guest readers for october

fiona benson is an Anglo-Scottish writer currently living in Exeter with her husband James. She was educated at Trinity College Oxford and then St Andrews University , where she completed the MLitt in Creative Writing and a PhD on Ophelia as a dramatic type in early modern drama.  She received an Eric Gregory award in 2006 and is working on her first book of poems.

 toby martinez de las rivas was born in 1978. He grew up in Somerset , then moved to the north east of England where he worked as an archaeologist. This, together with the landscape of Northumberland and the work of north eastern writers such as Barry MacSweeney and Gillian Allnutt, has had a significant  impact on the development of his own poetry. He won an Eric Gregory award in 2005 and the Andrew Waterhouse award from New Writing North in 2008. His poems have appeared in a number of magazines. He currently lives in Gateshead where he teaches English to asylum seekers and refugees.

 heather phillipson’s poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies and have been commissioned by the BFI. She was awarded the Michael Donaghy Poetry Prize from Birkbeck College in 2007, and received a commendation in the Troubadour Poetry Prize and won an Eric Gregory Award in 2008. Alongside her poetry, Heather is also an artist and exhibits nationally and internationally, including a selection for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2008. She has a doctorate in Fine Art practice, works as a Visiting Tutor in Art and Theory at UWIC, and is currently Artist in Residence at the London College of Fashion. She was brought up in London and Wales .

 jack underwood was born in Norwich in 1984. He graduated from Norwich School of Art and Design in 2005 and is currently studying towards a PhD in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths College , where he also teaches English Literature. He is a librettist, musician and co-edits the anthology series Stop Sharpening Your Knives. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2007. He lives in Hackney.

 

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Faber and Arts Council England announce exciting initiative to support new poets        

 Assembling a first collection can seem like a daunting challenge to a young poet: how do they know when the manuscript is ready? How many poems should it contain? Whose opinions should they seek out? Can it be better to wait?  

Faber and Faber is delighted to announce a major new venture to support and promote new poets, funded by Arts Council England.  

The Faber New Poets programme aims to create a culture of support for pre-first collection writers. By offering a tri-partite package of financial assistance, mentorship and pamphlet publication by Faber, the scheme intends to provide care and direction to eight new poets to develop their work: four in 2009 and four in 2010.

 Drawing upon the advice of ten scouts appointed by Arts Council England nationwide, nominations for the scheme were received in October 2008, and were read by a panel of experienced poets and prominent practitioners from the poetry world, who met in December to adjudicate the awards.

 Four poets were given awards for 2009, with their pamphlets to be published for National Poetry Day in October 2009; a second set of four poets were awarded for 2010, with pamphlets to follow that year.

In 2009, the awarded poets are Fiona Benson, Heather Phillipson, Toby Martinez de las Rivas and Jack Underwood.

 Through financial support, skilled mentorship and pamphlet publication in the Faber poetry design, and through promotion and publicity that will include an exciting platform of events that take place in Faber’s 80^th anniversary year, this project promises to aid the short and longer term development of our newest talents, the potential stars of tomorrow, and by so doing, to enrich the broader culture of British poetry along the way.

 Faber New Poets is a not-for-profit promotion that is made possible by the support of Arts Council England, and the assistance of the Arvon Foundation.

 Antonia Byatt, Director, Literature Strategy at ACE said:

‘Arts Council England is delighted to work with Faber and Faber on their New Poets scheme.  This partnership was established so that new poets can benefit from the expertise at Faber to refine and develop their work at a critical stage in their careers as writers:  between the publication of individual poems and the writing of their first full collection.  In the year of Faber's 80th birthday we celebrate their continuing commitment to identifying and promoting new poets.’

 Matthew Hollis, Commissioning Editor, Poetry, Faber & Faber, commented:

 ‘In my role as an editor, I read many manuscripts by talented hopefuls eager for a publication that we may not be ready to offer them. While we can provide advice and encouragement, better still would be to offer these writers a sustained and supportive environment over a longer term in which they may develop their work in conversation with experienced poets and editors. The Faber New Poets scheme, which has two years in preparation, seeks to identify the brightest new talents and to offer every support and opportunity in the development of their writing.’

 Stephen Page, CEO and Publisher at Faber said:

 ‘We are delighted that with the support of ACE we can launch this exciting initiative to support new poets at a crucial stage of their development. The search for new writers is at the heart of what we do, and remains as important to us in our eightieth year as ever.’