Frances Boyle
@francesboyle19.bsky.social
My novel, Skin Hunger, is coming in 2026. In the meantime, my latest poetry books are Openwork & Limestone (2022) & Light-carved Passages (2024). Prairie-raised author of Seeking Shade (stories 2020), Tower (novella 2018) etc.
www.francesboyle.com
www.francesboyle.com
Here's my poem for the Hallows, and for my mother who would have turned 105 today.
Like many other poems in Openwork and Limestone, my most recent book, this brings together the mythic/deep time with the familial/personal.
Like many other poems in Openwork and Limestone, my most recent book, this brings together the mythic/deep time with the familial/personal.
November 1, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Here's my poem for the Hallows, and for my mother who would have turned 105 today.
Like many other poems in Openwork and Limestone, my most recent book, this brings together the mythic/deep time with the familial/personal.
Like many other poems in Openwork and Limestone, my most recent book, this brings together the mythic/deep time with the familial/personal.
This book is such a great read! Meticulously researched history meets beautifully imagined magic.
Got a royalty statement and my 2022 novel The Embroidered Book continues to outsell my later books, partly because it had momentum out of the gate, but at this point those sales are word of mouth, which is cool. If you fancy a big novel about Marie Antoinette and her sister as rival magicians, here:
The Embroidered Book
*Winner of the Aurora Award for Best Novel*
‘Spellbinding’ JJA Harwood
‘An entertaining and dark read’ Stylist
‘An absorbing novel’ Guardian
‘Beautifully wr...
www.harpercollins.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:44 PM
This book is such a great read! Meticulously researched history meets beautifully imagined magic.
Delighted to again have some poems in the lovely @talking-time.bsky.social ! Thanks to EIC Malcolm Curtis!
talkingaboutstrawberries.blogspot.com/2025/10/fran...
talkingaboutstrawberries.blogspot.com/2025/10/fran...
Frances Boyle
affinity/ease Our two heads bent in conversation, touches on shoulder, on the small of backs. That daylight dance we recognize from...
talkingaboutstrawberries.blogspot.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Delighted to again have some poems in the lovely @talking-time.bsky.social ! Thanks to EIC Malcolm Curtis!
talkingaboutstrawberries.blogspot.com/2025/10/fran...
talkingaboutstrawberries.blogspot.com/2025/10/fran...
I've been lucky to have several poems and a short interview in this lovely magazine, and it's always been a great experience. Check it out and don't hesitate to submit some work if you think it would be a good fit.
We are still seeking submissions, and are desperately low! Please send!
talking about strawberries all of the time seeks submissions for our 15th issue of unpublished poetry, including visual and concrete poetries, as well as lyric and postcard prose.
Send as .doc or .docx with author biography. No homophobia, racism or hate. October 1.
[email protected]
Send as .doc or .docx with author biography. No homophobia, racism or hate. October 1.
[email protected]
September 25, 2025 at 2:37 PM
I've been lucky to have several poems and a short interview in this lovely magazine, and it's always been a great experience. Check it out and don't hesitate to submit some work if you think it would be a good fit.
Happy that my poem "Day Break" is in Anacapa Review, thanks to guest editor Santa Barbara Poet Laureate @gyatchisin.bsky.social. I learned of the mag when Ottawa poet friends David O'Meara & Katherine Leyton had work in the prior issue so I took the chance to submit. anacapareview.com/frances-boyle/
Frances Boyle
Day Break …the acoustic nature of sheets―Brian Turner “Alexa, Awake” What whispers in the corners, whiskers feline in the dawn light? Sounds I assemble from the silent slip of feet on sheets, ears tun...
anacapareview.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Happy that my poem "Day Break" is in Anacapa Review, thanks to guest editor Santa Barbara Poet Laureate @gyatchisin.bsky.social. I learned of the mag when Ottawa poet friends David O'Meara & Katherine Leyton had work in the prior issue so I took the chance to submit. anacapareview.com/frances-boyle/
If you're in or near Ottawa, don't miss this!
Saturday September 20, poetry chap launch with Dagne Forrest & @snullr.bsky.social (& guest reader moi!)
August 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
If you're in or near Ottawa, don't miss this!
Reposted by Frances Boyle
talking about strawberries all of the time seeks submissions for our 15th issue of unpublished poetry, including visual and concrete poetries, as well as lyric and postcard prose.
Send as .doc or .docx with author biography. No homophobia, racism or hate. October 1.
[email protected]
Send as .doc or .docx with author biography. No homophobia, racism or hate. October 1.
[email protected]
August 22, 2025 at 3:08 PM
talking about strawberries all of the time seeks submissions for our 15th issue of unpublished poetry, including visual and concrete poetries, as well as lyric and postcard prose.
Send as .doc or .docx with author biography. No homophobia, racism or hate. October 1.
[email protected]
Send as .doc or .docx with author biography. No homophobia, racism or hate. October 1.
[email protected]
What a joy to come home from vacation to this gorgeous new book by my friend @kimfahner.bsky.social ! Bees and magic and fantastic poetry -- I've been looking forward to this for a while!
