HANDSTAND Press Dent is calling on Cumbrian poets to submit entries for a new anthology of contemporary Cumbrian poetry. Liz Nuttall, alongside other highly regarded local poets Kerry Darbishire and Kim Moore, will select the very best Cumbrian writing for the anthology aimed at extending the long and famous tradition of Lake District verse. Liz says the poetry scene in the county has never been livelier with regular events such as A Poem and A Pint attracting big audiences and renowned guest poets. Groups, including The Mungrisedale Writers and Fourth Monday Poets, continue to meet regularly, inspiring writers such as Jenny Copley whose poems have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. In 2017 Cumbrian-born Jacob Polley won the much coveted T S Elliot prize for the best poetry collection and Keswick poet Chris Pilling was honoured with a reading of his poem, The Meeting Place, at the Kings College Carol Service at Christmas.

Not forgetting, Kim Moore and Pauline Yarwood's successful Kendal Poetry Festival, which this year will be staging its third annual gathering from September 7-9. It is worth noting that due to its sell-out success of the past two years, Kim and Pauline have had to switch the 2018 festival from its inaugural home at Abbot Hall Art Gallery to a larger venue, Kendal's Castle Green Hotel.

Dent-based Handstand Press has been publishing books by Cumbrian writers since 2005.

As for its latest lyrical tome, poets should check the entry conditions at www.handstandpress.net.

The deadline for entries is April 1. The anthology is lined-up for publication in autumn.

For further information telephone 015396-25571.