Next Generation Poets: Literary Meets

Mark Waldron was born in New York and works in advertising. His first book, The Brand New Dark was published by Salt Publishing in 2008. His second, The Itchy Sea, came out in September 2011 and his third, Meanwhile Trees, will be published by Bloodaxe in May 2016. His work appears in Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poets (Bloodaxe 2010) and Best British Poetry 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (all Salt).

He’s been named one of the 2014 Next Generation Poets by the Poetry Book Society. He lives in London with his wife and son.

Luke Kennard is a poet and writer of fiction. He won an Eric Gregory award in 2005 for his first collection of prose poems, The Solex Brothers (Stride Books), and his second collection of poetry, The Harbour Beyond the Movie (Salt, 2007), made him the youngest poet ever to be nominated for the Forward Poetry Prize for Best Collection.

His criticism has appeared in Poetry London and The Times Literary Supplement. Luke Kennard is Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. His 5th collection of poetry, Cain, will be published by Penned in the Margins in 2016 and his debut novel, The Transition, will be published by 4th Estate in 2017.

Melissa Houghton was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester in the UK in 1982. Her first collection, A Body Made of You, was published by Penned In The Margins in 2011, and Beautiful Girls was published in 2013 and was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Her poetry and short fiction have been published in literary magazines such as Poetry Salzburg, The New Writer, Magma and Tears in the Fence. Her poem, ‘Jim’, was recently included in Starry Rhymes, a chapbook published by Read This Press. She is a regular reviewer for The Short Review. Her poetry has recently been recorded for the poetry archive.