NASTY LITTLE PRESS

Spoken word and killer couplets

Lizzie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:11:02 +0000

Who has snow today? Anyone? Our recycling bin was frozen shut yesterday morning and for a second last night, the drizzle got a bit floaty in Norwich and I thought we might wake up to a winter wonderland. Nope. Just rain. I’ve got to admit that the eight year old in me was disappointed, but then the twenty eight year old in me reminded the eight year old that we (I) don’t currently own any waterproof shoes and we all felt better.

So good day to you! I have some exciting NLP Things to tell you. First, Luke Wright’s spoken word album We’re All In This Together is now available, both on iTunes and for pre-order here on the website. If you’ve not been to see Luke perform before and you live somewhere where he doesn’t often do gigs (like maybe The Shetland Isles or Guernsey), I highly recommend this album. It’ll be like Luke’s doing a gig for you in your living room. Or your car.

Also, on a Luke Wright theme, The Vile Ascent Of Lucien Gore And What The People Did was reviewed recently by Sphinx. Here are the highlights:

After thirteen years of pseudo left-wing government, the Tories, led by the media-savvy Lucien Gore, sweep to power and begin dismantling public services. Luke Wright’s nineteen-page satire, in ottava rima, presents a solution of sorts and an attack on voter apathy. Anger fuels the poetry and works particularly well in ironic killer-couplets.

Wright, a cracking performer, sets up an equally rollicking pace on the page.

Lucien Gore is an enjoyable political satire of our times.

For more information on this and all the other books that NLP has published, take a wander through the Books section of the website.

Until next time then, poetry fans. I hope you’ve all had a great day so far. Mine was significantly improved by furry slippers and a cranberry and orange hot cross bun from Marks and Spencer. That’s totally the twenty eight year old talking, by the way. The eight year old would have been jazzed by the lady who just walked past the window in a funny hat.

New year, new projects

Lizzie — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:38:18 +0000

Is it me, or does 2012 look better written down than 2011? Just me? OK then.

Happy New Year, poetry fans! I hope you all had a fantastic break (I’m assuming you had a break. If you didn’t, I hope you managed to breathe festive joy into your air traffic control or heart surgery and held Christmas in your heart like Bob Cratchit aka Kermit the Frog) and are in the process of having an awesome new year.

Here at NLP, the year has started really well, with poetry (not quite) literally flying off the shelves. Our two newest pamphlets, Nasty Little Intro #2 by Lizzy Dening and Small Talk by Nic Aubury have been doing especially well, but pamphlets from across the NLP back catalogue have been winging their way all over the country. If this is your first time visiting us at NLP, or if on previous visits you’ve been hunting for something specific and haven’t had time to look around, then hello, welcome, pull up a chair and have a good browse. You’ll find links on our author pages that will hopefully tell you a bit more about them and the kind of poetry they write and perform; I hope you’ll find something that makes you smile or makes you laugh or makes you think.

While you’re perusing the pamphlets and finding out about our authors, you’ll also notice that many of them are currently touring and performing all over the country, and if any of them are coming to a town near you, I strongly recommend you go and see them, and then say hello afterwards. It’s a tough job, touring, but friendly faces and kind words make it less tough. Poets are people too, you know. We should get that printed on a t-shirt…

So 2012 has started well, but there’s plenty to look forward to, as we have two new Nasty Little Intros in production from Amy Blakemore and Alex Gwyther, and a pamphlet from Elvis McGonagall due in March. We’re also very excited about a poem written by Luke Wright, which is going to be featured and illustrated in The Beano. The Beano. I know. More information about all these exciting projects will be forthcoming!

Until next time, poetry fans,

Lizzie@NLP

Great reviews and festive joy

Lizzie — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:28:07 +0000

How’s the Crazy Eyed Sprinting going? I don’t want to brag, but apart from being physically repulsed by Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber’s remake of All I Want For Christmas and running my thumb through with a needle yesterday evening while threading festive popcorn, the Christmas run-up has been fairly uneventful. I’m almost sorted. So naturally, I’ve braced myself for one of the major UK couriers to inexplicably take my final online order hostage in their Chelmsford warehouse and then batten down the hatches and refuse to respond to calls or emails like they did last year. Nothing like Christmas presents in the middle of January, City Link, thanks for that.

