Chris Holifield
When Jonathan Douglas, CEO of the National Literacy Trust, and Gaby Morgan, legendary children’s poetry editor at Macmillan Children’s Books, and I got together in 2007 to discuss the parlous state of children’s poetry publishing, I didn’t realise that it might take so long for things to change.
We set up the Children’s Poetry Summit as a pressure group offering support and information to all those involved in children’s poetry through meetings three times a year. The Summit has always been open to anyone who’s interested and over the years it has grown and contributed to a renaissance in children’s poetry – though there’s still plenty to fight for!
During the pandemic we moved to Zoom but since then have offered hybrid meetings, which are much more accessible to those who live outside London. We currently have nearly a hundred members.
The blog started in May 2019 with the ambitious aim of producing a new blog every week and I am tremendously proud to say that we have managed to achieve this for five years. I have been doing the commissioning, scheduling and editing, and Liz Brownlee has been wrestling the blogs onto the WordPress site and providing many ideas, contacts and input from the children’s poetry world.
We have had regular blogs from a number of loyal bloggers, including poets such as Pie Corbett, Brian Moses, Joshua Siegal, Sue Hardy-Dawson, Laura Mucha, Roger Stevens, Cheryl Moskowitz, Rachel Piercey, Ana McLaughlin, James Carter and Shauna Darling Robertson, to name just a few, and from organisations such as CLPE, The Poetry Society, the National Literacy Trust, the National Poetry Library and National Poetry Day.
We’ve also had many fantastic guest blogs – from Michael Rosen, whose ‘A Sense of Revival in Children’s Poetry’ was our first-ever blog, from winners and judges of the CLiPPA Prize, and from the brilliant Chris Riddell, Allie Esiri, anthologist par excellence, and Teresa Cremin, providing an inspirational overview from the Open University.
Our Editor Profiles, which offer space for publishers to talk about what they do, have featured Gaby Morgan and Janetta Otter-Barry. Our Poet Profiles have been especially fascinating and give space for poets to talk about their work and careers. So far we’ve featured Michaela Morgan, Pie Corbett, Coral Rumble, Dom Conlon and Brian Moses, but we hope there will be many more to come.
Chris Holifield worked in publishing for many years, then spent 13 years as director of the Poetry Book Society and 19 running the T S Eliot Prize. She also set up WritersServices, a website providing editorial services for writers, in 2001.
Gaby Morgan
I can remember standing at a poetry prize in 2007 – children’s poetry had enjoyed a sustained period of high sales but the bubble had finally burst, lists were cutting their numbers or shutting and we needed a way to keep the poetry flame burning.
I looked around the room and there were poets in one corner, arts bodies in another and publishers across the room – we needed a way to connect, to exchange ideas and contacts, to rekindle enthusiasm, to campaign and the CPS has been all of those things. It is the most brilliantly supportive network where we can all touch base, catch up and share. It is a fantastic, enthusiastic gang and I am so happy to be part of it.
Chris Holifield has been the most brilliant champion and chair and is the reason we are still going after all these years. Laura Mucha and Liz Brownlee have made all of the difference over the past five years, especially around the excellent blog which we are celebrating here, it gives such a good insight into all areas of the children’s poetry world. Here’s to another 5 years.
Gaby Morgan is an Associate Publisher at Macmillan Children’s Books and has run the poetry list for 30 years.
Liz Brownlee
I joined the CPS in 2012, and with Laura Mucha became part of the committee, joining wonderful Chris and Gaby when it was expanded in 2018. Since 2016 I have looked after the Twitter account – if you tag us in your post I will do my best to retweet you. And since 2019 I have posted the blogs and images on the Children’s Poetry Summit website, hopefully keeping them looking tidy and uniform, after Chris has done the hard work editing.
What a privilege it is to be first to read these fantastically varied viewpoints from across the children’s poetry world. There are glimpses into editing, editors, and publishers, and revelations of the ways the Poetry Society, National Poetry Day and many others find to promote, share and celebrate children’s poetry. The expertise, research and depth of knowledge of poetry pedagogy that has gone into the articles written for us is superb. The Children’s Poetry Summit blog has become a fantastic resource, thanks to Chris for instigating it.
I think I also ought to mention that children’s poets are the most helpful, kind and supportive group of people, who freely share their thoughts, experience and techniques – how lucky I am to be one of them, and how wonderful to be able to help in any way to support our world!
Liz Brownlee is an award-winning children’s poet and editor. She is a National Poetry Day Ambassador and runs the children’s poetry website Poetry Roundabout.
Laura Mucha
I love being part of the Children’s Poetry Summit committee. Apart from occasionally writing for it, I don’t do anything re the blog – Chris and Liz do all the work (THANK YOU!). But I give updates on AI and have chaired and scheduled meetings when Chris hasn’t been able to. And that has given me an insight into quite how much work, time, energy and skill Chris puts into keeping the CPS meetings going – sorting attendance, organising meeting logistics, and reviewing Ferelith Hordon’s brilliant minutes (THANK YOU Ferelith!).
Without Chris and Gaby, the Children’s Poetry Summit wouldn’t exist. Through bringing people together, they have created a community that care about, value and support children’s poetry. So THANK YOU!
And THANK YOU to Liz (who, with Chris, spends a vast amount of time making the blog happen), and everyone that attends meetings or writes for the CPS.
Here’s to another five years of championing children’s poetry.
Laura Mucha is an ex-lawyer turned award winning poet and Author-in-Residence at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge.
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