This is a first-of-its-kind poetry publication. Poetic Republic: Poems to Talk About documents an anonymous peer review process in which nearly 800 poets (from 48 countries) read, voted on and commented on each other’s poems during May and June 2012. The Poetic Republic Poetry Prize has been developed over five years and is now one of the largest poetry events based in the UK. Some comments made by participants whilst taking part: “Right here, right...

In this year’s  Poems to Talk About there is beauty and whimsy aplenty; in ‘Rain’ (Kerry Darbishire) and ‘What a Drag,’ (Lisa Kelly) words seem to dance to their own meaning; in ‘Stepping Stars’ (Shelly Nutting) there is a lightness of touch; in ‘On Viewing Monet’s Waterlilies 1917-19’ (Jenny Pollak) there is joy.  We see also an emerging modernity exemplified by ‘Spring Drinks’ (Alison Boyd) and ‘Edinburgh Tattoo’ (Shona Albouy). Yet, all along, the spec...

Kissing Him Goodbye and Other Stories is the first short story collection from Poetic Republic; it includes the fabulous prize-winning story ‘Kissing Him Goodbye’ by Glenda Cooper. The shortlist of the first Poetic Republic Short Story Prize was described as “sizzling”. All the shortlisted stories by S.E. Crowder, Leslie Roberts, E Anstruther, Melanie Jones, Abigail Blasi and William F Nicholson are included along with the 13 other leading stories.

Poetic Republic: Poems to Talk About 2013 documents an anonymous peer review process in which 729 poets (from 48 countries) read, voted on and commented on each other’s poems (1,346 poems in total) during May and June 2013.  The 48 poems in this anthology have been selected by superimposing independently formed opinions. This is selection by a community of authors.  The eBook includes nearly 400 of the best comments on poems made during the judging process. This i...

Carol Ann Duffy is the most humane and accessible poet of our time, and Rapture is essential reading for the broken-hearted of all ages' - Rose TremainThe effortless virtuosity, directness, drama and humanity of Carol Ann Duffy's verse have made her our most admired and best-loved contemporary poet. Rapture, her seventh collection, is a book-length love-poem, and a moving act of personal testimony; but what sets these poems apart from other treatments of the subje...

Faster, higher, stronger: winning words are those that inspire you on to Olympian goals. From falling in love to overcoming adversity, celebrating a new born or learning to live with dignity: here is a book to inspire and to thrill through life's most magical moments. From William Shakespeare to Carol Ann Duffy, our most popular and best loved poets and poems are gathered in one essential collection, alongside many lesser known treasures that are waiting to be discovered. These are poems t...

Ever feel hungry to write but can’t find an idea that whets your appetite? Whether you write fiction, poetry or memoir, there’s plenty here to get your teeth into. In this book, creative writing tutor and author Carol McKay shares not only some of her favourite prompts but also some of her tried and tested recipes to bring out the full range of flavours in your writing. The exercises, one-liners, photoprompts and definitions are suitable for those working on their writing alone or in a gr...

Mark Forsyth - author of the Sunday Times Number One bestseller The Etymologicon - reveals in this essay, specially commissioned for Independent Booksellers Week, the most valuable thing about a really good bookshop.Along the way he considers the wisdom of Donald Rumsfeld, naughty French photographs, why Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy would never have met online, and why only a bookshop can give you that precious thing - what you never knew you wer...

John Marsden is not just one of Australia's most successful writers of all time; he's also one of our best teachers of writing."Highly recommended" Sun Herald"The most exciting, interesting and useful book on the teaching of writing" Australian English TeacherThe ultimate "get off your bum and do it" book, Everything I Know About Writing will motivate anyone to write. It's...

Creative Writing is a complete writing course that will jump-start your writing and guide you through your first steps towards publication.Suitable for use by students, tutors, writers’ groups or writers working alone, this book offers:a practical and inspiring section on the creative process, showing you how to stimulate your creativity and use your memory and experience in inventive waysin-depth coverage of the most popular forms of writing, in ex...

Wendy Cope's first book of poems and parodies, Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis, went straight into the bestseller lists. Its successor, Serious Concerns has proved even more popular, addressing such topics as 'Bloody Men', 'Men and Their Boring Arguments', 'Two Cures for Love', 'Kindness to Animals' and 'Tumps' (Typically Useless Male Poets).

To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy brings together a dazzling array of contemporary poets (sixty in fact) to write about each of the of the sixty years of Her Majesty's reign. Celebrated writers as Simon Armitage, Gillian Clarke, Wendy Cope, Geoffrey Hill, Jackie Kay, Michael Longley, Andrew Motion, Don Paterson and Jo Shapcott, alongside some of the newest young talent around - address a moment or event from their cho...