Here at NLP HQ, however, Mariah’s inappropriately sexy Santa suit and the threat of late presents can’t dampen the festive cheer generated by a little flurry of arrivals and reviews.

Nic Aubury’s Small Talk has just arrived hot off the press and has had a really great response so far, with Sophie Hannah at the Sunday Express calling it “utterly delightful” and picking it as one of her books of the year. This is brilliant news and hopefully the first fantastic review of many!

We also had a lovely early Christmas present from Poetry Review who reviewed Luke Wright’s The Vile Ascent of Lucien Gore and What The People Did and called it a “quasi poetical tour de force of blunt rima”, saying that “such on the nose writing hits all the targets”.

Great reviews make our day, but we’re not only interested in what poetry magazines and newspapers think, we really value your opinions too. Come find us here on the website or on facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think! You never know, you might just make our Christmas as well as making our day.

From everyone at NLP, have a very, very Happy Christmas!

News, Reviews and The New Girl

Lizzie — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:42:49 +0000

Poetry fans, it’s nearly Christmas!

This is the time of year when time telescopes in an alarming manner and, fuelled by coffee and the rage caused by facebook-shared Instagrams of decorated Christmas trees with wrapped presents already underneath them, we go from Calmly Organised List Makers to Crazy Eyed Sprinting Loons in a matter of days. Here at NLP HQ, we are aware of this, and would like to make a suggestion. Take a break. Make a cup of coffee, have a sit down, let us catch you up on what’s been going on at Nasty Little Press, and in return, we’ll give you some Christmas present ideas. How’s that?

Almost all of our authors have been out and about lately, reading poems, telling stories, making people laugh. Check out their Author pages for pictures of their lovely faces and links to their websites where you should be able to find out if they’re poeming in a town near you.

John Osborne’s new pamphlet The New Blur Album and Molly Naylor’s Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You got a lovely review last week from Sabotage. You can find it here. Do have a read, it’s one of the nicest imaginary interviews I’ve ever read.

This December also sees two new pamphlets for you to get your hands on: Lizzy Dening’s Nasty Little Intro #2, which is hitting the shelves any day now and Small Talk by Nic Aubury, which will be available in the New Year. We’re very excited to welcome Lizzy and Nic to the NLP family; do go and check out their Author pages to find out more about them.

I guess I should also introduce myself. My name’s Lizzie (not Lizzy, this could get confusing) and I’ve just joined NLP as Editorial Assistant. Among other things (most of which involve stamps and spreadsheets), I will be looking after the blog and the Twitter feed, and should probably say right now that in professing a love of Cadbury Magical Elves, Merlin, shortbread or The Mentalist’s Simon Baker, I do not speak for everyone at NLP (just some of them).

I’m not sure whether it’s the nip in the air or the fairy lights or the song I’m listening to on Spotify right now which sounds like the incidental music from every Christmas movie ever had a baby with the West Wing soundtrack, but I’m feeling festive, poetry fans. In that spirit, and before the Crazy Eyed Sprinting begins, I would like to entreat you to remember Nasty Little Press and our host of fabulous poets in your Christmas present buying. All orders that reach us by close of business on December 16th should get to you for Christmas, so you’ve got just over a week to decide who in your life deserves the gift of poems this year!

Until next week,

Lizzie@NLP

Great Review for Boring The Arse Off Young People

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:59:49 +0000

Boring The Arse Off Young People has been very positively reviewed by the good folk at The Sphinx, the pamphlet review site run by Happenstance Press. The Sphinx gets three poet-reviewers to do a review each so you get a good cross-section of opinion. Here are some of the choice quotes:

“The more I kept reading, the more I found rewards on the page itself. There’s a literary sensibility that takes the poems beyond simple stand-up routines and into more complex territory”

“The 18 occasional poems that follow are often exuberant, frequently wryly self-deprecating, and draw plenty of humour from sharp-eyed observation of the modern world.”

“This collection gives voice to a new generation of middle-aged people who are refusing to grow old gracefully.”

Read the full reviews here.

Whenever I Get Blown Up … is Radio 4′s Afternoon Play

admin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:35:26 +0000

Here at NLP towers (that’s not its real name) we’re dead excited to announce that Molly Naylor’s Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You is today’s Afternoon Play on BBC Radio 4. We think it’s testament to the quality of Molly’s work that her story has been a successful live show and book, a radio play seems the next logical step. We strongly recommend it for fans of the book and newcomers to Molly’s lyrical and humourous work. It’s on today (Wednesday 7 July) at 2.15pm, and will be on iPlayer for at least a week after that. Find out more here.

