About Us
Templar Poetry, an innovative and progressive independent publisher, is committed to developing audiences and readers for the superb modern poets published in our list of printed collections, pamphlets and anthologies, now approaching fifty titles. Based in the heart of Derbyshire we present a unique annual Poetry Festival, the Derwent, where we launch and publish many of our new titles alongside Iota magazine, founded in Derbyshire over twenty years ago.
Over sixty percent of our first collections have been shortlisted in major book prizes, including The Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, The Glen Dimplex New Writers Awards and most recently the London New Poetry Prize. Our pamphlet poets have been recognised in the Poetry Book Society Choice and shortlisted in the Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets. Several of the poets we publish have won or been in the winning lists of major single poem prizes, including the National Poetry Prize, The Wigtown Poetry Competition, The Strokestown Poetry Competition, Academi Cardiff and many have also been published in Faber, Picador and Bloodaxe anthologies as well as the Forward Book of Poetry.
As publishers Templar Poetry has also enjoyed recognition for the exceptional quality of its design and production as well as the quality of the work itself. Walking the Block by Jane Weir was shortlisted and highly commended in the Literature category of the 2009 British Book Design Awards and Templar Poetry has been shortlisted in the Publishing Category of the Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets.
We work very hard to sustain and generate wider audiences and readers for the poetry we publish through live poetry events ranging from the annual Derwent Poetry Festival to author events in a wide variety of settings, including poetry and literature festivals, public libraries, live poetry venues, Oxfam Bookshops, independent bookshops, universities, schools, galleries and museums. Templar Poetry strives to bring a fresh and unfettered approach to publishing contemporary poetry and we are new readers. Our founding principles are to publish excellent contemporary poetry and to facilitate and encourage audiences and readers to access and enjoy the poetry we publish.
Design and Innovation
At Templar all our collections, anthologies, pamphlets and Iota quarterly magazine are designed by our international team in Derbyshire, London, North America and Italy; including Paloma, Raphael and Andrea in Vicenza, Italy, Linus and Luke in New Jersey and Jonathan in London. Occasionally we commission the design of a book, as in Walking The Block, conceived, written and designed by one of our poets, Jane Weir, herself a professional textile designer. This innovative poetic biography on the Modernist hand block printers Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher was shorlisted and highly commended in the 2009 British Book Design Awards, leaving Faber in third place. Our forthcoming 2010 pamphlets, a series of linocuts, were designed by James Weir, a young designer and Savile Row tailor. Innovation and experimentation with forms, image and text is key to our overall strategy in terms of the transmission of poetry and to developing wider audiences.
Derwent Poetry Festival
The annual Derwent Poetry Festival, held in Masson Mills and set in the stunning backdrop of the limestone gorge in Matlock Bath over a weekend in November hosts the awards event for the Templar Poetry Pamphlet and Collection Prizes and features a series of readings for poets published by Templar Poetry alongside a wide range of guest poets and publishers. Previous guests have included Simon Armitage and Jean Sprackland and this year’s guest is Ciaran Carson, winner of the T S Eliot Prize in 1993 and current Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queens University, Belfast. The full Festival Programme for 2010 will be posted on the Templar Poetry Website in late August or early September.
Availability, distribution and sales
All Templar Poetry publications are available from good bookshops and directly from our website with free postage, where the Shopping Cart enables both single and multiple purchases of all our books. The 2006 Templar Poetry Pamphlets were described by one reviewer as ‘…the best looking pamphlets I’ve ever seen…’ and are produced as high quality small paperbacks on lithographic presses. Our current poetry list can be viewed and purchased online from the Poetry page. Online purchases are usually despatched next day and no later than two working days of receipt of the order.
Templar Poetry sells and distributes all its titles directly to trade distributors, literature and poetry festivals and festival bookshops, libraries, universities, schools, museums, galleries and other institutions as well as to the wholesale and retail booktrade. Authors published by us receive very generous discounts which enable them to sell their books at live events and readers interested in their work.
Iota magazine has three dedicated poetry issues per year and is available online from the Iota website, where both single issues and subscriptions may be purchased online.
All of our published poetry is available locally from the City of Derby and Derbyshire Public Libraries as well as many other libraries throughout the UK, including the British Library. The Southbank Poetry Library also has copies of all our published titles.
Trade enquiries for our titles are welcome and should be made directly to sales@templarpoetry.co.uk or refer to our contacts page for our postal address and telephone details.
Oxfam Bookshops & 2010 Oxfam BookFest
Templar Poetry donates a proportion of its published titles to Oxfam Bookshops on a regular basis as well as working with individual bookshops to run occasional poetry events. In the 2010 Oxfam Bookfest Templar Poetry was a Poetry Partner in the nationwide Oxfam BookFest and many of our published poets appeared at numerous Bookfest events across the country, including Dundee, Manchester, London, York, Worcester, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Oxfordshire. If you happen to be browsing in an Oxfam Bookshop look out for our books there.
News & Social Networking
Up to date news about our poets appears on our News page alongside any other new initiatives. We also have two Facebook Groups which are open for membership: Templar Poetry and Iota. These groups are used on a regular basis to brief members on forthcoming events and news. Iota Magazine has a separate website which will be upgraded over the next few months to include several interesting new features.
Submitting work to Templar Poetry
Templar Poetry offers several opportunities for submission of new work including submission to the new Straid Poetry Collection Awards for full poetry collections for both established and debut authors, the Templar Poetry Pamphlet and Collection Prizes for shorter collections of poetry and the opportunity to submit a full collection for consideration and publication, the Iota Shots Prize for shorter poetry pamphlets, Iota magazine for a small selection of individual poems and submission to the Iota Magazine International Poetry Competition.
Education
Templar Poetry works closely with its poets in bringing their work to new audiences as well as encouraging audiences to read or listen to modern poetry. Many of the poets we publish have educational skills and expertise and are involved in diverse aspects of education, literature and writing; some may be available for specific projects involving poetry, literature, writing and reception of poetry and could be available to bring these skills to a wide range of students and a wider public.
Many of our poets work with writers and writing groups at all levels, in schools, prisons and other settings. One of our poets, Jane Weir, is included in the AQA GCSE Literature Curriculum.
Some of our poets have research interests and editorial skills and may be interested in developing collaborative work with archives or other partners in particular areas.
Please contact Alex McMillen if you are interested in developing any educational projects or links which may facilitate or develop a wider interest in poetry.
Live Events
If you are interested in inviting any of our published poets to appear at live events please do not hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss further. Most of our poets are excellent readers of their work and many have appeared at major festivals and venues.
Please contact Alex McMillen for further information.
Iota Magazine
We publish Iota Magazine, in collaboration with an Editorial team based at the University of Gloucestershire, led by Nigel McLoughlin. Details are posted on the Iota Magazine website at www.iotamagazine.co.uk