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The Emma Press scoops poetry pamphlets from Lewis Buxton and Mark Ward
The Emma Press has scooped two poetry pamphlets from Lewis Buxton and poet Mark Ward following an open call for submissions.
Director James Trevelyan acquired world rights directly from the authors. The pamphlets were selected from The Emma Press’ open call for submissions and were chosen by the publishers inaugural Birmingham Editorial Readers Group, funded by Arts Council England. Buxton’s Mate Arias and Ward’s Masters will be published as part of the Poetry Pamphlet series in July 2025 and October 2025 respectively.
Mate Arias is described as a “love song to male friendship” explored through exercise, pop culture and mental illness. The “funny” and “hopeful” poems are taken from Buxton’s performance show, ‘Friends’.
“Mate Arias is about my friends: how, when and why we love each other,” said Buxton. “The Emma Press feels like the perfect publisher for this because already – despite not really knowing them – they feel like friends. I’m really happy we’ve met each other.”
Ward’s collection, Masters, is a “journey across 20 artworks by dead gay male artists”, including John Singer Sargent, Francis Bacon and Keith Haring.
The blurb continues: “Tender and daring, Masters investigates queer relationships, asks questions of painter-model power dynamics, and invites us to look more deeply at the worlds beneath and beyond the brushstrokes.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Ward said: “I’m thrilled that Masters has found a home with The Emma Press, a publisher that I’ve long admired. This years-long ekphrastic project began where lots do – being inspired by the artists that came before you – and grew into a book about the things we carry from our shared queer history and, like all painters, trying to capture a moment’s light.”
The Birmingham Editorial Readers Group members were Aarti Kumari, Beth Preece, Catherine Redford, Ilina Jha, Michelle McLean and Prem Mehra.
