Anthologies in 2024

I've not written for a while. Well actually, I have written around 100 poems in the last year or so, but this blog has been sadly neglected, so here I am with a little update!

Very happily, some of my recent poems have found their way into beautiful anthologies this year. My poem 'Change' (which first appeared on the brilliant Dirigible Balloon website) features in 'Rising into Sunlight' published by Oxford University Press as part of their 'readerful' series. It is complied by Catherine Baker and colourfully illustrated throughout.

'Rising Into Sunlight' is suitable for Year 3/4 pupils and offers a range of poems that are great to read aloud. (Get in touch if you'd like me to come into your setting to deliver a Performing Poetry workshop!)

The collection features poems from Matt Goodfellow, Alex Wharton and Naomi Shihab Nye amongst many others. It's an accessible introduction to poetry that consciously stretches vocabulary and encourages readers to actively consider how they feel about the poems they read.

I'm also really pleased to have two poems in the groundbreaking anthology 'And I Hear Dragons' published by Firefly Press.

This varied collection is edited by Hanan Issa (National Poet of Wales) and has lively illustrations from Eric Heyman.

The diverse range of dragon themed poems explore subjects such as identity and pride, and exposes young readers to a huge range of Welsh writers (26 writers feature in total). The collection is best suited to children aged eight to twelve.

Many of the poems in 'And I Hear Dragons' serve as excellent models for creative writing and I have been really enjoying introducing pupils to the collection in my workshops. Take a look at my next blog for some more information.

I also have three poems in 'Cosy Poems' edited by Gaby Morgan and published by Macmillan Children's Books.

This is a warming hug of a collection that celebrates the joy of cosiness and promotes wellbeing. It is full of poems of comfort and reassurance and would make a lovely classroom companion through the colder months.

New poems from modern writers sit alongside well-known classic work in this anthology.

'Cosy Poems' will be published in hardback in October 2024.