It was a huge privilege to be invited to lead a workshop for the wonderful Mslexia Salon last month on assembling and submitting a poetry pamphlet. I have a lot to thank Mslexia for, as the first magazine to publish one of my poems, back in 2004, and then as the launch-pad for my debut pamphlet Other Women’s Kitchens, which was published by Seren Books in 2021 as a result of winning the Mslexia Poetry Pamphlet Competition.

The Mslexia Salon is brilliant value – just £12 a year for access to a huge range of online writing workshops and resources. And it was a joy to deliver a session for such a supportive, dedicated group of women, who sustained huge levels of enthusiasm right throughout the two-hour session on a rainy October evening.

Joining the Salon also provides access to recordings of sessions, which is really handy if you’re not able to attend them live. My session covered the following topics:

• Am I working on a pamphlet?
• How thematic should a pamphlet be, and how might a theme emerge?
• How to sequence a poetry pamphlet
• What’s in a name? How to choose an overall title, and a consideration of which titles draw the reader in when seen on a contents page
• In praise of the poetry pamphlet
• Submitting to pamphlet presses and competitions

It was lovely to work with women at various stages of the pamphlet-writing process, and I’m really looking forward to seeing some of these pamphlets out in the world in the near future.

 Reviews from attendees:

“Wonderful! The most useful seminar I’ve ever attended.”

“This has been amazing – I’m at the point where I’ve submitted and been declined twice, know I need to revise but had no idea what to do. Now I have a plan!”

“Thank you for a brilliant session. Really useful and great that you managed to make it all relevant, whatever stage we are all at. Lots to think about and be excited about.”

“Thank you so much, so beautifully and generously given, the way you’ve delivered the information with the kind warm tone of your voice has given so much more than just the information – so encouraging to be held in a space like this where writing poems is valued. Thank you.“