Congratulations to Kym Deyn, whose collection 'Folkish' has been named by the Poetry Book Society as a Summer Recommendation for 2026.

Billie Collins has been chosen for the Little Chick Emerging Writers Scheme - an opportunity for early-career writers to develop their TV screenwriting with BAFTA & Emmy award winning writer Abi Morgan and Sue Gibbs, Head of Development at Heyday Television UK. Congrats!

For the milestone 50th episode of Gregory Kearns’ podcast, The Poems We Made Along the Way, he speaks to Carl Phillips about the eroticism of line breaks, developing titles of poems, and poetry as a place to explore uncertainty.

Opening today - the DIRT Plantable Poetry Competition, an opportunity to publish a collaborative Earth-positive pamphlet! Submissions close on the 14th of June.

Libby Maeve's debut short story, Sticky, out now, Squad writers featuring in And Other Poems, and a bumper anthology by Hive Young Writer's Network

All lines lead to Leeds and a mic stand today for our Stand Up comedy workshop with Squad writer Charlotte Cropper.

"What makes the Writing Squad so special is having 50% of our Board made up of Squad grads"... Welcoming Tayiba Sulaiman, Rory Thorp and Beth Westbrook to the Board and OnBoard Experience! Learn more about them here

Join Squad writer and “viscerally relatable" comedian Charlotte Cropper this Friday in Manchester for a comedy night like you've never been to before. There will be games, prizes, mischievous mascots and sleepover gossip!

The Seeker and the Shade is out today! An intense, compelling fantasy novel for young adults and old. Enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn, first love, soul mates, and good versus evil feature in this story of a battle against the darkness, both from within and without. Congratulations Ellen!

I've written about attending @improbable1.bsky.social's Dedicated & Disgruntled gathering last weekend. www.emmaadamswriter.co.uk/new-blog/202... It's a love letter. But it's something else too. It's a coming out, a meditation & a prayer. If you read & like it, please share. Thank you x #DandD21

This morning for the first time pulling out a book of poetry on the tram caused a small child across the aisle to blurt out "oooh Mum, what's *she* reading". Excellent cover @kymdeyn.bsky.social @ninearchespress.bsky.social Excellent contents too 👏🙌

Louise Essex is celebrating 5 years of her solo folk project, Dear Wife, with a string of gigs across London and Hertfordshire in May, beginning on the 6th as support for Luke James Williams. Find out more info on the link below

It's publication day for my book!!! I'm going to be a little cringe and share the playlist I made while I finished up working on it: open.spotify.com/playlist/4G0...

The penultimate episode of series 6 (can you believe it!). I had a wonderful conversation with Shara McCallum about being brought up Rastafarian, the ethics of art, and writing short prose that isn’t prose poetry. Listen wherever good podcasts can be heard. @peepaltreepress.bsky.social

I adore the artists involved in these shows beyond words but I’m sick of Liverpool being the home of crime and law breaking representation Please commissioners let our talent spread beyond police cars

Monday is The Poems We Made Along The Way’s 50th episode and I’m super proud of every interview! Keep an eye out for Monday’s episode as I managed to get a dream guest. In the meantime dive into the archive if you haven’t yet.

We spoke about the eroticism of line breaks, developing titles, and poetry as a place to explore uncertainty (and much more). In the UK Carl’s poetry is published by @carcanet.bsky.social, and in the US by @fsgbooks.bsky.social.

⭐️ TLDR: - New Episode (50)! Guest: Carl Phillips! End of Series 6! ⭐️ This Monday brings with it a confluence of delights. I’m over the moon to say that my 50th guest on The Poems We Made Along The Way, is a bit of a poetry hero of mine, Carl Phillips.

This powerful anthology from the Hive Young Writers' Network showcases writing by the next generation of writers, many of whom happen to be in the Squad: Beth Davies, Connie Greig, Heather Chapman, Holly Thorpe, Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith, Maia Brown, Theodore Forcer, and Warda Yassin!

All lines lead to Manchester today for the first of our table reads - Georgia Affonso’s initiative in which we’ll be reading plays by 9 Squad writers. Today it’s Yasmin Roe, Onyi Ekebuisi & Anna Nixon’s turn to be heard out loud and get feedback from peers.

'My Mum Told Me Not To Marry An Atheist' is a comedy-drama about Dadi, a sharp-tongued Pakistani radio host and DJ who navigates love, marriage, and a lifetime of being an intergenerational troublemaker with her granddaughter Kamal. UK tour beginning this Saturday, all tickets are free!

Squad writer Lydia Marchant is facilitating a six-week course in playwriting at Hull Truck Theatre, beginning a week today on the 5th May.

Em Pritchard will be joining a host of other spoken word artists at the Old Fire Station in Oxford this Thursday evening. Go along if you can!

