I am super excited that copies of my new novel, It Comes from the River, have arrived! Even Fizz (the golden retriever) is excited, as you can see! The novel is published on 30 January 2025, and we have lots of events planned to share it with you! You can also pre-order the book now! …
Author Archives: Rachel Bower
Insects, poems, awards
I was honoured to be awarded Second Place in the Michael Marks Environmental Poet of the Year 2024 for my poems about endangered insects. Insects make up over half the species on Earth, but their rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. The total mass of insects is …
Cover reveal!
I am thrilled to reveal the cover of my new novel, It Comes from the River, out with Bloomsbury on 30 January 2025, available to pre-order now! Infused with the folklore of Northern England, It Comes from the River is an unforgettable uncanny debut about violence, resilience and hope – and the power of women …
Autumn Poetry Surgery
I’m super excited to be running a one-off Poetry Surgery on Tuesday 8 October! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE editing! If you have a draft that you’re stuck with, or you simply want a fresh perspective on your work, please email me and I’ll get you booked in!
Poems of welcome, stories of migration
In 2017, Helen Mort and I edited an anthology, Verse Matters, which insisted on human connection, empathy and resistance in the face of systemic racism and dehumanisation. Some poems were by refugees who had sought sanctuary in the UK, while others were by more established poets like Malika Booker and Hollie McNish. In light of …
Proofs – just landed!
I am super excited that proofs of my debut novel have just landed! It Comes from the River is out with Bloomsbury on 30 January 2025. Infused with the folklore of Northern England, It Comes from the River is about violence, resilience and hope – and the power of women when they work together. The three women …
New insect poems
Thank you to the editors for publishing my poem “Moth” in the latest issue of The Rialto. I’m super pleased that another of my endangered insect poems has found a home and hope this brings more attention to the strange and spectacular world of invertebrates! The grey carpet moth is one of several moths confined …
New OCD knowledge hub!
A new knowledge hub has just been launched to make the latest brain research on OCD more accessible. The website was co-created by researchers, people living with OCD and charities to address some of the questions that young people and parents have about OCD and the brain. Last year, I wrote about working with young …
Arvon opportunity!
I am super excited to be co-tutoring a five-day residential Poetry & Short Stories course with the brilliant Tania Hershman and Guest Hafsah Aneela Bashir in Hebden Bridge from 4-8 March. And I’m even more excited to announce that thanks to Tania’s hard work we have one COMPLETELY FREE place for someone from a under-represented …
More tips for editing
As I said last time, I believe that everyone has the potential to be an awesome editor of their own work! It’s sometimes helpful to see how editing is an integral part of the process for all writers, even the most celebrated! There are some wonderful digital archives online where you can see how writers …
5 tips for editing your poems!
I run lots of writing and editing workshops, and people are often surprised about how easy it is to ‘crack open’ a poem once they start to look at it from new angles. I love the way that a good edit can hone and transform a piece of writing and make it shine brightly. It’s …
Rachel Bower 