Verve Poetry Press
Verve Poetry Press is a quite new and already award-winning press that focussed initially on meeting a local need in Birmingham - a need for the vibrant poetry publication. Co-founded by Stuart Bartholomew and Amerah Saleh, it now publishes poets from all corners of the UK - poets that speak to the city’s varied and energetic qualities and will contribute to its many poetic stories.
Added to this is a colourful pamphlet series, many featuring poets who have performed at our sister festival - and a poetry show series which captures the magic of longer poetry performance pieces by festival alumni such as Polarbear, Matt Abbott and Genevieve Carver.
In 2019 the press was voted Most Innovative Publisher at the Saboteur Awards, and won the Publisher’s Award for Poetry Pamphlets at the Michael Marks Awards.
Like the festival, we strive to think about poetry in inclusive ways and embrace the multiplicity of approaches towards this glorious art.