Heading to a local primary school with Pippy the bat to explore how words and creative writing are powerful tools for protecting our planet! The workshops are part of Egham Literary Festival and the schoolβs World Book Day celebrationsπ¦
Some pictures from Tuesdayβs Small Press Takeover with Yanita Georgieva, Ella Frears, Alia Kobuszko, and Nathaniel King - what an incredible evening!
Thank you so much for coming! It felt like a fantastic way to welcome in the spring!
A twisted tree reaches upwards, away from the camera into a clear blue sky. In the left foreground is the ringed remains of a broad trunk that once diverged from the treeβs leader.
Me and @wendycaitlin.bsky.social went to an inspirational poetry workshop with @brihughespoet.bsky.social in Walnut Tree Gardens in Egham this morning, tapping into the sound, colour and textures of this community green space. And it felt like spring!
It was so lovely to have you both take part! I had such a great morning!
Photos from the excellent workshop from @brihughespoet.bsky.social.
Today I went to a eco-poetry workshop with @angelacleland.co.uk run by the brilliant @brihughespoet.bsky.social from RHUL. We wrote poems and Angelaβs hair matched the prompt card I was given and the sun was out and how good does it feel to actually write some new poems.
Have you listened to the latest BatChat #Podcast? Let us know what you think
It features Megan Price and Beth at Margam Castle in South Wales AND @brihughespoet.bsky.social from @royalholloway.bsky.social
Enjoy here batchat.buzzsprout.com/680561/episo...
Bat Chat is my favourite podcast, so I was over the moon when Steve asked to discuss my work exploring the relationship between ecopoetry and conservation engagement! The end of the episode features a recording taken from my echopoetry bat walk at Cambridge Botanical Gardensπ¦
TOMORROW!!
Nathaniel King is a poet and doctoral researcher from Cornwall, UK. His debut pamphlet, Ghost Clinic, published by @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social, was awarded the 2024 Eric Gregory Award by the Society of Authors. He has been published in The Poetry Review, Poetry London, The London Magazine
Alia Kobuszko lives in London. Her work has been published in magazines including Magma, Propel, and And Other Poems. Her debut collection Dream Latitudes, @faberbooks.bsky.social, was recently released this January
Ella Frears is a poet based in London. She has been shortlisted for @tseliotprize.bsky.social, a Sky Arts Award, and @forwardprizes.bsky.social twice. Ella was a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art and is the current Poetry Fellow at @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social
Yanita Georgieva is a poet, journalist, and workshop facilitator. Her debut, Small Undetectable Thefts, received the Eric Gregory Prize in 2024 and she's been shortlisted for awards including the Arts Foundation Futures Award, the Ivan Juritz Prize, and the Aesthetica Prize
During next weekβs Small Press Takeover, we will be joined by the incredible Yanita Georgieva, Ella Frears, Alia Kobuzsko, and Nathanial King! This event series is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30, with readings commencing at 7pmπ§‘
Yesterday, the Ecological Writing workshop group discussed the topic of animal and houseplant companions before hand-making balls of bird feed π¦ββ¬
Iβm INCREDIBLY excited for tonightβs Small Press Takeover, where the @royalholloway.bsky.social Poetry Society will be launching its latest (hand-bound) publication! Readers: Frederick Hudson, Anita JergiΔ, Kate Watson, Kalyani Panchmatia, Cherry Seales, Ifeoma Enechaziam, and Alex Alexiou!
Next weekβs Small Press Takeover will feature incredible writers from the @royalholloway.bsky.social Poetry Society! Join us in Bloomsbury for a dynamic range of readings and performancesπ§‘
Yesterday, the Ecological Writing group discussed responses to the pastoral genre by Camille T. Dungy, Charlie Gere, Mosab Abu Toha, and Polly Atkin. The workshop was followed by a screening of Annihilation (2018) - the perfect way to start the week!
9:01 βΉ Notes January 29, 2026 at 9:01 AM We are excited to announce that the Osmosis team is growing! Meet Alice, Francis, and Winter, who will be collaborating with Briony and Cat on the next chapter in the Osmosis adventure. Excited is probably an understatement - this trio is a force to be reckoned with! As most of our readers know, independent publishing is very much a community endeavor. After launching Osmosis in 2021, Briony was quickly joined on her adventure by the incredible Saskia, and together they grew Osmosis from a small idea (and lots of energy, love, and determination) into a full bookshelf of innovative books! Since stepping into the role of digital editor in 2023, Cat has published a dynamic range of poetry, essays, short stories, film, text art, and hybrid experimentations across our featured writing blog - their energetic contribution to the project has been remarkable.