August 13, 2025 at 8:28 PM
What a joy to come home from vacation to this gorgeous new book by my friend @kimfahner.bsky.social ! Bees and magic and fantastic poetry -- I've been looking forward to this for a while!
Received my contrib copy of dream publication @prisminternational.bsky.social with my poem "Likeness". My brother Peter's been gone 25 years but grief remains fresh.
Happy to see friends @rsitoski.bsky.social, Susan Wismer, @snehaskanta.bsky.social here. Thanks to Poetry Editor Ayda Niknami & team!
Happy to see friends @rsitoski.bsky.social, Susan Wismer, @snehaskanta.bsky.social here. Thanks to Poetry Editor Ayda Niknami & team!
August 10, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Received my contrib copy of dream publication @prisminternational.bsky.social with my poem "Likeness". My brother Peter's been gone 25 years but grief remains fresh.
Happy to see friends @rsitoski.bsky.social, Susan Wismer, @snehaskanta.bsky.social here. Thanks to Poetry Editor Ayda Niknami & team!
Happy to see friends @rsitoski.bsky.social, Susan Wismer, @snehaskanta.bsky.social here. Thanks to Poetry Editor Ayda Niknami & team!
Reposted by Frances Boyle
Annexing territory by force is illegal under international law. 🚫🌍
The UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions are clear: no country can take land during war or occupation. ⚖️📢
The UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions are clear: no country can take land during war or occupation. ⚖️📢
July 29, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Annexing territory by force is illegal under international law. 🚫🌍
The UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions are clear: no country can take land during war or occupation. ⚖️📢
The UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions are clear: no country can take land during war or occupation. ⚖️📢
@pinholepoetry.bsky.social makes gorgeous chapbooks! If you have something to send them, now's the time!
Pinhole Poetry runs a chapbook contest every year instead of the standard submission process. This year, our search runs from Aug 1 - Aug 31 2025. We are planning to publish nine titles (3 in Fall ’25, 3 in Spring ’26 & 3 in Summer ’26). Full guidelines found at:
pinholepoetry.ca/chapbook-contest/
pinholepoetry.ca/chapbook-contest/
August 1, 2025 at 2:18 PM
@pinholepoetry.bsky.social makes gorgeous chapbooks! If you have something to send them, now's the time!
I'm not doing #sealeychallenge this year (too many other deadlines/projects) but if you're looking for a book to add to your list, please consider downloading (for free) my Light-carved Passages from Doubleback Books @doublebackreview.bsky.social doublebackbooks.wordpress.com/poetry-books...
Light-carved Passages by Frances Boyle
The poems in Light-carved Passages knot and weave, tracing connections through tangles of family histories, and paths along rivers. Shadows and absences permeate the collection as does an intensity…
doublebackbooks.wordpress.com
July 31, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I'm not doing #sealeychallenge this year (too many other deadlines/projects) but if you're looking for a book to add to your list, please consider downloading (for free) my Light-carved Passages from Doubleback Books @doublebackreview.bsky.social doublebackbooks.wordpress.com/poetry-books...
Just finished Zilla Jones's stunning novel The World So Wide. I can't say enough good things about it. Fascinating immersion in the world of opera and political upheaval in Grenada, a nail-biting plot, and a fierce, flawed and beautifully nuanced main character, Felicity Alexander. A fantastic read!
July 3, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Just finished Zilla Jones's stunning novel The World So Wide. I can't say enough good things about it. Fascinating immersion in the world of opera and political upheaval in Grenada, a nail-biting plot, and a fierce, flawed and beautifully nuanced main character, Felicity Alexander. A fantastic read!
Thanks so much to @redogrereview.bsky.social for replaying my Buffyverse poem from last fall. (And for choosing to publish it in the first place!)
Time for a poetry flash replay!
From the Red Ogre Review archive:
Frances Boyle
Harmony Has Minions?
Issue Twenty-Six, October 2024
https://ogre.red/issues/2024-10/2024-10-boyle-frances/
(Courtesy of the ROR poetry bot.)
From the Red Ogre Review archive:
Frances Boyle
Harmony Has Minions?
Issue Twenty-Six, October 2024
https://ogre.red/issues/2024-10/2024-10-boyle-frances/
(Courtesy of the ROR poetry bot.)
July 3, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Thanks so much to @redogrereview.bsky.social for replaying my Buffyverse poem from last fall. (And for choosing to publish it in the first place!)
Happy to have my contrib copy of @theampersandreview.bsky.social with my poem "Pelagic"! I've loved the mag since the 1st issue, and glad to appear alongside mentor/friend Barry Dempster. The great @razovsky.bsky.social is on the cover! Thanks to EIC @paulvermeersch.bsky.social and the entire team!
June 29, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Happy to have my contrib copy of @theampersandreview.bsky.social with my poem "Pelagic"! I've loved the mag since the 1st issue, and glad to appear alongside mentor/friend Barry Dempster. The great @razovsky.bsky.social is on the cover! Thanks to EIC @paulvermeersch.bsky.social and the entire team!
Want all the news about VERSeFest @versefest-ottawa.bsky.social and other VERSE Ottawa goings-on (including what Ottawa's Poets Laureate are up to)?
