Cherry Potts – författare

Moving from 1930s Camden to a Royal Wedding "riot", via football fights, office steeplechases and awkward dates in art galleries, London Lies is a bizarre, funny, moving and sometimes unnerving glimpse into the secret life of the city we all love and know.Featuring nineteen writers and twenty-three stories showcased at award-winning monthly live literature event, London's Liars' League.

From tigers in a South London suburb to retired Victorian police inspectors investigating train based thefts, from collectors of poets at Shadwell to life-changing decisions in Canonbury, by way of an art installation that defies the boundaries of a gallery, Stations takes a sideways look through the windows of the Overground train, at life as it is, or might be, lived beside the rails: quirky, humorous and sometimes horrifying.

Delving into lecturing spiders, Helen of Troy, seaside libraries, computers that fall in love, murder and memory; but most of all humour, and a delight in all that women can be.Praise for the first edition:Cherry Potts writes with economy, punch, panache. - Ellen GalfordDefinitely about women in space, not the usual glossy tomboys of standard sf. - Gwyneth JonesDelightful … both a hilarious spoof of one-man-and-his computer myths such as 2001, a Space Odyssey; and a reflection on the limits of love and power. - Zoë Fairbairns

Nine years after the loss of her sister, and near obliteration of her clan in an ill conceived raid, Brede, a plains’ nomad, is living unwillingly in the marshes. The sudden ending of a decade long drought, brings with it many changes; rumour has it that the rain was bought at the price of a King’s head, and the sword needed for such a sacrifice is missing.Change comes for Brede in the arrival of Tegan, a wounded mercenary.Brede’s discovery, first of the Dowry Blade and a stolen horse, and then of Tegan’s history, sets in train a journey to the capital in search of her missing sister and leads to an unexpected role in the Queen’s household, and a powerful lover.

A showcase for authors Arachne Press has published previously in anthologies, giving a wider perspective on their writing. The collection as a whole has tendency towards fantasy and magical realism, with Cassandra Passarelli’s (Liberty Tales) Guatemalan stories taking on a more gritty reality, and Katy Darby’s (London Lies, Stations, Shortest Day, Longest Night) engrossing SF and historical stories alongside Joan Taylor Rowan’s (London Lies, Lover's Lies, Stations) acid humour and modern desperation and Sarah James’ (Longest Day, Shortest Night) elliptical poet’s sensibility brought to flash fiction and Helen Morris’ (Liberty Tales, Solstice Shorts) ability to get to the heart of a story, and make you laugh out loud or weep inconsolably.

In Collaboration with Liars League. A celebration of the centenary of women in the UK getting the vote. Stories about women by women, which have been performed at one of Liars’ League’s events in London, Hong Kong, New York or Portland, Everything from fantasy and historical through magic realism to SF and humour.

The third of our #WomenVote100 Anthologies:a showcase for poets Arachne has previously published in anthologies, giving an opportunity to explore their writing in greater depth.These are poems made of myth and family, origins and anger, journeys and home: witty, clever, beautiful and sometimes harsh.Whilst not directly reflecting on the experience of women fighting for the vote, the concerns of women are foremost and are passionately addressed.My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures,instead of flattering their fascinating graces, as if they were in perpetualchildhood, unable to stand alone.From Vindication by Anne Macaulay, a found poem based on the work of Mary Wollstonecraft.

Everyone thinks of noon as being a split second as the clock's hands draw together, the bell tolls twelve times - but there is so much more to it than that - Solar noon happens as much as half an hour either side of what the clock tells you, deadlines are met, or passed, shadows vanish, vampires hide - or do they? Stories and Poems from 2018's Solstice Shorts festival, read live in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Ynys Mon, Carlisle, London and Cork on the stroke of... or nearly, Noon. Featuring stories from Barbara Renel, Clare Shaw, Diana Powell, Elaine Hughes, Karen Ankers, Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier, Liam Hogan, Lily Peters, Marka Rifat, Patience Mackarness, Roppotucha Greenberg, Su Yin Yap; and poems from Alison Gerhard, Alison Lock, Anne Elizabeth Bevan, Catriona Yule, Elinor Brooks, Gareth Culshaw, Graham Burchell, Ian Grosz, Jane Aldous, Laila Sumpton.

Stories and poems about leaving, and being left behind; or that take an unexpected turn, going completely off piste. From authors featured at The Story Sessions, the South London live literature evening. Stories from Emily Bullock, David Steward, Helen Morris, Nic Ridley, Barbara Renel, Carolyn Eden, Cherry Potts, VG Lee, Liam Hogan, Becky Ros, Joan Taylor-Rowan, David Mathews, Sarah Lawson, Oscar Windsor-Smith and Zoe Brigley. Poems from Kate Foley, Gloria Sanders, Nancy Charley, Joy Howard, Math Jones and Elinor Brooks.