Some lines lead to York some to Manchester this morning - Malika Booker’s in MCR exploring freedom in form - Stevie Ronnie’s in York with our climate project crew moving us from successful funding bid to implementation!

Always a good start to the week when you receive new books by a Squad writer, especially when it’s a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and contains big thanks to Squad mentor Stevie Ronnie! ninearchespress.com/publications...

You can also find my interview with Kym on Apple Podcasts, among other platforms

In my conversation with @kymdeyn.bsky.social we explore how they use punctuation in their debut collection Folkish, how Tarot card reading can be like structured improv, and the importance of tricksters. Listen wherever good podcasts can be heard

Here's a wonderful poem reading taken from Folkish, out this week. Enjoy 'The Character of Small English Villages is Inevitably Sinister' by @kymdeyn.bsky.social Order your copy: ninearchespress.com/publications...

Helping Lydia Unsworth to launch her new book will be Lenni Sanders, Tom Branfoot and Kate Feld. If you're around Manchester on Thursday, head down to the Saul Hay Gallery for some poetry, art and free wine.

Around Sheffield on Wednesday night? Queer Poets Reading brings together three poets living in Sheffield to celebrate queer poetry in the National Year of Reading. Free tickets!

Welcoming Kayleigh Jayshree, Lauren Vevers and Lydia Marchant to the new CORE2 team. CORE2 grows the capacity within the Squad to mutually support mentoring skills and writing development. Follow the link to find out more about the new team

Next Saturday, join Squad writer Helen Bowell to ask: Why write about flowers now? Is it a luxury to write about birds? Can writing about trees help to move us towards a better world? A poetry workshop as part of London's Books in the Park festival.

You can also find it on Apple podcast here

A new episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way is live! In my conversation with @sashadugdale.bsky.social we covered her @carcanet.bsky.social collection The Strongbox, working in translation, and how important research is to Sasha. Listen wherever good podcasts can be heard.

Newsletter from The Braag today, featuring our recent books, sad trombone noises, a new micro, going apeshit, a letter from the editor and Carmen et Error Issue 15.0. Happy reading! 💚 thebraag.beehiiv.com/p/carmen-et-...

On Wednesday next week, I'll be reading and discussing poetry alongside 3 incredible queer poets at Sheffield Central Library! 🌈 Book your free tickets now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/queer-poet...

Full of ghosts, worms, saints, and Northern English folklore, Kym Deyn’s debut is playful, spirited and absolutely furious. Join Kym in launching the collection, beginning with an online event with Nine Arches Press on April 21st - alongside Jennifer Wong and Rishi Dastidar.

Join Squad writer and “viscerally relatable" comedian Charlotte Cropper this Saturday in Manchester for a comedy night like you've never been to before. There will be games, prizes, mischievous mascots and sleepover gossip!

For fans of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Gracie Abrams, Isabel Maria's 'Because I Care' tour begins next week, with gigs all around the UK.

If you're in London next Thursday, Squad grad Ellen Waters will be performing among other talented emerging writers and it's sure to be a great evening!

LONDON POETRY PEOPLE. Um. do you, maybe want to come to my book launch? www.outsavvy.com/event/34936/...

A reminder of my interview with Ian McMillan - worth checking out (in my bias opinion)

Newcastle launch tickets available for folks local to me! Come and see me read a poem about skinning my landlord. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/folkish-bo...

Carmen et Error Issue 15.0 features work from: 🐛 @samjgrudgings.bsky.social 🦀 Andy Qifeng Zeng 🚦 Penny Blackburn 🦌 Jessica Tillings For an issue full of strange decaying, bodies & abandoned cooling towers. carmenerror.com?page_id=652

You can also listen to on Apple Podcasts (and many other podcast platforms)

Accompany your mound of chocolate this bank holiday with an excellent episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way. I spoke to John McCullough about queer joy, neurodivergence, and how to be a better phrase maker. Listen wherever good podcasts can be heard.

Okay, I get publishers affirming that the books we've produced are human-made, but have we also considered bringing back medieval book curses??? Just saying.

Grab your rubber bow tie and peanut kettle, and join us in the twenty-four hour poetry hub down the street. I spoke to @imcmillan.bsky.social about surrealism, how to cultivate attentiveness, and the legacy of The Verb. Listen wherever good podcasts can be heard.

All lines lead to Leeds today for our Director Steve Dearden’s Think Like an Artist Act Like a Plumber workshop - getting tools and work habits in place for a successful artistic and/or portfolio career.

In partnership with The Portico Sadie Massey Awards for Young Readers and Writers, Isabella will be mentoring one of the competition’s winners, Isla Barrow. The mentorship contributes towards the PSMA's aims to create a lifelong love of reading and writing.