Confingo launches new poetry imprint

Manchester-based indie publisher Confingo has announced the launch of a new poetry imprint called Carmenta.  

Carmenta will be run by the poet Tom England. The first collection to be published under the imprint will be A love the weight of an animal by Elizabeth Gibson (pictured). 

Confingo founder Tim Shearer commented: "We have published poems in our bi-annual magazine Confingo for a decade, including work by Elisabeth Sennitt Clough, Vanessa Gebbie, Sarah-Clare Conlon, Carrie Etter, Fiona Pitt-Kethley, Chris Emery, Charlie Baylis and Irina Dumitrescu.  

"It was while celebrating publication of the 20th issue of the magazine that we decided to launch the Carmenta poetry imprint."

Gibson’s collection is a "love song to Manchester life through a queer and neurodivergent lens".

Gibson said: "It’s really lovely to be published by a Manchester press and to have been asked to be the first poet to launch the new imprint. As a queer and neurodivergent poet, I’m excited to share my voice and experiences. 

"My life in Manchester forms the backbone to the collection, so working with people who know and love the city too is brilliant."

Gibson’s poetry features encounters with animals—a red setter, a cormorant, a dead squirrel, caterpillars, swans—with hiking trips around the North, from the snowy stillness of the Peak District, to walking barefoot to Hilbre Island.