Tuesday 11 November 2014

True Tales from the Old Hill - Call for submissions

The Frogmore Press is seeking to publish a collection of outstanding new life writing, in partnership with the Centre for Life History and Writing Research at the University Sussex.

Image: Neil Gower/Viva Lewes, 2009
Writers are invited to submit a prose piece of up to 750 words in length on any subject, to create a ‘museum of Lewesian reality’ (inspired by Paul Auster's collection True Tales of American Life):

We are looking for stories. The stories have to be true, and they have to be short, but there are no restrictions as to subject matter or style. We are interested in stories written by people who live in or around Lewes now, but the stories do not have to be about Lewes; we are interested in anecdotes that reveal the mysterious and unknowable forces at work in our lives, in our family histories, in our minds and bodies, in our souls. In other words, true stories that sound like fiction. 

Criteria for submissions: contributors must live in or around Lewes.
Deadline: 31 March 2015
One hard copy and/or an emailed version to: 
The Frogmore Press
21 Mildmay Road
Lewes, BN7 1PJ

and/or frogmorepress@gmail.com

Please mark all submissions ‘TALES’.

A committee comprising editors at Frogmore and life writing specialists at the CLHLWR will consider all submissions in making their selection.

The Centre for Life History & Life Writing Research at the University at Sussex explores life narrative as art, history and social practice

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Catherine Smith's new work 'The New Cockaigne' to be performed at the Lewes Arms

Catherine Smith's new work The New Cockaigne, 'a rollicking ballad of revolution and fantastical carnal excess', will be published by The Frogmore Press in the next few days.

 

The cover was designed by Rob Macdonald.

​'Delicious, delightful and more than a little bit frightening, Catherine Smith’s The New Cockaigne creates a verbal feast of sexual, gastronomic and alcoholic excesses. A fascinating satire on how totalitarian thought processes imprison us all.' - Ros Barber

If you're free on Friday 14th November 2014 please come along to The Lewes Arms (upstairs), Lewes, East Sussex, to the first performance of a new Live Literature show adapted from Catherine Smith's long, surreal poem The New Cockaigne.  It will be performed by Andy Sykes and Laura Freeman, with live music from a live musician, and directed by the wonderful Mark C. Hewitt. There are two performances at The Lewes Arms (7pm and 9pm).

Booking details etc. here - click on 'events' www.leweslivelit.co.uk
The book will be available for a very reasonable £5 on the night, and afterwards.

Friday 3 October 2014

New submission arrangements for The Frogmore Papers

Please note that from October 2014 The Frogmore Papers will be operating a system of submission windows, which is increasingly common practice among little magazines. 

Submissions for the March issue will now be considered from 1 – 31 October and submissions for the September issue from April 1 – 30. 

Materials submitted outside these windows will be returned with regret. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but the change has been forced upon us by the sheer volume of submissions. It continues to be the case that postal submissions only will be considered from within the UK, with submissions from overseas welcomed as single Word file attachments sent to: frogmorepress@gmail.com


Wednesday 1 October 2014

Verrall returns to Lewes

Jeremy Page, editor of The Frogmore Papers, saw his play Verrall of the White Hart performed in situ last weekend as part of the Lewes Octoberfeast. 


The play, from an idea by John Kenward, tells the story of William Verrall, who brought the excitement of French cuisine to Lewes and to England in the 1750s. He worked at the White Hart, where the play was performed. 

John Kenward and Jeremy Page with Verrall's book
(picture credit: www.theargus.co.uk/)
Members of the audience were able to enjoy a dinner in the manner of Verrall in the restaurant of the White Hart following performances on Saturday and Sunday evening.


Thursday 25 September 2014

The Frogmore Poetry Prize 2015 - adjudicated by John McCullough, submissions now accepted

We are delighted to announce that the 28th Frogmore Poetry Prize will be adjudicated by Brighton poet John McCullough. John was born in Watford in 1978. His first collection of poems The Frost Fairs (Salt) won the Polari First Book Prize for 2012. It was a Book of the Year for both The Independent and The Poetry School, and a summer read for The Observer. He has also written commissioned poems for the British Museum and the British Film Institute. John teaches creative writing for the Open University and New Writing South and has a PhD from the University of Sussex on rhetoric and friendship in English Renaissance writing. He lives in Hove.
Congratulations to Emily Wills, whose Frogmore Prize winning poem ‘Still Life with Lobster Pots’ was chosen for inclusion in this year’s Forward anthology.

Details about the prize and conditions of entry below.

The winner of the Frogmore Poetry Prize for 2015 will win two hundred and fifty guineas and a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers. The first and second runners-up will receive seventy-five and fifty guineas respectively and a year’s subscription to The Frogmore Papers. Shortlisted poets will receive copies of selected Frogmore Press publications. Previous winners of the Prize have been David Satherley, Caroline Price, Bill Headdon, John Latham, Diane Brown, Tobias Hill, Mario Petrucci, Gina Wilson, Ross Cogan, Joan Benner, Ann Alexander, Gerald Watts, Katy Darby, David Angel , Howard Wright, Julie-ann Rowell, Arlene Ang, Peter Marshall, Gill Andrews, A K S Shaw, Sharon Black, Emily Wills and Lesley Saunders.