Reviews etc

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:32:42 +0000

Ink, Sweat and Tears have reviewed Hannah Jane Walker’s Intro. And they like it! Read the review here.

Meanwhile The Camden New Journal, pretty much the best local newspaper in the country, have featured Salena Godden’s Under The Pier. Read that here.

Norwich Book Launch for Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You

admin — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:00:16 +0000

We’re celebrating the publication Molly Naylor’s Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You with a few drinks and a reading from the author on Thursday, April 21 · 6:30pm at The Book Hive, LONDON STREET, NORWICH.

How does it feel to have your world blown apart? Britain is booming and Molly moves to London from deepest Cornwall full of naive dreams, high hopes and on a quest to make her life just like the movies. Then on 7/7/2005, she finds herself on a tube blown up by terrorists and her life is forced to take a different direction. Blending poetry and prose with breathtaking illustration, this is the true story of what happened next and how we put things back together after they’ve been blown apart.

“I loved Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You. It’s funny, lyrical and sad, and above all does what all the best writing does – makes you tilt your head to one side and think about the world in a slightly different way.” – Jonathan Coe

This is a departure for Nasty Little Press. Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You is published in American Comic format, (a bit smaller than A4,) to give the accompanying illustrations from Max Naylor room to show off.

The launch is free and open to all so come along for a drink, meet Molly and buy a copy of the book.

April News

admin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 08:19:51 +0000

Ahoy there poetry lovers,

TS Eliot thought April was the cruellest month, but here at Nasty Little Press we think it’s just fine. Stop moaning Thomas! There’s a touch of warmth in the air and we can almost smell those festivals. Right now we’re enjoying the sun and looking forward to a busy summer.

After a jam-packed start to the year, we have no immediate releases. However, copies of Molly Naylor’s Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You have arrived at our HQ and are currently being posted all over the UK. Why not join the cool gang and order a copy for yourself.

Salena Godden is currently doing the rounds, performing her rude, funny, sexy poems all over the UK. She’s just done a big sold-out show to save Hastings Pier and later this month she’ll be at Norwich Poetry Club, with support from another Nasty Little Press author – Luke Wright. Nasty Little Intro author Hannah Jane Walker is hosting. Buy Salena’s fantastic pamphlet Under The Pier here.

Salena Godden @ Norwich Poetry Club
19 April, 7.30pm
The Bicycle Shop, 17 St Benedicts Street, Norwich.

This summer we’ll be publishing two new pamphlets – John Osborne’s collection The New Blur Album, and Luke Wright’s epic poem The Vile Ascent of Lucien Gore And What The People Did. We’ll also be publishing intros from Alex Gwyther and Lizzy Dening.

Then in July we’ll be taking a plucky rabble of NLP poets to The Port Eliot Festival for a repeat of last year’s fantastic walled garden readings. That’ll be a bit special.

Theeeeen, it’s the autumn and we’ll be publishing pamphlets from two of the UK’s top scribes of wickedly funny light verse – Radio 4 favourite Elvis McGonagall and newcomer Nic Aubury.

But that’s yonks away yet, for now, sit back and enjoy this month’s Ration Book (that’s if you’re on our mailing list, if not, sign up for next month’s one here) We’ve got poems from Caroline Bird, TS Eliot Award winner George Szirtes, Salt’s Julia Bird, spoken word stalwart Richard Tyrone Jones, and our very own Luke Wright. Hurrah!

Love and tea,

NLP. x

Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:31:45 +0000

It is our pleasure, nay, our honour, to announce the forthcoming publication of Molly Naylor’s Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You.

It’s a really stunning story, acclaimed novelist Jonathan Coe had this to say when we showed him a copy:

“I loved Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You. It’s funny, lyrical and sad, and most all does what all the best writing does – makes you tilt your head to one side and think about the world in a different way.”

This is a departure for Nasty Little Press. Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You is published in American Comic format (a bit smaller than A4), this is to give the accompanying illustrations from Max Naylor room to show off.

So, why not buy a copy from our online shop. Or catch Molly on one of her tour dates.