Author Archives: Robin Houghton

About Robin Houghton

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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)