ALICE IS A WRITER, POET AND ARTIST FROM LONDON. HER CREATIVE WORK SPANS ARCHIVAL PRACTICES, COLLAGE, PRINT MAKING, ZINES AND TEXTILES. THESE WORKS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED BY THE NATIONAL POETRY LIBRARY, ARTS UNIVERSITY BOURNEMOUTH, THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY AND MULTIPLE PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. SHE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON ALTERNATIVE MEMOIR AND EXPLORATIONS OF ANTICIPATORY GRIEF, EXISTENTIALISM AND SALVAGE.
WINTER IS A POET, PERFORMER AND MODEL. SHE JUST STARTED HER PRACTICE-BASED PHD IN CREATIVE WRITING AT ROYAL HOLLOWAY, WITH HER RESEARCH INTERESTS INCLUDING TRANSPOETICS, PERFORMANCE POETICS, ARCHIVES AND EPHEMERA. WINTER CHEN
FRANGIS DE LIMA FRANCIS IS A FINNISH-BRAZILIAN POET LIVING IN LONDON, WHERE THEY RECENTLY COMPLETED THEIR MA IN POETIC PRACTICE AT ROYAL HOLLOWAY. MANY OF THEIR POEMS CAN BE FOUND IN ONLINE LITERATURE MAGAZINES, AND SOME HAVE EVEN BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR AN AWARD OR TWO. THEY ALSO WORK AS A TRANSLATOR, AS WELL AS IN VARIOUS ROLES WITHIN INDEPENDENT THEATRE, FILM, AND ART PROJECTS, BOTH IN THE UK AND ABROAD.
ANNOUNCING SOME GOOD NEWS
During todayβs βEcological Writingβ workshop, the creative writers discussed embodied research and visited the @royalholloway.bsky.social arboretum to test out multi-sensory writing promptsπͺΎππ§‘
TOMORROW!
Fingers crossed for Yanita! The shortlisting is a testament to her vibrant and dynamic contribution to poetry as a form and culture𧑠www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/sto...
WHEREAS Layli Long Soldier THIS FRUITING BODY CALEB PARKIN ARS POETICAS juliana spahr JESSICA TRAYVORI Pit Lullabies. Susan Howe CONCORDANCE Maggie Nelson PATHEMATA Ox; The Story of My Mouth Bluets MAGGIE NELSON CHARLOTTE"* SHEVCHENKO KNIGHT Food for the Dead
A first look at the choices for this yearβs βReading as a Writerβ (poetry pathway) reading list π§‘
If you edit an indie press or magazine and would like to take part in in a future Small Press Takeover event, please reach out!
Theyβll be reading from @osmosispress.bsky.social works plus projects from the wider landscape of UK poetry publishing. Prepare for innovative performances that will re-energize you for the final days of January. The Small Press Takeover is free to attend and open to the general public π§‘
An event to beat the January blues! The next installment of the Small Press Takeover series is scheduled for Tuesday 27th January, featuring Susie Campbell, Nathaniel King, Tamsyn Challenger, and JD Howseπ§‘
"I write to break out into perfect primeval Consent. I wish I could tenderly lift from the dark side of history, voices that are anonymous, slighted - inarticulate." - Susan Howe,Β There Are Not Leaves Enough to Crown to Cover to Crown to Cover (1990)
PERMEABLEBARRIER SEVEN submissions open from January 19th - March 22nd full guidlines on permeablebarrier.com I write to break out into perfect primeval Consent. I wish I could tenderly lift from the dark side of history, voices that are anonymous, slighted-inarticulate. Susan Howe There Are Not Leaves Enough to Crown to Cover to Crown to Cover email submissions to guest editor Briony Hughes
Delighted to be the guest editor for Permeable Barrier Seven! We are seeking poems, films, essays, images, digital experimentations, sound, performance, ephemera, documentation, stories, artwork, and other hybridities. Guidelines: www.permeablebarrier.com/submissions
During the FIRST EVER Ecological Writing workshop, @royalholloway.bsky.social creative writers discussed the grammar of animacy and identified species across the campus woodland using @inaturalist.bsky.social ππ
