Category Archives: News

Telltale launches in Lewes & Hove

Hove Telltale Launch event

Catherine Smith, Peter Kenny and Robin Houghton at the Hove launch

Last night was the second of our private launches for Peter Kenny’s The Nightwork, and joining us to read were Catherine Smith (who also read last week in Lewes) and John McCullough, who entertained us marvellously despite only recently getting back from Japan.

Peter Kenny reading at the Lewes launch of Telltale Press

Peter Kenny reading at the Lewes launch

Our venues were quite different – last week we were in the meeting room of The Hive, a really nice cosy space with a big pot plant in the corner – we put tealights on the mantlepiece and it had a salon feel. Then last night we were in the big, bright airy space of Cameron Contemporary Art in Hove, a wonderful gallery with floor to ceiling windows all down one side. Everyone remarked how quiet and classy it was, plus lots of lovely artwork to view of course.

I’m rather jinxed when it comes to filming so I can’t say yet whether we managed to capture any of the readings successfully, but I hope so. If and when we have something in the bag we’ll post it here.

So, two fab evenings done, one public launch event to go – next Wednesday at the Poetry Cafe, the day before National Poetry Day, so we hope we manage to get an audience!

Exciting news in the build up to our launch readings

It’s all happening at Telltale Towers! Checklists galore, last minute wobbles (will we have enough chairs? glasses?)…

Some great news came in the last few days. First of all, Telltale’s first pamphlet, Robin Houghton’s ‘The Great Vowel Shift’ has just had a super review by Clare Best in The Frogmore Papers. Secondly, one of our London launch guest poets, Rishi Dastidar, has just been named as one of the two new Assistant Editors at The Rialto.

Exciting times … do come to hear Rishi, Anja, Peter & Robin reading at The Poetry Cafe on October 1st, we’ve all got publications to sell, so it’s free to get in but it might cost you a pamphlet to get out!

London launch – guest readers announced

It’s going to be a great evening of poetry on Wednesday 1st October (the day before National Poetry Day) at the Poetry Cafe in London – the last of our 3 launch events to introduce Telltale Press and launch Peter Kenny’s The Nightwork.

We’ve now booked our two guest poets – they are Anja Konig and Rishi Dastidar.

Anja Konig

 

Rishi Dastidar

I met Anja on a Ty Newydd Masterclass last autumn with Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke. She’s super-talented and about to launch her first pamphlet with Flipped Eye. Rishi is a poet I’ve had conversations with on Twitter (he’s @BetaRish) and I’ve followed his poetry for a while. He’s part of the very cool Complete Works II. 

Do come if you can, and tell everyone you know, it would be so encouraging to have a good crowd.

Autumn launch readings announced

Exciting news – we’ve organised our first readings, to launch both Telltale Press and our second Telltale pamphlet, Peter Kenny’s The Nightwork.

Wednesday 17th September, 7.30pm, The Hive, Lewes
– Robin Houghton, Peter Kenny, Catherine Smith and Abegail Morley

Wednesday 24th September, 7.30pm, Cameron Contemporary Art, Hove – Robin Houghton, Peter Kenny, Catherine Smith & John McCullough

Wednesday 1st October, 7.30pm, Poetry Cafe, London
– readers to be confirmed

The first two events are invitation-only. There’ll be lovely refreshments and possibly a few surprises. If you’d like an invitation simply sign up for our newsletter (right hand column) – thanks!

 

Welcoming our new Associate Editor Catherine Smith

Catherine Smith, new Associate Editor of Telltale Press.

Catherine Smith

Fabulous news! Renowned poet and super-champion of new writing Catherine Smith is to be our Associate Editor.

Catherine will be helping us find talented new poets to add to the Telltale fold, as well as lending her expertise to the editorial process. Brilliant stuff!

Says Catherine: “I’m delighted to be associated with this exciting new venture. In this difficult publishing climate, many talented new poets have few opportunities to see their first ‘body of work’ published. Telltale is an innovative new-kid-on-the-block in pamphlet publishing, offering a genuine alternative to serious writers, who may have considered self-publishing but would like more support, editorial and marketing input.”

Catherine Smith is an award-winning poet and fiction writer. Her first short poetry collection, The New Bride, (Smith/Doorstop) was short-listed for the Forward Prize for Best Collection, 2001. Her first full collection, The Butcher’s Hands (Smith/Doorstop) was short-listed for the Aldeburgh/Jerwood Prize and was a PBS Recommendation. It earned her a place, in 2004, as one of Mslexia’s ‘Top Ten UK Women Poets’ and as one of the ‘Next Generation’ poets – ‘the most exhilarating new voices to have emerged in the last ten years’ (PBS/Arts Council).

Her third book, Lip, (Smith/Doorstop) was short-listed for the Forward Prize in 2008 and her most recent collection is Otherwhere (2012).

Catherine teaches on The Creative Writing Programme at New Writing South, for the Arvon Foundation and for The Poetry School; she also judges poetry and fiction writing competitions.

Rebecca Gethin on ‘The Great Vowel Shift’

Nice mini-review of ‘The Great Vowel Shift‘ today on Rebecca Gethin’s blog – “full of delights for the mind as well as sensuous phrasing.”

Rebecca also admires Hannah Clare’s cover design. Hannah’s distinctive style is destined to become a Telltale ‘signature’.

Cover reveal: Peter Kenny’s pamphlet ‘The Nightwork’

Hannah Clare has done another fantastic job – here’s our first glimpse of the next Telltale Press pamphlet, The Nightwork by Peter Kenny –

The Nightwork - pamphlet by Peter Kenny, cover design by Hannah Clare

London Grip review

Robin Houghton’s The Great Vowel Shift has been reviewed on London Grip by Martin Noutch:

“Robin Houghton’s poem ‘Left’ puts the hope and the waiting and the expectation of moving into a neat, momentary parcel which captures just a few seconds of an imagined future and so creates a whole lifetime in the background…” (cont)