Listings publications
guides & catalogues & compendiums
The Small Press Guide 2002 Writers’ Bookshop (Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Woodston, Peterborough, PE2 9JX, A5ish/perfect bound, 358pp/£9.99).
An essential resource for writers, particularly poets, the Small Press Guide includes information about most small press poetry magazines in the UK, along with information on genre and miscellaneous publications. It's pleasing that editors get to describe their own publications as that allows them to get quirky and indulge in cheese. Some of the entries are just plain cute. I like this from Tremblestone: "Still the best poetry magazine to come out of Plymouth since Terrible Work…" How's that for low self-esteem? Listing magazines that are not open to submissions seems a little curious. Why, for instance, bother with Resurgence? As a publisher of poetry, it isn't open to submissions, including it just wastes the time of those who buy and use the Small Press Guide. The publishers of an annual small press guide might not want to irritate writers looking for outlets. They are, after all, Writers' Bookshop customers. Why offer free advertising to a closed shop? Writers’ Bookshop also produce a Guide to Book Publishers, though I cannot comment on how up-to-date or comprehensive this is as I haven't seen a copy. "The Small Press Guide is better than sex!" (10th Muse)
Light’s List 2002 John Light (Photon Press, 37 The Meadows, Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1NY, A5/saddle stitched, 70pp/£2.50 each, cheques payable to John Light).
If you buy a copy of the Small Press Guide, you'll want a copy of this too. It's odd that Light's List lists the Small Press Guide, but the Small Press Guide doesn't list Light's List. Why is that? The two are complementary. Light's List only lists basic info, but it does include smaller magazines that don't make it into the Small Press Guide (such as Steve Urwin's Moodswing). The Small Press Guide only lists UK titles, Light's List lists "over 1500 independent press magazines publishing poetry, short stories, articles, artwork and market information in English." It starts with Argentina and ends with Yugoslavia. Now, how global is that? If it gets any bigger people will start demonstrating against it.
Peter Riley (Books) Catalogue 76 (27 Sturton Street, Cambridge, CB1 2QG, A5/saddle stitched, 10pp/free for SAE).
A poet-bookseller's catalogue, including 'quality' - from essential modernism to the quirkiest po-mo - and 'width' - from samizdat editions of elder statesperson-poets to Simon Armitage. Given that Waterstones are working their way around to banning books from their stores, Peter Riley's postal book shop adds ever more value to the process, just by staying as it is. The best 'for sale' bookshelf in the business, with no 'three for two' deals at all as far as I can see.
Data Dump 58 Steve Sneyd (4 Nowell Place, Almondbury, Huddersfield, HD5 8PB, A5/folded card, 4pp/70p post free - you can pay in stamps).
In which poetrynaut Steve Sneyd continues to wobble through the delta quadrant in his home-made spaceship. All in a curious language, hand-written and very small. Size doesn't matter in some quantum realities, and as Steve has spent so much time off-world his nano-text probably seems afflicted by giantism to his own weird eye (Steve only has one eye, plus some antennae). If he sits next to you on the bus tendrils of his beard start to wrap themselves around your lyrical apertures, so watch it. The densely packed handwriting - with crucial afterthoughts packed in even smaller script into the margins - contains secrets, mostly about the stars; well, details of lesser known sci-fi publications. If it moon-walks and it's in print then Steve will know about it. If you publish anything sci-fi, tell him, he'll welcome you, even if you do look scary. Steve lists all subdivisions of the sci-fi genre - books, pamphlets, magazines, operas, CDs - even individual broadcasts. "A jokey UFO-related track was a curiosity played on the Jan 19th, 02, R2 Jimi Hendrix tribute prog called 'Project X-P', it involved an alien interviewee who suddenly rockets off back noisily into space." So, if you think a sci-fi thought, tell Steve. And no, that isn't sarcasm, he lists thought-quotes too: "We should care what bothers Max Poet - he brings back news about us from tomorrow." Original thought by John Igo (p.19, On Poetry & Poetics, Argo P, Austin Texas, 2001). Steve also acts as alien plant consultant to BBC Radio 4s Gardener's Question Time. Triffid rot. Foliate head. Red Spider Mite from Mars.
Page(s) 62-63
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The