Conditions of Entry

1     Poems must be in English, unpublished, and not accepted for future publication.
2     Poems should be typed and no longer than forty lines.
3     Any number of poems may be entered on payment of the appropriate fee of £3 per    poem. Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to The Frogmore Press.
4     The following methods of payment are acceptable: cheque drawn on UK bank; British postal order; sterling.  
5     Each poem should be on a separate sheet, which should not include the name of the author.
6     The author’s name and address should be provided on an accompanying sheet of paper.
7     The winner, runners-up and shortlisted poets will be notified by post. All shortlisted poems will appear in number 86 of The Frogmore Papers (September 2015), which will be available at £5.00 from the address below, and on the Frogmore Press website.          
8     To receive a copy of the results, please enclose an s.a.e. marked ‘Results’.
9     Poems cannot be returned.
10   Closing date for submissions: 31 May 2015.
11   Copyright of all poems submitted will remain with the authors but the Frogmore Press reserves the right to publish all shortlisted poems.
12   The adjudicator’s decision will be final and no correspondence can be entered into.
13   Entries should be sent to: The Frogmore Press, 21 Mildmay Road, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1PJ.
14   The submission of poems for the Prize will be taken as indicating acceptance of the above conditions.

Monday 15 September 2014

84th number of The Frogmore Papers out now

The 84th number of The Frogmore Papers is published this month. With a striking cover by Seattle-based artist Clare Johnson, the issue features poetry by Caroline Clark, David Cooke, Sam Gardiner, Robert Hamberger, Jenny Hamlett, Christopher James, Michael Swan, Merryn Williams, Lynne Wycherley and others, prose by Alan Blackwood, Jim Conwell and Josie Turner, and artwork by Alexei Talimonov. This edition also includes all the poems shortlisted by Abegail Morley for this year’s Frogmore Prize, including the winner by Lesley Saunders and runners-up from Beth Somerford and Mark Fiddes. 


Copies are available post-free (£5.00) from The Frogmore Press, 21 Mildmay Road, Lewes BN7 1PJ, or may be purchased at Skylark in Lewes. Subscriptions remain excellent value at £15.00 for two years (four issues) or £10.00 for one year (two issues).

Saturday 30 August 2014

Verral's September return to Lewes

Frogmore editor Jeremy Page's play Verral of The White Hart will be performed at The White Hart, 55 High Street, Lewes, on Sat 26 and Sun 27 September at 6.45pm


A play and supper celebrating an 18th century Lewes ‘food hero’. William Verral was cook and master of the White Hart who is widely credited for introducing Britain to the cookery of aristocratic France. Verral wrote a recipe book, A Complete System of Cookery, published in 1759. The play Verral of The White Hart is written by Jeremy Page, and is based on an original idea by John Kenward (Kenward’s 1980 – 1991). 


Produced and directed by Synergy Theatre, who brought Hendrik’s Feast to Octoberfeast 2013, the play will be performed in the Sherriff’s Room in the White Hart followed by an optional two-course dinner using recipes from Verrall’s book.

Tickets from Synergy Theatre. Please book by phone: 01273 301444.
 £10 for performance only. £25.00 to include dinner (limited places)

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Lesley Saunders wins Frogmore Poetry Prize 2014

Adjudicator Abegail Morley has awarded this year’s Prize to Lesley Saunders for her poem ‘Torc’. Abegail says of this poem: ‘It has precise, exquisite language; the word choice is perfect and the poet is completely in control. It is a tight, rich, well-observed piece that was always near to the top of my pile.’


First runner-up is Beth Somerford with ‘For the Children’, a poem described by Abegail as ‘simple, yet complex and multi-layered; a truly visceral piece that captures the physical perfectly.’

Second runner-up is Mark Fiddes with ‘In the Valley of the Fallen’ – a poem that ‘makes you sit bolt upright’.

Other poets shortlisted were Neil Elder with ‘Open-Plan’, Richard Hughes with ‘Wee Wee Hours’, Martin Malone with ‘Truman on Ischia’, Helen Overell with ‘Shelter’, Vivienne Tregenza with ‘Water Bearer’ and Josie Turner with ‘The Small Hours’.

All shortlisted poems will be published in the September issue of The Frogmore Papers, available post-free from The Frogmore Press, 21 Mildmay Road, Lewes BN7 1PJ at £5 per copy.

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Frogmore Papers to be celebrated in North London on 5 June


Thirty-one years of The Frogmore Papers will be celebrated at a special event under the auspices of Haringey Literature Live.

The evening will include founding editor Jeremy Page reading from his recently published Pindrop collection of poems Closing Time; Fiona Moore reading from her HappenStance pamphlet The Only Reason for Time; Jeremy Worman reading from his new short story collection Swimming with Diana Dors; and Canadian poet Nancy Mattson reading recent work.
Former Frogmore editor Kate Pemberton will host an open mic session.

