Bloodaxe Books
@bloodaxebooks.bsky.social
Bloodaxe Books, Britain's leading international poetry publisher.
www.bloodaxebooks.com
www.bloodaxebooks.com
'Sassy, clever, sharp – this collection is a delight to read, and to read aloud.' - Hannah Stone, in the December issue of @thelakepoetry.bsky.social, on @poetclare.bsky.social's sixth collection Lives of the Female Poets.
thelakepoetry.co.uk/reviews/dec25/
thelakepoetry.co.uk/reviews/dec25/
December 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
'Sassy, clever, sharp – this collection is a delight to read, and to read aloud.' - Hannah Stone, in the December issue of @thelakepoetry.bsky.social, on @poetclare.bsky.social's sixth collection Lives of the Female Poets.
thelakepoetry.co.uk/reviews/dec25/
thelakepoetry.co.uk/reviews/dec25/
Many congratulations to poet and playwright Stewart Conn, one of the leading Scottish figures honoured in The Saltire Society's Fletcher of Saltoun Awards 2025.
The Awards for Arts and Humanities went to Stewart Conn and violinist Nicola Benedetti.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
The Awards for Arts and Humanities went to Stewart Conn and violinist Nicola Benedetti.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
December 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Many congratulations to poet and playwright Stewart Conn, one of the leading Scottish figures honoured in The Saltire Society's Fletcher of Saltoun Awards 2025.
The Awards for Arts and Humanities went to Stewart Conn and violinist Nicola Benedetti.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
The Awards for Arts and Humanities went to Stewart Conn and violinist Nicola Benedetti.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
Huge congratulations to Bloodaxe poets Selima Hill and @georgeszirtes.bsky.social, who were presented with The King's Gold Medal for Poetry for the years 2022 and 2024 respectively a joint audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
November 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Huge congratulations to Bloodaxe poets Selima Hill and @georgeszirtes.bsky.social, who were presented with The King's Gold Medal for Poetry for the years 2022 and 2024 respectively a joint audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
'Sunshine' by Selima Hill was Poem of the Week in The Scotsman Magazine, chosen by @byleaveswelive.bsky.social.
'witty, acerbic, sad, tender, philosophical, beautifully observed ... another groundbreaking work by an important poet at the top of her game, always pushing the envelope of possibility.’
'witty, acerbic, sad, tender, philosophical, beautifully observed ... another groundbreaking work by an important poet at the top of her game, always pushing the envelope of possibility.’
November 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
'Sunshine' by Selima Hill was Poem of the Week in The Scotsman Magazine, chosen by @byleaveswelive.bsky.social.
'witty, acerbic, sad, tender, philosophical, beautifully observed ... another groundbreaking work by an important poet at the top of her game, always pushing the envelope of possibility.’
'witty, acerbic, sad, tender, philosophical, beautifully observed ... another groundbreaking work by an important poet at the top of her game, always pushing the envelope of possibility.’
We are delighted that Patricia Smith's The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems has won the prestigious US National Book Award for Poetry 2025!
First published in the US in Sept by Scribner/Simon&Schuster. Bloodaxe will publish the book in the UK & Ireland in May 2026: shorturl.at/B7dai
First published in the US in Sept by Scribner/Simon&Schuster. Bloodaxe will publish the book in the UK & Ireland in May 2026: shorturl.at/B7dai
November 21, 2025 at 12:43 PM
We are delighted that Patricia Smith's The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems has won the prestigious US National Book Award for Poetry 2025!
First published in the US in Sept by Scribner/Simon&Schuster. Bloodaxe will publish the book in the UK & Ireland in May 2026: shorturl.at/B7dai
First published in the US in Sept by Scribner/Simon&Schuster. Bloodaxe will publish the book in the UK & Ireland in May 2026: shorturl.at/B7dai
If you missed last night's wonderful online launch event, you can still catch it on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/live/OTRTqP2...
We were joined by Pia Tafdrup, Tomas Venclova & his translator Ellen Hinsey, plus Ivan V. Lalić's translator Francis R. Jones & Professor Svetlana Šeatović.
We were joined by Pia Tafdrup, Tomas Venclova & his translator Ellen Hinsey, plus Ivan V. Lalić's translator Francis R. Jones & Professor Svetlana Šeatović.
November 21, 2025 at 10:06 AM
If you missed last night's wonderful online launch event, you can still catch it on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/live/OTRTqP2...
