Information & Advice

Regional Poetry Anthologies

Never pay to get yourself published. But what if you are asked to pay for a copy of the magazine or anthology in which your work appears? Should you do this? What are the benefits? Where does this kind of publishing fit into the rest of the scene?

Running in parallel with the high ground literary approach of much of the poetry world are empires largely unknown to the taste–makers and ignored by the critics. The biggest, Ian and Tracy Walton’s Forward Press in Peterborough, now turns over two million annually, has almost 5500 titles in print, and reckons to account for the highest proportion of all new verse published in the UK. Depressed with ’twenty years of not being able to enjoy poetry’ because it was inevitably obscure, the couple have moved from back kitchen to three-storey office block in the service of 750,000 active British verse scribblers. "A high proportion of the thousands of letters we receive tell us that many people find poetry over-complex and difficult to understand" runs one of their brochures. For more than a decade since it was founded Forward Press has enthusiastically promoted an "accessible, sincere poetry which everyone can relate to". Although they have printed the likes of Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage and Gavin Ewart the higher realms are not necessarily for them. Publishing under a number of imprints including Poetry Now, Anchor Books, Young Writers, and Triumph House, the operation receives thousands of contributions annually. Poets are sourced in the main through editorial copy in regional newspapers. The contributors flow in their hundreds. ’It is a bit like amateur dramatics’, Ian told me, ’anyone can take part.’

Forward’s outstanding success is built on its approachability. The Walton’s and their team of young editors include as many as one hundred and sixty poems in each anthology. No entry fee is asked. Submissions under thirty lines are preferred. Costs are kept down by using in-house printing equipment - a Ryobi digital press - coupled to serviceable bindings. If you want to see your work in print, and for most contributors this is the whole raison d’etre for writing, then you have to buy a copy. For many poets this will be their first appearance in book form and chances are they will purchase more than a single copy. This is not a traditional vanity operation. No one is actually being ripped off nor are the publishers raking in exorbitant profits. Page for page their titles are not much more expensive than those of Cape or Faber and are cheaper than the output of some little presses. However, distribution is patchy - not that many Forward titles make the shelves of our national chains, although efforts have been made. As for many of the small presses interested parties are encouraged to buy direct. All published poets are entered for free into the Top 100 Poets of the Year Award. This award consist of a share of £10,000, the first prize standing at £3000. Forward’s critics claim that quality is being neglected in exchange for quantity. Dumb down your criteria for inclusion, cram the poems in, sell more copies. Undoubtedly the genuine literary achievement of appearing in one of Forward’s books is questionable. But in mitigation it must be said that for some writers this will be their much-needed beginning (check Angela Macnab and Sally Spedding) but for others the only success they are ever going to get.

In addition to their schools and regional collections Forward run three magazines, Poetry Now, Scribbler! and Wordsmith (for young writers), a print and design service for self-publishers, New Fiction, an imprint for short story writers, and Spotlight - a joint publishing venture which showcases a dozen new poets a time. Their Writers’ Bookshop imprint publishes a most useful series of reference books including subject and genre guides, directories and handbooks. Forward offer the complete poetry life. If A Treasured Moment, Perception of Life, Inspire to Rhyme, In High Spirits, Message from Within and From A Distance sound like your scene send for the group’s information pack (Remus House, Peterborough, PE2 9JX), ring them on 01733 898105, fax them on 01733 313524, check their website, http://www.forwardpress.co.uk/, or e-mail your request (james@forwardpress.co.uk). You’ll find no dubious accommodation address dealing here, but on the other hand, few literary giants either.

Envious of Forward’s success at catching the hearts and minds of most of the UK’s poetry hobbyists a good number of rival empire builders have risen in their wake. Regional poetry anthologies, Best of Britain collections, compendiums of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh verse abound. Contributions are sourced through notices on library walls, local free-sheets, local radio and through direct mail. These operations vary from the glossy to a number of pathetically produced, and one hopes short-lived incarnations based in the non-metropolitan sticks. No actual rip-off occurs and contributors get in whether they purchase or not. But if you want to see your work then you must buy and the books can cost upwards of thirty pounds. Before agreeing to contribute check the press’s output. Do not submit blindly, research their back list. It is what Faber would demand of you. The rule applies to the whole poetry scene.

Part of this item appeared earlier in Peter Finch’s contribution to Macmillan’s annual The Writer’s Handbook, edited by Barry Turner. The Handbook is an essential for all serious writers. Order your copy here.