Rebecca Swift poetry collection to come from Valley Press

Scarborough indie Valley Press is to publish A Suitable Love Object, a collection of poetry by Rebecca Swift, the founder of The Literary Consultancy, who died in 2017. The collection is scheduled for May 2020.

The announcement of the book’s posthumous publication came at a gathering at the Free Word Centre this weekend, where the three inaugural winners of the Rebecca Swift Foundation’s Women Poets’ Prize—Nina Mingya Powles, Anita Pati and Claire Collison—read from their work, alongside Ondaatje Prize-winning poet Pascale Petit.

The Rebecca Swift Foundation provides support and creative professional development opportunities through the prize, which provides mentoring, creative opportunities and practical support such as training and childcare, as well as £1,000 to each winner. Each of the winning poets has been matched with a poetry mentor as well as a pastoral coach.

The Foundation’s founder Aki Schilz said: “We are so grateful for support of the prize in the poetry world and beyond, and it’s exciting to see these three incredible women poets grow in confidence and skills, and develop their craft over this year of exploration. I’m sure Becky would be immensely proud.”

The Rebecca Swift Foundation is now raising money for the next iteration of the Women Poets’ Prize, which will launch in 2020.