We were joined by Pia Tafdrup, Tomas Venclova & his translator Ellen Hinsey, plus Ivan V. Lalić's translator Francis R. Jones & Professor Svetlana Šeatović.
We were joined by Pia Tafdrup, Tomas Venclova & his translator Ellen Hinsey, plus Ivan V. Lalić's translator Francis R. Jones & Professor Svetlana Šeatović.
The Taste of Lightning is a new selection of poems by Ivan V. Lalić, one of 20th-century Yugoslavia’s most crucial poets.
‘Lalić’s work…crackles with brilliant, arresting imagery forged by the heat of concentrated thought...' – Celia Hawkesworth, The Independent
‘Lalić’s work…crackles with brilliant, arresting imagery forged by the heat of concentrated thought...' – Celia Hawkesworth, The Independent
November 20, 2025 at 11:21 AM
The Taste of Lightning is a new selection of poems by Ivan V. Lalić, one of 20th-century Yugoslavia’s most crucial poets.
‘Lalić’s work…crackles with brilliant, arresting imagery forged by the heat of concentrated thought...' – Celia Hawkesworth, The Independent
‘Lalić’s work…crackles with brilliant, arresting imagery forged by the heat of concentrated thought...' – Celia Hawkesworth, The Independent
This new book from Pia Tafdrup (trans. David McDuff) brings together the third, fourth and fifth collections in her Senses Quintet. Bloodaxe published the first two parts, The Taste of Steel and The Smell of Snow, in one volume in 2021.
November 20, 2025 at 11:21 AM
This new book from Pia Tafdrup (trans. David McDuff) brings together the third, fourth and fifth collections in her Senses Quintet. Bloodaxe published the first two parts, The Taste of Steel and The Smell of Snow, in one volume in 2021.
‘Venclova is a lyric poet of magisterial allure, committed to philosophical meditations…Part exile, part seer, he is the artist as witness and a living example of a literary elite that evolved in crisis yet remained true to the dictates of art.’ – Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
November 20, 2025 at 11:21 AM
‘Venclova is a lyric poet of magisterial allure, committed to philosophical meditations…Part exile, part seer, he is the artist as witness and a living example of a literary elite that evolved in crisis yet remained true to the dictates of art.’ – Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
The launch event for our November titles is tonight at 7pm GMT on YouTube. Watch live or later on YouTube to enjoy readings from the poets & translators, plus discussion with Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
November 20, 2025 at 11:21 AM
The launch event for our November titles is tonight at 7pm GMT on YouTube. Watch live or later on YouTube to enjoy readings from the poets & translators, plus discussion with Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
It's publication day for our November titles! 📚
This month we have new translations of Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup and Ivan V. Lalić. Available now from our website and your local bookshop.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
This month we have new translations of Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup and Ivan V. Lalić. Available now from our website and your local bookshop.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
November 20, 2025 at 11:21 AM
It's publication day for our November titles! 📚
This month we have new translations of Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup and Ivan V. Lalić. Available now from our website and your local bookshop.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
This month we have new translations of Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup and Ivan V. Lalić. Available now from our website and your local bookshop.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
Join us tomorrow for our online launch event for new November titles by Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup and Ivan V. Lalić (1931-96), with readings from the poets & translators, plus discussion with editor Neil Astley.
Watch live (or later) on YouTube on Thurs 20 Nov, 7pm GMT:
youtube.com/live/OTRTqP2...
Watch live (or later) on YouTube on Thurs 20 Nov, 7pm GMT:
youtube.com/live/OTRTqP2...
November 19, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Join us tomorrow for our online launch event for new November titles by Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup and Ivan V. Lalić (1931-96), with readings from the poets & translators, plus discussion with editor Neil Astley.
Watch live (or later) on YouTube on Thurs 20 Nov, 7pm GMT:
youtube.com/live/OTRTqP2...
Watch live (or later) on YouTube on Thurs 20 Nov, 7pm GMT:
youtube.com/live/OTRTqP2...
'Krisztina Toth’s luminous and haunting poetry tells the story of a self, in public and private.'
My Secret Life: Selected Poems, translated from Hungarian by poet @georgeszirtes.bsky.social, has been shortlisted for the @womenintranslation.bsky.social Prize.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
My Secret Life: Selected Poems, translated from Hungarian by poet @georgeszirtes.bsky.social, has been shortlisted for the @womenintranslation.bsky.social Prize.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
November 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
'Krisztina Toth’s luminous and haunting poetry tells the story of a self, in public and private.'
