Editing & Reading

Greetings autumn! A few lovely things to post about. I’m delighted to have had a small hand in editing a wonderful children’s book by the inspirational Doncaster young writer, Sam Davis – But Mummy Doesn’t Have a Broken Arm. Sam attends my Hive poetry group and is a super talent. She wrote the book in the absence of finding anything suitable for children to read around understanding why a parent, or adult in their lives, might be in a mental health hospital. The book is beautifully illustrated by Luna de Vera and Sam is an absolute inspiration in following her creative dreams and addressing something much needed.

Blurb from the book: But Mummy Doesn’t Have a Broken Arm looks at the reasons why a parent may be in a mental health hospital, focusing on the visual differences between physical and mental health. It also reiterates the fact that it’s not the child’s fault that a parent is poorly. It can be very hard for children to understand why their mum or dad is not at home, and to understand the complexities of mental health. This book aims to explain that in an easy to understand terms with illustrations to help alongside the text. You can buy the book on Amazon here.

In early September, I had a lovely afternoon doing a reading with a poet I really admire, Rachel Bower, at the beautiful Upper Chapel in Sheffield for Off the Shelf Festival of Words as part of the Sheffield Showcase. It was like giving a sermon haha. The best part was that some really lovely writers I know came to support, and my cousin made it too. It was so nourishing to sit and chat over coffee after with some very brilliant women.

I actually wrote a poem recently too – that side of things has been a bit quiet for a while. And I got two poems accepted for an anthology about Yorkshire – thank you Green Teeth Press! I’m full steam ahead now with Hive happenings (we’ve just heard from the Arts Council and we are go for another year!) I’ve also got several freelance projects on the go. I hope wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, things are good.