Vicky is a British/Welsh poet, and occasional short story writer based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Her debut pamphlet If All This Never Happened (Southword Editions) was a winner of the Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition and was shortlisted for Best Poetry Pamphlet in the Saboteur Awards 21/22. She also works as a poetry teacher, and a mentor and editor of established poets, and young and emerging poets who have received accolades such as: the New Poets Prize, the Young Northern Writers Award, and Foyle Young Poet of the Year.
She’s the editor of four books of poetry and fiction written by emerging young writers, and writes content for creative projects and promotional literature. Vicky was an Jerwood/Arvon mentee for poetry (2019/20) working with poet Hannah Lowe and was recently shortlisted for the Mairtin Crawford Award for Poetry 2022.
Publications:
The Rialto, Magma, Atlanta Review, The Interpreter’s House, Poetry Wales, Butcher’s Dog, Under the Radar, The North, And Other Poems, Matter, Brittle Star, Write Where We Are Now project (Carol Ann Duffy/MMU), Slim Volume, Pieces of Me, Wild Poetry, Silver Birch Press, Café Writers Magazine, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Prole, New Welsh Reader (forthcoming) and anthologised in Verse Matters (Valley Press 2017), Not in the Plan Vol4 (Carers UK 2017), Mancunian Ways (Fly on the Wall Press 2020), Poems about Love (Fragmented Voices 2020), The Untangling (Arvon 2020) Yorkshire Anthology (Green Teeth Press 2021/22), NeurodiVERSE (Flapjack Press 2022) The Brain Charity Liverpool Poetry Prize Anthology (2022)
Writing Accolades, Awards & Happenings:
Writing Teaching/Facilitation & Mentoring – bodies include:
Writing-related Commissions (not including projects):
Editing:
Vicky has collated and edited many publications for creative projects over the years including four anthologies of poetry & short fiction by emerging young writers: Everyday Hymn (2014) Wild Poetry (2017), Everyday Smile (2018), Surfing the Twilight (2019). She is a currently contributing editor at Poetry Wales (2021)
Readings:
Various including What We Read Now, Cork Poetry Festival, Poetry Wales, Verse Matters, York Explore, The Shipping Forecast, Apples & Snakes, Harland Works, Off the Shelf Festival of Words, Rotherham Open Mic Performance, Gorilla Open Mic, Dina Sheffield, Writing East Midlands & Words Aloud.
See Facilitation and Projects for more about her work as a writing facilitator and projects relating to writing.
Photo: Interviewing Shonaleigh Cumbers for Dyslexic & Loving Words