iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And the countdown is on to Wirral Poetry Festival this weekend (Oct3-4)! Lots of other small joys and news too. More here www.sarah-james.co.uk/?p=18366. Pix including scenes from my poetryfilms on at Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, on Saturday as part of the festival.

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

“[…] This is a fierce and compassionate collection of poems, one that explores women’s health, societal experience and survival. [...]” JP Seabright on My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It’s Not Personal But…or Getting All Confessional, Subjectivity and the Rejected (Reworked) Manuscript – some tricks & challenges when writing me(moir): moresarah.substack.com/p/its-not-pe…

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It’s Not Personal But…or Getting All Confessional, Subjectivity and the Rejected (Reworked) Manuscript – some tricks & challenges when writing me(moir): moresarah.substack.com/p/its-not-pe…

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

“I’m just working differently. Like a toaster that makes tea or a kettle that gives compliments.” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

BOOK LAUNCH! Join me, Laura Besley, Diane Simmons and Claire Booker for an evening of readings on Oct 16th! We'll be launching my new pamphlet, My Body is a Stranger, but also have poetry & fiction readings from V Press writers. Zoom 8pm Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“Leaden tiredness: my chest crushed by a felled tree or two, mind too weak to ask for help.” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

“I’m flailing like an animal who forgot how to make sounds and no one looks back, no one calls for me” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

“confessing to the person I love most feeling like I’m held together by masking tape” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Sometimes I smile (19): Wired Flesh – poem, poem bio, discussion points & writing prompts. moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-… It’s hard to believe that the boys of this poem are now grown up, one with a child!

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

“[…] These poems are deeply moving and beautifully arranged and ultimately – in a world that so desperately needs it – hopeful.” Laura Besley on My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

“the anger curling around my tendons my skin feeling over-touched or coarse like it’s covered in sand” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

“everything being a symptom not being believed” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

“Their face was a charcoal drawing without any colour, empty spaces which taunted me. An outline of a person.” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

“You meet others outside the school gates, drawn together like animals sniffing out a prize but the prize is a mirage” My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Sometimes I smile 18: All the Flowers: poem + poem biography, discussion point & prompt moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-…

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

An autumn update -- exciting news, reviews & coming soon! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com @jennyhope.bsky.social @clairebooker.bsky.social @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social @bethosmond.bsky.social & others

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Now in stock & available to pre-order: My Body is a Stranger by Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social – a chapbook of poetry that is very visceral and very hopeful! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is...

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Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

COVER REVEAL! My Body is a Stranger, my pamphlet with @vpresslit.bsky.social is available for pre-order! My Body is a Stranger is very visceral and very hopeful. Thanks to Laura Besley and JP Seabright for the endorsements. Pre-order: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/my-body-is... #poetsofbluesky

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Now in stock & available to pre-order: Twenty Tides by Claire Booker @clairebooker.bsky.social – a chapbook of poetry that is very elemental and very pithy! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/twenty-tid...

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A 12-mile walk this morning, a kingfisher walk with my son on Friday, synchronistic timing for Sometimes I smile : Nomadic – poem, poem biography, discussion points & writing prompt. moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-…

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Photo-poems: visual art and poetry combinations for a high-tech age – a short essay/article & examples moresarah.substack.com/p/photo-poem…

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Photo-poems: visual art and poetry combinations for a high-tech age – a short essay/article & examples moresarah.substack.com/p/photo-poem…

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

“[…] make Rust Canyon an exhilarating read. This is eco-poetry at its most effective […] " Big thanks to London Grip for a stunning detailed review of Rust Canyon by Lauren Mason: londongrip.co.uk/2026/08/lond... Rust Canyon: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/rust-canyo...

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Share Sometimes I smile (16): Wanting – poem, poem biography, a video reading, discussion point & writing prompt moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-…

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

A realistic celebration of marriage/long-standing love? Sometimes I smile: This Holy Shrine, poem, poem biography, discussion points & prompt -- moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-…

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Fake it till you make it, Part 2: including collaboration, unboxing & tackling imposter syndrome moresarah.substack.com/p/fake-it-ti…

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The Welkin Press @welkinpress.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

DRUM ROLL!!!! Announcing the longlists for the Welkin Genre Prize 2026. Congratulations to the writers of these 50 wonderful pieces. Please feel free to celebrate wildly but don't reveal which piece is yours as judging is still ongoing! www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-press...

mattkendrick.co.uk

Welkin News | MattKendrick.co.uk

A writing prize open to all forms of narrative prose, be that flash fiction, short-short, vignette, haibun, hermit crab, prose poem or work that sits outside such labels.

