Home  /  CV Poetry  /  Publications  /  Fiction  /  Person  /  Local Scene  /  Links

 

Links 
Poetry      Writing
Useful resources
Interesting people
Local contacts
Here are links to various sites I've found useful - categories listed on the left. Some might be relevant to several categories (eg poetry and local) in which case I have either selected one category (apparently at random), or put the link in both.

This page is still very much under construction, so keep visiting. Feedback welcome, contact me at clarekirwan_at_btinternet.com

Poetry

Arts Council England - loads of info, resources, research and funding advice

BBC Poetry Out Loud - haven't examined this closely but it looks good with

interviews, recordings you can listen to, word games etc

Dead Good Poets Society - very active Liverpool-based group which has regular

open mics, guest poets, workshops, events and projects

Event Poets - professional poets for hire - Caribbean, European, or real scouse

International Performance Poetry Network - community of... guess what?...

performance poets - news of events, slams etc

Literary Festivals - British Council's list of UK lit fests 

The Poetry Kit - comprehensive database of current competitions, events, links to

the pages of dozens of poets. Free regular newsletter by email.

The Poetry Library - although the library itself is closed for refurbishment, this useful

site lists selected poetry events, news, competitions and magazines (online and

hard copy)

The Poetry Society - the main poetry organisation for the UK, with many resources,

membership, publications etc.

Prizemagic - my favourite site for writing competitions - great fun, cheerfully

irreverent

Rhymezone - probably shouldn't be telling you this, but it's a useful poetic resource

submissions - a useful and extensive list of links to the submissions pages of

 poetry mags (online and hard copy) and poetry presses

Wirral Ode Show - Open Mic nights, events

Write out Loud - Excellent site from the Bolton-based performance poets. Includes

 gigs across the nation (add your own), discussions, gallery of poets.

 

Writing

Arts Council England - loads of info, resources, research and funding advice

Association of Authors' Agents - database of agents

Author.co.uk - info on individual authors, writing groups etc

Comedy Zone - info on stand-up comedians, also advice, examples etc

Duotrope - simply the best free online database for writers! Check out 

thousands of searchable markets, track your submissions

Prizemagic - thorough and very entertaining list of current competitions for

writers and poets

Shvoong - get paid to write condensed 'abstracts' of books, scientific papers,

humanities, newspapers and websites... alledgedly 

Story - competitions, projects, news events - everything to do with short stories

UK Authors

Writelink - creative writing, paying markets, opportunities etc

 

 

Other Useful Resources

10,000 Year Calendar

Count Me In - database of current theme days/weeks/years. From Year of the

Volunteer to Be Nice to Nettles Week (I kid you not)

H2G2 - Articles n everything imaginable, brainchild of Hitchhikers Guide to the

Galaxy creator, the late, great Douglas Adams. Anyone can contribute.

On This Day - News database from the BBC

Rhymezone - excellent site for rhymes, soundalikes, synonyms, definitions etc. 

synonym.com - much better than standard word processor thesauri

Writer's Free Reference - eclectic collection of links to information on wild and

wonderful range of subjects from a 10,000 year calendar to a cliche finder, along

with many more general writers links (ho hum, competitions, magazines, grammar)

 

Interesting People

Gill McEvoy - warm, observant and often surprising

Elvis McGonagall - International poetry slam champion and bloody nice chap.

Cath Nichols - ex-doyenne of the Dead Goods, widely published and prone 

to dressing up - Hurrah!

Hovis Presley - a few examples from the late, great comedy poet.

Roger Cliffe-Thompson - scouse humour and great presence - he's got a tick on his head 

Justine Teeling - local poet whose succinct poems capture the zeitgeist

Nick Toczek - poet, story teller, magician and a bit of an expert on dragons

Local Contacts

BBC Radio Merseyside

Cheshire Arts - Cheshire council arts site

Cheshire Writers Groups

Liverpool Daily Post & Echo

Wirral Council - all the local information you could want - and more!

Wirral Globe - Telling it how it isn't, or, alternatively...