, as it’s one of my favourite journals, but I’ve been enjoying working my way through their print anthology of poetry.

We’ve all had horrible colds over the past few days, so I spent most of the weekend curled up on the settee! I’ve been reading Naomi Alderman’s ‘The Future’, which on the whole was a good read (although not as good as ‘The Power’, which I loved). At her best, Alderman’s writing reminds me of a cross

I shared a poem, ‘Obituary’, from my forthcoming Emma Press collection a little over a week ago, and I’ve been really taken aback by the response I’ve received. Thank you to everyone who read, ‘liked’, or shared it, and thank you in particular to the people who contacted me to let me know

Two deeply moving poetry collections that deal with grief: Paul Stephenson’s ‘Hard Drive’ and Christine Webb’s ‘Catching Your Breath’. The poems that span these volumes have made me cry so many times; they’ve made my grief feel seen, validated, and shared. #bereavement #griefawarenessweek

Our bumper Christmas and winter anthology - check our bio for details! The perfect gift for the literary buff. Paperback under £10! Hardback also available and very posh! #christmasgifts #books #christmas #books

‘Obituary’, from my forthcoming poetry collection ‘The Way the Water Held Me’. Sharing for National Grief Awareness Week (2-8 December) and sending solidarity to anyone experiencing grief, no matter how long ago you were bereaved x #bereavement #griefawarenessweek @theemmapress.bsky.social

If I ever doubted my diagnosis of autism, I think Apple Music emailing me to say I’ve listened to a single song 1900 times in the past year pretty much confirms things 😂

Online launch in a few weeks - link to tickets here ❤️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/broken-sle...

Every year, my husband tells me we’re not buying any more sweet little Christmas crafts, and every year I ignore him 😁 Welcome to our home, Christmas Frog!

I’m absolutely delighted to have received this endorsement for ‘The Way the Water Held Me’ from the wonderful Fiona Benson ❤️

Writing to the world today. We’re so proud of the work in this issue! 🧡✨🌱

We are still open for submissions for our two newest anthologies - Poems for Protest & The Cat Poetry Book roughdiamondpoetry.com/submissions/

I’m delighted to be included- just finished my first read through (will return often I expect) it’s a thing of beauty! The poems talk to each other in surprising and deep connections and the result is a real temperature-check of our time. Congratulations 🙌🏻

Our NEW ISSUE featuring 30 remarkable new poems and stunning cover art by printmaker Molly Lemon is LIVE. You can read it all here: www.dustpoetry.co.uk/issues/categ... We hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to hearing what you think 🧡✨

I’m so excited to see this issue go live tomorrow! We have some amazing poems to share with you 💛

I’m very much looking forward to seeing @fionasampson.bsky.social speak at The Hive this evening. Fiona will be discussing two of her biographies: the fabulous ‘In Search of Mary Shelley’ and her new biography of George Sand. Tickets are free, but need to be pre-booked.

✨COVER REVEAL✨ Here it is, the cover for Dear World, Issue 15! Featuring this stunning work by printmaker, Molly Lemon “They tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds” feels so apt for this issue and we can’t wait to share its 30 new poems with you on Saturday! 🧡✨🌱

COVER REVEAL:

I’m really excited to read this 🙂

Some of my favourites from the Bodleian’s ‘Treasured’ exhibition: Mary Shelley portrait and manuscript; Jane Austen manuscript; and a burnt scroll from Herculaneum.

I’m delighted to announce that my debut poetry collection, ‘The Way the Water Held Me’, will be published by The Emma Press in the Spring. Available to pre-order now!

Pre order a copy and read three poems from the collection below! theemmapress.com/shop/poetry/...

“Across poems of heartbreak and honesty, memory and mourning – and through unlikely companionship with a widowed Mary Shelley – Catherine Redford’s debut collection is visceral, profound and alive with what it is to be human, to have lost and to find ways to continue to love.”

SOME NEWS: Huge congratulations to our brilliant Co-Editor @catherineredford.bsky.social, whose debut poetry collection ‘The Way the Water Held Me’ will be published in March by @theemmapress.bsky.social

The Emma Press has acquired a ’heart-wrenching’ debut poetry collection about young widowhood by Catherine Redford, entitled The Way the Water Held Me, scheduled for March 2026 👇 #BookSky

What I’ve been reading over the past few days: Robin Houghton’s astute insights into dieting, BMI, and body image in her beautiful handmade pamphlet ‘yo-yo’. @robinhoughton.bsky.social

This was such a lovely surprise!Thank you to @catherineredford.bsky.social & @tarawheeler.bsky.social for this vote of confidence 🤩

Delighted by my first Pushcart nomination from Dust Poetry magazine. Sincere thanks to @dustpoetry.bsky.social editors @catherineredford.bsky.social and @tarawheeler.bsky.social

I loved ‘What We Can Know’, the new novel from Ian McEwan. It’s a work of speculative fiction rooted in the concerns of our own age and manages to be so many different stories all at once. Academic meditations run parallel with tales of love and lust, brutal crime intertwined

Issue 15 ‘Dear World’ will go live on 22.11.25 ✨ We can’t wait to share these brilliant poems and the artwork with you! 🌏 Thank you so much to everyone who submitted for this issue, you should now have a response, so do let us know if you haven’t 💚

Remind me never to submit a poem with weird formatting to the National Poetry Competition ever again 🙃

We didn’t have poetry books in the house when I was growing up, but as a child I used to get the same battered copy of The New Dragon Book of Verse out of the library again and again. There were so many poems in there that I loved,

I’m a big fan of the art and writing of the Bloomsbury Group, but I’ve never had the chance to visit Charleston. This book was a brilliant introduction to the house and its gardens, particularly as many of the notes are written by the late Quentin Bell,

I devoured this compelling novella in a single sitting. Hannah Lutz’s ‘Wild Boar’ (trans. from Swedish by Andy Turner) is dark, poetic, and unsettling. I loved the layers of voices all responding in different ways to the illusive wild boar as they move beyond the forests. @theemmapress.bsky.social

Does anyone else of a certain age find it impossible to walk through a park at this time of year without humming ‘Autumn days when the grass is jewelled / And the silk inside a chestnut shell’..?

Cup of tea and the latest TLS on a Saturday morning. I enjoyed Seamus Perry’s excellent article on Plath’s ‘Ariel’ at sixty; it’s always good to be reminded of Plath’s original intentions for the collection. In her version, the final line declares that ‘The bees are flying. They taste the spring.’

I received not one, but two book-related gifts completely out of the blue yesterday! My husband got me this sweet little Faber tote, then I received a parcel from his parents containing a lovely stack-of-books Christmas tree decoration. Apparently they saw it and thought of me; I can’t imagine why 😂