My Secret Life: Selected Poems, translated from Hungarian by poet @georgeszirtes.bsky.social, has been shortlisted for the @womenintranslation.bsky.social Prize.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
My Secret Life: Selected Poems, translated from Hungarian by poet @georgeszirtes.bsky.social, has been shortlisted for the @womenintranslation.bsky.social Prize.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
Next Friday, @pascalepetit.bsky.social will be reading her poetry at The Resurgence Centre in Hartford, Devon alongside author Jay Griffiths.
Tickets available here: www.tickettailor.com/events/there...
@resurgencetrust.bsky.social
Tickets available here: www.tickettailor.com/events/there...
@resurgencetrust.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Next Friday, @pascalepetit.bsky.social will be reading her poetry at The Resurgence Centre in Hartford, Devon alongside author Jay Griffiths.
Tickets available here: www.tickettailor.com/events/there...
@resurgencetrust.bsky.social
Tickets available here: www.tickettailor.com/events/there...
@resurgencetrust.bsky.social
November news: shorturl.at/mzqLN
Vidyan Ravinthiran wins @forwardprizes.bsky.social for Best Collection; new translations from Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup & Ivan V. Lalić; online launch 20/11; Krisztina Tóth & Laura Wittner longlisted for Warwick Prize for Women in Translation; plus much more!
Vidyan Ravinthiran wins @forwardprizes.bsky.social for Best Collection; new translations from Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup & Ivan V. Lalić; online launch 20/11; Krisztina Tóth & Laura Wittner longlisted for Warwick Prize for Women in Translation; plus much more!
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
November news: shorturl.at/mzqLN
Vidyan Ravinthiran wins @forwardprizes.bsky.social for Best Collection; new translations from Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup & Ivan V. Lalić; online launch 20/11; Krisztina Tóth & Laura Wittner longlisted for Warwick Prize for Women in Translation; plus much more!
Vidyan Ravinthiran wins @forwardprizes.bsky.social for Best Collection; new translations from Tomas Venclova, Pia Tafdrup & Ivan V. Lalić; online launch 20/11; Krisztina Tóth & Laura Wittner longlisted for Warwick Prize for Women in Translation; plus much more!
Poet & translator @georgeszirtes.bsky.social is a nominee for the inaugural City of Literature Award. The winner will be chosen by residents of Eastern England & announced at a ceremony @writerscentre.bsky.social on 12 Feb. Vote by 12 Dec. #eastanglianbookawards
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
November 5, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Poet & translator @georgeszirtes.bsky.social is a nominee for the inaugural City of Literature Award. The winner will be chosen by residents of Eastern England & announced at a ceremony @writerscentre.bsky.social on 12 Feb. Vote by 12 Dec. #eastanglianbookawards
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
The joint winners of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, Vidyan Ravinthiran & Karen Solie, will be talking to @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social on Front Row tonight. They'll discuss their books #Avidyā & #Wellwater.
Tune in to 📻 BBC Radio 4 at 7.15pm, or listen later.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Tune in to 📻 BBC Radio 4 at 7.15pm, or listen later.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
October 28, 2025 at 4:48 PM
The joint winners of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, Vidyan Ravinthiran & Karen Solie, will be talking to @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social on Front Row tonight. They'll discuss their books #Avidyā & #Wellwater.
Tune in to 📻 BBC Radio 4 at 7.15pm, or listen later.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Tune in to 📻 BBC Radio 4 at 7.15pm, or listen later.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
We're delighted to have two titles on the 2025 Warwick Prize longlist: My Secret Life: Selected Poems by Krisztina Tóth (trs. @georgeszirtes.bsky.social) & Translation of the Route by Laura Wittner (trs. Juana Adcock).
More details: bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
@poetrytranslation.bsky.social
More details: bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
@poetrytranslation.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 11:02 AM
We're delighted to have two titles on the 2025 Warwick Prize longlist: My Secret Life: Selected Poems by Krisztina Tóth (trs. @georgeszirtes.bsky.social) & Translation of the Route by Laura Wittner (trs. Juana Adcock).