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Sometimes I smile (14): Small Deceptions – appearances versus reality, science & more in a poem, poem biography, discussion points & prompt(s): moresarah.substack.com/p/sometimes-…

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james f. bread 🍞⁴🏴 @jimpixelbeard.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Did I recommend this book? I recommend this book. It asks questions about consciousness, the importance of communication and most importantly: how the fuck do you talk to octopodes? Turns out, it's pretty difficult.

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

V. Press is v v delighted to share the publication of Some Dark God by Cat Balaq – a chapbook of poetry that is very sacred and very profane! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The heat not so bad in Falmouth today as it's apparently going to be when we head home. I guess it's kind of apt timing for this Substack though: moresarah.substack.com/p/castaway-c...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

“Such a dark, magnificent creation. I devoured the poems. Strident, compelling dispatches from the underworld, meticulously crafted. These poems will get under your skin, go straight for the heart.” Helen Mort on Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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Elizabeth Osmond @bethosmond.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Here’s me reading from Hatchery. I will be reading @waterstones.bsky.social in Bristol on 8th July- www.waterstones.com/events/a-poe... @vpresslit.bsky.social #poemsaloud

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

“Vicious as you are in your pyjamas, incontinent as the moon, you lie awake, stubbornly sleepish in your outer skin.[…]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

V. v. excited to see Jenny Hope's V. Press collection, Wild Boar, SHORTLISTED in the INTERNATIONAL RUBERY BOOK AWARD 2026 (poetry & short fiction category)!!! Big congrats @jennyhope.bsky.social & all! Award: www.ruberybookaward.com/about-5 Wild Boar: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/wild-boar....

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

“He knows the best worms, how to gut the wood for grubs. Webbed feet to hold a mate tightly. […]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Great to read the lovely review of Lauren Mason’s Rust Canyon in The Poetry Review! Rust Canyon: vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/rust-canyo... More on The Poetry Review from The Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org.uk here: poetrysociety.org.uk/publications...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

“A black kimono – soul-thin drapes. See-through ache. […]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

“[…] her quick imagination moves through bleak, unnerving territory with a lightness of touch, reshaping the world [...] This is sharply observed, stirring writing.” John McCullough on Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

“search for and enter her name black and still in a white space. the ith of it. the eerie ili lifts us. […]" From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Writer life, retaining writer/initial spark excitement, social media & more moresarah.substack.com/p/fake-it-ti…

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Sarah James/Leavesley @sarahleavesley.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Feeling very lucky to spend today with 4 dads. Here’s a Father’s Day poem: A father stacks up blocks ten times in a row to be knocked down ten times in an instant; wipes noses and tears, mud and blood; [...] Sarah James, from Darling Blue indigodreamspublishing.com/sarah-ja…

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Ewen Glass @ewenglass.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Thrilled to get my hands on an advance copy of Cat Balaq’s new book from @vpresslit.bsky.social. Some collections sing, this one dances. Vital, dark and ultimately life-affirming, it's out 3rd July.

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Kathy Fish @kathyfish.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

SO GOOD! 💙

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

“the nothing/formless/what he desires or silence/oil-mouth/musk/she once” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

V. v. excited to share publication of the new bound version of The Neverlands by Damhnait Monaghan @downith.bsky.social – a flash fiction novella that is very raw and very real! vpresspoetry.blogspot.com

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

“I am the colour of sand, when sand is crushed to slutch. Ochre, yellow, brown, mottled and crosshatched, ground by years […]” From Some Dark God by Catherine Balaq vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/some-dark-...

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V. Press @vpresslit.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

“[…] a family epic in flash form, masterfully and movingly distilled, both devastating and hopeful.” Kathy Fish on The Neverlands by Damhnait Monaghan @downith.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/the-neverl...

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