Do sign up for the newsletter - see the link below and the fancy QR code.
Do sign up for the newsletter - see the link below and the fancy QR code.
We're making a @versefest-ottawa.bsky.social mailing list!
If YOU want to get the word about VERSeOttawa shows, workshops, and events plus poetry news, writing prompts, and other goodies, you can sign up by using the qr code in the image OR by following this link:
verse-ottawa.kit.com/4aab0fd909
If YOU want to get the word about VERSeOttawa shows, workshops, and events plus poetry news, writing prompts, and other goodies, you can sign up by using the qr code in the image OR by following this link:
verse-ottawa.kit.com/4aab0fd909
June 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Want all the news about VERSeFest @versefest-ottawa.bsky.social and other VERSE Ottawa goings-on (including what Ottawa's Poets Laureate are up to)?
Do sign up for the newsletter - see the link below and the fancy QR code.
Do sign up for the newsletter - see the link below and the fancy QR code.
Another incredible and moving essay from the wonderful @nancyhuggett.bsky.social. Up now on @theforge.bsky.social
So many thanks to @theforge.bsky.social for picking this weird little triptych. Thank you @saracrowley.bsky.social for finding it & fixing it & sharing it (& for the amazing author questions.
Our nonfiction story of the week is What Remains by Nancy Huggett.
June 16, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Another incredible and moving essay from the wonderful @nancyhuggett.bsky.social. Up now on @theforge.bsky.social
I'm delighted that "Saskatchewan Power", a chapbook ms about my childhood home of Regina SK, is one of four finalists for the NDSU Press (@ndsuofficial.bsky.social) 2025 Poetry of the Plains & Prairies (POPP) Award that spans the US plains & the Cdn prairies. Winner gets letterpress publication!
May 30, 2025 at 7:28 PM
I'm delighted that "Saskatchewan Power", a chapbook ms about my childhood home of Regina SK, is one of four finalists for the NDSU Press (@ndsuofficial.bsky.social) 2025 Poetry of the Plains & Prairies (POPP) Award that spans the US plains & the Cdn prairies. Winner gets letterpress publication!
I was excited to learn yesterday that work I submitted is a finalist for an amazing prize. (Veils of vaguepost to be lifted soon!)
May 29, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I was excited to learn yesterday that work I submitted is a finalist for an amazing prize. (Veils of vaguepost to be lifted soon!)
Delighted to have one of my poems accepted by @wildroofjournal.bsky.social. I love that the mag's name comes from a William Blake poem "a roof, shaggy, wild, enclos'd / In an orb his fountain of thought". Thanks to EIC @aaronlelito.bsky.social! Looking forward to the issue's fall release.
May 22, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Delighted to have one of my poems accepted by @wildroofjournal.bsky.social. I love that the mag's name comes from a William Blake poem "a roof, shaggy, wild, enclos'd / In an orb his fountain of thought". Thanks to EIC @aaronlelito.bsky.social! Looking forward to the issue's fall release.
So happy to have my poem "Lilies" in this lovely (digital and limited edition print) chapbook! Thanks to @vallummag.bsky.social and editors!
*Poems from the Crowd* is now available!
Explore the poems of contemporary
poets for the donation price of $2 CDN (in digital format).
We’ve also published a limited print edition of 100 copies for this first issue of the series: Summer 2025. ($8)
Happy reading!
vallummag.com/product/poem...
Explore the poems of contemporary
poets for the donation price of $2 CDN (in digital format).
We’ve also published a limited print edition of 100 copies for this first issue of the series: Summer 2025. ($8)
Happy reading!
vallummag.com/product/poem...
May 14, 2025 at 12:44 PM
So happy to have my poem "Lilies" in this lovely (digital and limited edition print) chapbook! Thanks to @vallummag.bsky.social and editors!
I saw "How Deep is Your Love" at @hotdocs.bsky.social about scientists at the Clarion Clipperton zone. www.sandboxfilms.org/films/how-de.... Amazing film!
May 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I saw "How Deep is Your Love" at @hotdocs.bsky.social about scientists at the Clarion Clipperton zone. www.sandboxfilms.org/films/how-de.... Amazing film!
Check out this beautiful journal! (Subs open until May 15)
Spring Issue: wildroofjournal.com/issue-29/
Artwork by @rebeccaclarkart.bsky.social
#roots #nature #spring
Artwork by @rebeccaclarkart.bsky.social
#roots #nature #spring
May 5, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Check out this beautiful journal! (Subs open until May 15)
So pleased to have my dreamy poem "Remnants" in the lovely journal Book of Matches. Go to www.bookofmatcheslitmag.com page 77 for my poem, and stay for other work by fine writers including friend Meg Freer. Thanks to editors Kelli Allen and Nicholas Christian for choosing my work for this issue!
May 4, 2025 at 1:53 PM
So pleased to have my dreamy poem "Remnants" in the lovely journal Book of Matches. Go to www.bookofmatcheslitmag.com page 77 for my poem, and stay for other work by fine writers including friend Meg Freer. Thanks to editors Kelli Allen and Nicholas Christian for choosing my work for this issue!