The event is free and starts at 7.30 p.m.. For details see: http://haringeyliteraturelive.com/events/celebration-frogmore-papers/






Sunday 18 May 2014

Frogmore Poetry Prize 2014 - submission deadline 31 May!

A gentle reminder that it is now less than two weeks until the submission deadline for this year's Frogmore Poetry Prize.
This year the prize is adjudicated by Abegail Morley, whose first collection How to Pour Madness Into a Teacup (Cinnamon, 2009) was shortlisted for a Forward Prize.
The winner will receive 250 guineas. Results will be announced in early July.
Details here: http://frogmore-jp.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/frogmore-poetry-prize-2014-deadline-for.html

Monday 21 April 2014

Frogmore poets read at Torriano Meeting House


More than twenty HappenStance poets recently read at a unique event at the Torriano Meeting House, Kentish Town, London. A packed house heard readings from numerous contributors to The Frogmore Papers, among them
  • Gill Andrews
  • Clare Best
  • Sally Festing
  • Eleanor Livingstone
  • Fiona Moore
  • Jeremy Page
  • D. A. Prince
  • Matthew Stewart
  • Marion Tracy
  • Gina Wilson
and HappenStance's presiding spirit Helena Nelson. Collectively the readings told the story of HappenStance from its debut publication (by Eleanor Livingstone) in 2005, concluding with a foretaste of D.A. Prince's new collection Common Ground, which will be published later this year.

Sunday 20 April 2014

Frogmore poets launch new collections in Lewes, 30 April 2014

Save the date! On 30 April 2014, 7.30 pm in the Elephant & Castle, LewesFrogmore contributor Janet Sutherland and editor of the Frogmore Papers Jeremy Page will launch their new collections of poetry. All warmly invited. This is a free event, no need to book.

Link to the Facebook event HERE.
Address, map and directions to the Elephant & Castle HERE.

Saturday 8 March 2014

Frogmore Poetry Prize 2014 - Deadline for submissions is 31 May

May 31, 2014 is the deadline for submission of poems for this year's Frogmore Poetry Prize.

Now in its 28th year, the Prize has been awarded annually since 1987. Previous winners include Tobias Hill, Mario Petrucci, Howard Wright and Sharon Black. Emily Wills won the Prize in both 2012 and 2013.

This year's adjudicator is Abegail Morley. The winner will receive the sum of two hundred and fifty guineas.
Full details at http://www.frogmorepress.co.uk/ or see conditions below.

Conditions of Entry
  1. Poems must be in English, unpublished, and not accepted for future publication.
  2. Poems should be typed and no longer than forty lines.
  3. Any number of poems may be entered on payment of the appropriate fee of £3 per poem.   Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to The Frogmore Press
  4. The following methods of payment are acceptable: cheque drawn on UK bank; British postal order; sterling.  
  5. Each poem should be on a separate sheet, which should not include the name of the author.
  6. The author’s name and address should be provided on an accompanying sheet of paper.
  7. The winner, runners-up and shortlisted poets will be notified by post. All shortlisted poems will appear in number 84 of The Frogmore Papers (September 2014), which will be available at £5.00 from the address below, and on the Frogmore Press website.          
  8. To receive a copy of the results, please enclose an s.a.e. marked ‘Results’.
  9. Poems cannot be returned.
  10. Closing date for submissions: 31 May 2014.
  11. Copyright of all poems submitted will remain with the authors but the Frogmore Press reserves the right to publish all shortlisted poems.
  12. The adjudicator’s decision will be final and no correspondence can be entered into.
  13. Entries should be sent to: The Frogmore Press, 21 Mildmay Road, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1PJ.
  14. The submission of poems for the Prize will be taken as indicating acceptance of the above conditions.

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Frogmore Papers 83 is out

Number 83 of The Frogmore Papers (March 2014) is now available.
The issue contains poetry by William Bedford, Sasha Dugdale, Fiona Moore, Patricia Pogson, Eoghan Walls and others, prose by Rachel Cole, Athanasia Hughes and John O'Donoghue and artwork by Clare Johnson.
The striking cover is by Hythe-based artist Carol Lewis.


£5, post free, from
The Frogmore Press
21 Mildmay Road
Lewes
BN7 1PJ
UK
Or from Sky Lark bookshop, The Needlemakers, Lewes.

Thursday 2 January 2014

morphrog 8 - Poetry in the Extreme - goes live

The eighth edition of morphrog, a sister site of the Frogmore Press, is now live, with contributions from:


  • Michael Bartholomew-Biggs with David Walsh (artwork)
Image by David Walsh
  • Sharon Black
  • Clare Crossman
  • Robin Daglish
  • Michael Fraley
  • Charlotte Gann
  • Robin Houghton
  • Antony Johae
  • Robert Miles
  • Ottilie Mulzet
  • Martin Myers
  • Diana Reed
  • K V Skene
  • Michael Swan
  • Todd Swift