More details: bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
@poetrytranslation.bsky.social
More details: bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
@poetrytranslation.bsky.social
'a deeply moving, relevant, necessary collection of poems that meditates on identity and belonging.' - Rommi Smith, Co-Judge @forwardprizes.bsky.social
We're thrilled that Vidyan Ravinthiran's Avidyā is joint winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
We're thrilled that Vidyan Ravinthiran's Avidyā is joint winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
October 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
'a deeply moving, relevant, necessary collection of poems that meditates on identity and belonging.' - Rommi Smith, Co-Judge @forwardprizes.bsky.social
We're thrilled that Vidyan Ravinthiran's Avidyā is joint winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
We're thrilled that Vidyan Ravinthiran's Avidyā is joint winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...
'He can be comic and satirical...but his poems are often elegies to what we have lost without noticing; informed with a distinctly English music which stretches back through Betjeman to Hardy.' – Carol Ann Duffy, The Guardian, on Kit Wright, whose new collection is Jug Band Jag.
October 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM
'He can be comic and satirical...but his poems are often elegies to what we have lost without noticing; informed with a distinctly English music which stretches back through Betjeman to Hardy.' – Carol Ann Duffy, The Guardian, on Kit Wright, whose new collection is Jug Band Jag.
‘by turns surreal, witty and touching…in their brevity these poems possess an oddly snowballing effect, where narratives fuse with one another. […] This book marks Hill as a poet of boundless reinvention.' – Mícheál McCann, @irishtimes.com, on A Man, a Woman & a Hippoptamus.
October 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM
‘by turns surreal, witty and touching…in their brevity these poems possess an oddly snowballing effect, where narratives fuse with one another. […] This book marks Hill as a poet of boundless reinvention.' – Mícheál McCann, @irishtimes.com, on A Man, a Woman & a Hippoptamus.
'A shimmering, sublime gathering of poetic work.’ – @mabjones.bsky.social, Buzz Magazine
Parch is Menna Elfyn's 6th book of poetry from Bloodaxe, and for the first time includes poems written in English and some in her own translation.
Launch events in Wales:
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
Parch is Menna Elfyn's 6th book of poetry from Bloodaxe, and for the first time includes poems written in English and some in her own translation.
Launch events in Wales:
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
October 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM
'A shimmering, sublime gathering of poetic work.’ – @mabjones.bsky.social, Buzz Magazine
Parch is Menna Elfyn's 6th book of poetry from Bloodaxe, and for the first time includes poems written in English and some in her own translation.
Launch events in Wales:
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
Parch is Menna Elfyn's 6th book of poetry from Bloodaxe, and for the first time includes poems written in English and some in her own translation.
Launch events in Wales:
www.bloodaxebooks.com/events?artic...
The online launch event for our three October titles is now on YouTube.
Menna Elfyn and Kit Wright read live and discussed their books with the host, Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley. Selima Hill contributed audio recordings of readings from her new collection.
youtube.com/live/DhDrtmZ...
Menna Elfyn and Kit Wright read live and discussed their books with the host, Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley. Selima Hill contributed audio recordings of readings from her new collection.
youtube.com/live/DhDrtmZ...
October 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM
The online launch event for our three October titles is now on YouTube.
Menna Elfyn and Kit Wright read live and discussed their books with the host, Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley. Selima Hill contributed audio recordings of readings from her new collection.
youtube.com/live/DhDrtmZ...
Menna Elfyn and Kit Wright read live and discussed their books with the host, Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley. Selima Hill contributed audio recordings of readings from her new collection.
youtube.com/live/DhDrtmZ...
It's publication day for our three October titles!
We're publishing new poetry collections by Menna Elfyn, Selima Hill and Kit Wright. Links to their books below.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
We're publishing new poetry collections by Menna Elfyn, Selima Hill and Kit Wright. Links to their books below.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
October 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM
It's publication day for our three October titles!
We're publishing new poetry collections by Menna Elfyn, Selima Hill and Kit Wright. Links to their books below.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
We're publishing new poetry collections by Menna Elfyn, Selima Hill and Kit Wright. Links to their books below.
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/new_titl...
This Sunday, 7pm, Niall Campbell & Vidyan Ravinthiran will join the other shortlisted poets to read at the @forwardprizes.bsky.social Ceremony at London's @southbankcentre.bsky.social.
Tickets to both the in-person event and the livestream here:
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/for...
Tickets to both the in-person event and the livestream here:
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/for...
October 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This Sunday, 7pm, Niall Campbell & Vidyan Ravinthiran will join the other shortlisted poets to read at the @forwardprizes.bsky.social Ceremony at London's @southbankcentre.bsky.social.
Tickets to both the in-person event and the livestream here:
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/for...
Tickets to both the in-person event and the livestream here:
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/for...