“Their face was a charcoal drawing without any colour, empty spaces which taunted me. An outline of a person.” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...
Sarah James/Leavesley
@sarahleavesley.bsky.social
Prize-winning poet, fiction writer, journalist and photographer. Author of 9 poetry titles, 2 novellas & a poetry-play. More at http://sarah-james.co.uk. Also, editor at V. Press, award-winning poetry & flash fiction. (Profile pic by Gary Carr.)
“You meet others outside the school gates, drawn together like animals sniffing out a prize but the prize is a mirage” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...
Sometimes I smile 18: All the Flowers: poem + poem biography, discussion point & prompt https://moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-i-smile-18-all-the-flowers
An autumn update -- exciting news, reviews & coming soon! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com @jennyhope.bsky.social @clairebooker.bsky.social @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social @bethosmond.bsky.social & others
Now in stock & available to pre-order: My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social – a chapbook of poetry that is very visceral and very hopeful! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...
COVER REVEAL! My Body is a Stranger, my pamphlet with @vpresslit.bsky.social is available for pre-order! My Body is a Stranger is very visceral and very hopeful. Thanks to Laura Besley and JP Seabright for the endorsements. Pre-order: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is... #poetsofbluesky
Now in stock & available to pre-order: Twenty Tides by Claire Booker @clairebooker.bsky.social – a chapbook of poetry that is very elemental and very pithy! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/twenty-tid...
A 12-mile walk this morning, a kingfisher walk with my son on Friday, synchronistic timing for Sometimes I smile : Nomadic – poem, poem biography, discussion points & writing prompt. https://moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-i-smile-17-nomadic
Photo-poems: visual art and poetry combinations for a high-tech age – a short essay/article & examples https://moresarah.substack.com/p/photo-poems-visual-art-and-poetry
Photo-poems: visual art and poetry combinations for a high-tech age – a short essay/article & examples https://moresarah.substack.com/p/photo-poems-visual-art-and-poetry
“[…] make Rust Canyon an exhilarating read. This is eco-poetry at its most effective […] " Big thanks to London Grip for a stunning detailed review of Rust Canyon by Lauren Mason: londongrip.co.uk/2026/08/lond... Rust Canyon: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/rust-canyo...
Share Sometimes I smile (16): Wanting – poem, poem biography, a video reading, discussion point & writing prompt https://moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-i-smile-16-wanting
A realistic celebration of marriage/long-standing love? Sometimes I smile: This Holy Shrine, poem, poem biography, discussion points & prompt -- https://moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-i-smile-15-this-holy-shrine
Fake it till you make it, Part 2: including collaboration, unboxing & tackling imposter syndrome https://moresarah.substack.com/p/fake-it-till-you-make-it-b0c
DRUM ROLL!!!! Announcing the longlists for the Welkin Genre Prize 2026. Congratulations to the writers of these 50 wonderful pieces. Please feel free to celebrate wildly but don't reveal which piece is yours as judging is still ongoing! www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-press...
Welkin News | MattKendrick.co.uk
A writing prize open to all forms of narrative prose, be that flash fiction, short-short, vignette, haibun, hermit crab, prose poem or work that sits outside such labels.
mattkendrick.co.uk
Sometimes I smile (14): Small Deceptions – appearances versus reality, science & more in a poem, poem biography, discussion points & prompt(s): https://moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-i-smile-14-small-deceptions
Did I recommend this book? I recommend this book. It asks questions about consciousness, the importance of communication and most importantly: how the fuck do you talk to octopodes? Turns out, it's pretty difficult.
V. Press is v v delighted to share the publication of Some Dark God by Cat Balaq – a chapbook of poetry that is very sacred and very profane! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com
The heat not so bad in Falmouth today as it's apparently going to be when we head home. I guess it's kind of apt timing for this Substack though: moresarah.substack.com/p/castaway-c...
“Such a dark, magnificent creation. I devoured the poems. Strident, compelling dispatches from the underworld, meticulously crafted. These poems will get under your skin, go straight for the heart.” Helen Mort on Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...
Here’s me reading from Hatchery. I will be reading @waterstones.bsky.social in Bristol on 8th July- www.waterstones.com/events/a-poe... @vpresslit.bsky.social #poemsaloud
“Vicious as you are in your pyjamas, incontinent as the moon, you lie awake, stubbornly sleepish in your outer skin.[…]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...
V. v. excited to see Jenny Hope's V. Press collection, Wild Boar, SHORTLISTED in the INTERNATIONAL RUBERY BOOK AWARD 2026 (poetry & short fiction category)!!! Big congrats @jennyhope.bsky.social & all! Award: www.ruberybookaward.com/about-5 Wild Boar: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/wild-boar....
“He knows the best worms, how to gut the wood for grubs. Webbed feet to hold a mate tightly. […]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...
Great to read the lovely review of Lauren Mason’s Rust Canyon in The Poetry Review! Rust Canyon: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/rust-canyo... More on The Poetry Review from The Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org.uk here: poetrysociety.org.uk/publications...
“A black kimono – soul-thin drapes. See-through ache. […]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...
“[…] her quick imagination moves through bleak, unnerving territory with a lightness of touch, reshaping the world [...] This is sharply observed, stirring writing.” John McCullough on Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...
“search for and enter her name black and still in a white space. the ith of it. the eerie ili lifts us. […]" From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...
Writer life, retaining writer/initial spark excitement, social media & more https://moresarah.substack.com/p/fake-it-till-you-make-it
