FESTIVAL IN A BOOK edited by Liz Lefroy

In 2022-3, I am editing an anthology on behalf of the former Wenlock Poetry Festival. It is an exceptional line up of poets and volunteers, making one final festival within an innovative format. Listed below are the poets who will be appearing - more details about the book, its publication and how you can get hold of a copy will be posted here in late summer 2023.

I was commissioned by the outgoing Festival committee to produce and edit an anthology as a fitting conclusion to what was one of the UK Poetry Calendar's favourite festivals. My aims were to do justice to the warmth and openness of the Festival, the tone of which was set by Anna Dreda, Festival founder.

The idea came to me of creating a festival in a book - a space in which those of us who'd been lucky enough to be at the Festival could meet once more, and a space into which we could invite new voices. As such, the anthology contains gifts of poems from many of the Festival's big name headliners, as well as from those of us for whom it was our first festival appearance. There are the voices of children who weren't born when the Festival was launched - because the children's poetry was always a big feature of the weekends.

Working on the design of the book with my son, Gabriel Watt, was one of the project's great pleasures. His idea to make the Poetree labels the design theme was inspired, and there's a playfulness to the way the theme recurs in the details of the book's design. We set up 904 Press as the publication vehicle in order to retain maximum control over the production and the limited budget allocated.

The anthology was published on 1st September 2023 and has received a very positive response, The first print run is all but sold out - contact the Poetry Pharmacy, Bishop's Castle for one of the remaining copies. I am glad to report, however, that a print on demand version is on its way, and you will soon be able to order copies via Amazon. Watch this space for an update in March 2024

The Line-Up

Carol Ann Duffy, Gillian Clarke, Imtiaz Dharker, Andrew McMillan, Helen Mort, Liz Berry, Fred D'Aguiar, Liz Berry, Robin Robertson, Philip Gross, Jonathan Edwards, Daljit Nagra, Andrew Motion, Jean Sprackland, Paul Henry, Lucy Ingrams, Ross Donlon, Ian Parr, Ian Duhig, Jean Atkin, Barry Tench, Carol Caffrey, Kim Moore, Tess Jolly, Char March, Catherine Graham, Meg Cox, Brian Patten, Carole Bromley, Rory Waterman, John Foggin, David Constantine, Amanda Dalton, Kathryn Bevis, Deborah Alma, Josh Ekroy, Abegail Morley, Julia Webb, Robert Peake, Jo Bell, Roy McFarlane, Gregory Leadbetter, Daniel Sluman, Isobel Dixon, Roger McGough, Roger Stevens, Emma Purshouse, Gareth Owen, Angela Topping, Chrissie Gittins, Andrew Fusek Peters, Shauna Darling Robertson, Alison Brackenbury, Clare Shaw, Frieda Hughes, Sean Borodale, Menna Elfyn, Marion Petrucci, Steve Griffiths, Stevie Ronnie, Luke Kennard, Fiona Sampson, Luke Wright, Helen Kay, Hollie McNish, LiTTLe MaCHiNe, Mary Cunningham, Nadia Kingsley, Thirza Clout, Morar Lucas, Ted Eames, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, Martin Figura, John Hegley, Steve Pottinger, Sally Crabtree, Ian McMillan, Rosie Shepperd, Ch ris Kinsey, Emily Wilkinson, Jen Hawkins, Gill McEvoy, Lucy Rose Cunningham, Suzanne Iuppa, Adam Horovitz, Liz Lefroy, Paul Francis, Pat Edwards, Bethany Rivers, Carol Forrester, Beverley Fry, Roger Garfitt, Jackie Kay, Hannah Lowe, Katrina Naomi, Ann Gray, Pauline Prior-Pitt, Liz Lochhead, Helen Mort, David Whyte, Pascale Petit, Jeff Phelps, Helen Ivory, Steve Harrison, Will McCartney, Steve Harrison, RV Bailey, Gabriel Watt, Charlotte Rigarlsford, Anna Selby