An invitation to join us for an Evening of Poetry and Music

by Chris Routh, FCBG Chair

Our next conference, Sailing Forth: Inspiring Choices, hosted by Plymouth CBG, is taking place at Exeter University from 17 – 19 April 2020. For the second year running, there will be a celebration of poetry and music on the Friday evening, featuring some of the best children’s poets around, including:

Ed Boxall is an artist, writer, performer and educator who has recently illustrated Dragons’ Wood and Walking with My Iguana by Brian Moses. Ed’s latest anthology of poetry is Me and My Alien Friend: Cosmic Poems About Friendship. All published by Troika Books. To find out more about Ed’s work and subscribe to his blog about poetry, music, art and education visit his website edboxall.co.uk and follow him on Twitter @Edboxall

Liz Brownlee has become a familiar face at the North Somerset Teachers Book Award (NSTBA) ceremony as the winner of the Poetry Book category for two consecutive years. In 2017 Reaching the Stars: Poems About Extraordinary Women and Girls (co-written with Jean Dean and Michaela Morgan, Macmillan); and Apes to Zebras: An A-Z of Shape in 2018 (co-written with Sue Hardy-Dawson and Roger Stevens, Bloomsbury). Liz’s most recent anthology is Be the Change: Ideas to Help You Change the World (co-written with Matt Goodfellow and Roger Stevens, Macmillan). Visit her website poetlizbrownlee.co.uk and follow her on Twitter @Lizpoet

You can read a blog about how North Somerset Children’s Book Group came to set up the NSTBA here: https://fcbg.org.uk/how-the-awards-began/

Dom Conlon is a poet and author published by Troika, Bloomsbury, the Emma Press and himself! His new book This Rock, That Rock: Poems Between You, Me and the Moon, illustrated by Viviane Schwarz, is due for publication by Troika Books in March. Designed to celebrate 50 years since the first moon landing by Apollo 11 in 1969, it is a collection of 50 original poems written in all kinds of poetry forms. Visit his website domconlon.com  and follow him on Twitter @dom_conlon

Sue Hardy-Dawson is a poet, artist and illustrator, who has been widely published in poetry anthologies for children. Her first solo collection of poems Where Zebras Go was shortlisted for the CLiPPA Award in 2018; and she is one of the co-authors of Apes to Zebras: An A-Z of Shape Poems which won the NSTBA Poetry Book category in 2018 (see above). Sue’s latest collection is If I Were Other Than Myself (Troika). To watch her read a poem and download teaching resources visit https://clpe.org.uk/poetryline/poets/hardy-dawson-sue Follow Sue on Twitter @SueHardyDawson

Shauna Darling Robertson’s poems for children have appeared in anthologies published by Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Troika Books, Otter-Barry Books and The Emma Press. This year Shauna’s first full poetry collection for children called Saturdays at the Imaginarium, will be published by Troika Books. Visit her website shaunarobertson.com  and follow her on Twitter @ShaunaDarRob

Coral Rumble won the Caterpillar Poetry Prize for the best poem for children in 2018. She has written three collections of poetry and contributed to over 150 anthologies. Her most recent book is Mustafa’s Jumper (Wacky Bee Books) and her next book Riding a Lion will be published later this year by Troika Books. Visit her website coralrumble.co.uk and follow her on Twitter @RumbleCoral

This year, informal poetry workshops will also be taking place during breakfast on Saturday morning (7.30-8.30am, 18 April). We would like to thank Roy Johnson of Troika Books for organising and supporting these events. For information about the full range of books published by Troika Books see here https://www.troikabooks.com/

Finally, if this whets your appetite for more information about poetry for children, have a look at Andrea Reece’s recent article written as part of Books for Keeps’ fortieth anniversary celebrations https://childrenspoetrysummit.com/2020/01/30/andrea-reece-poetry-for-keeps-a-history-in-240-issues/

For the full conference programme & booking details see https://fcbg.org.uk/conference/ Places are still available for residential places and day delegates. Booking closes on Friday 28^th February 2020.