Story Cities explore ways in which stories respond to, reflect and re-imagine the city. Explore new short fictions in multiple genres that address the city. A guide book to the fictional city, all cities, any city: its markets, squares, cafés, hotels, parks, stations and ports; the main streets, side streets, back alleys dead ends and the crossroads. Never identified, the city has a voice of its own.Includes work from writers in Australia, Eire, Indonesia,Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, USA, and right across the UKAnnabel Banks, Melaina Barnes, Laura Besley, Maja Bodenstein, Jayne Buxton, Sarah-Clare Conlon, Rosamund Davies, Roland Denning, Liam Hogan, Cath Holland, Belinda Huang, Catherine Jones, Aisling Keogh, Jess Kilby, Jasmin Kirkbride, Stuart Larner, Wes Lee, Emma Lee, Cathy Lennon, Ash Lim, C.A. Limina, Máire Malone, David Mathews, Nicholas McGaughey, Rachael McGill, Dave Murray, Pedro Basso Neves, Alexandra Penland, Cherry Potts, Matthew Pountney, Arna Radovich, Kam Rehal, Jane Roberts, Reshma Ruia, Jesse Sensibar, Shamini Sriskandarajah , Miriam Sorrentino, Stuart Larner, Patty Tomsky, Evleen Towey, Nic Vine, Rob Walton, Steven Wingate,

Story Cities explore ways in which stories respond to, reflect and re-imagine the city. Explore new short fictions in multiple genres that address the city. A guide book to the fictional city, all cities, any city: its markets, squares, cafés, hotels, parks, stations and ports; the main streets, side streets, back alleys dead ends and the crossroads. Never identified, the city has a voice of its own.Includes work from writers in Australia, Eire, Indonesia,Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, USA, and right across the UKAnnabel Banks, Melaina Barnes, Laura Besley, Maja Bodenstein, Jayne Buxton, Sarah-Clare Conlon, Rosamund Davies, Roland Denning, Liam Hogan, Cath Holland, Belinda Huang, Catherine Jones, Aisling Keogh, Jess Kilby, Jasmin Kirkbride, Stuart Larner, Wes Lee, Emma Lee, Cathy Lennon, Ash Lim, C.A. Limina, Máire Malone, David Mathews, Nicholas McGaughey, Rachael McGill, Dave Murray, Pedro Basso Neves, Alexandra Penland, Cherry Potts, Matthew Pountney, Arna Radovich, Kam Rehal, Jane Roberts, Reshma Ruia, Jesse Sensibar, Shamini Sriskandarajah , Miriam Sorrentino, Stuart Larner, Patty Tomsky, Evleen Towey, Nic Vine, Rob Walton, Steven Wingate,

Frustrated by working under lockdown and worried that the 2020 festival might not happen, Arachne Press decided to continue as though everything would be alright, and asked writers to something that responded or reacted to or was inspired by a sixteenth century poem that editor Cherry Potts has always found comforting in a crisis: Robert Southwell's Tymes Goe by Turnes; or that responded or reacted to or was inspired by some concept in it. The poem observes the ebb and flow of fortune, nothing stays bad for ever, nor anything good - so get on with it while you can. And they have. Oh, they have. This isn't exactly a response to Covid-19, but there's an echo there - in Katie Margaret Hall's epic train journey, New Orleans To Vancouver, and Jackie Taylor's Rewilding; but there is also concern for the environment, and relationships and lives in need of nourishment they are finding hard to find. As with Southwell's poem there is a fine balance between dread and hope. stories and poems from:Brooke StanickiC.L. HearndenClaire BookerElinor BrooksJackie TaylorJane AldousJane McLaughlinJulian BishopKaren AnkersKatie HallKeely O'ShaughnessyKelly DavisLaila SumptonLinda McMullenLynn WhiteMargaret CromptonNeil LawrencePatience MackarnessPippa GladhillS. B. MerrowSean Carney

For Solstice Shorts 2021 we invited writers to respond to the growing climate crisis.From an exceptionally strong field we chose stories and poems that respond to the floods and droughts and fires all around the globe with tenderness, compassion, fear, grief and rage. Gaia is represented in all ther power and glory, and butterflies and plants sow seeds of hope, while other writers ask: How do we stop it? How do we survive it? And how do we live beyond the catastrophe on our horizon?Stories and Poems from Angela Graham, Ben Macnair, Cath Holland, Cath Humphris, Cathy Lennon, Claire Booker, Corinna Schulenburg, Diana Powell, Elaina Weakliem, Emily Ford, George Parker, Jane Aldous, Jane McLaughlin, Jared Pearce, Jessica Conley, Jill Michelle, Julian Bishop, Karen Ankers, Kate Foley, Katherine Gallagher, Kelly Davis, Lesley Curwen, Lisa Clarkson, Lucy Grace, Lucy Ryan, Lyndsey Weiner, Mandy Macdonald, Michelle Penn, Natascha Graham, Rachael Chong, Rob Walton, Robert René Galván, Samn Stockwell, Savannah McDaniel, Simon Brod, Stevie Krayer, Tara Willoughby, Tim Dillon, Vanessa Owen, Xia Leon Sloane.

The subject of Menopause is just beginning to break the barrier of taboo, and become a mainstream discussion point, but that discussion has until now been very serious, medical, and, we would argue, heterosexual and white. This anthology of poems and short fiction aims to address that, with wild and wonderful writing from humour and anger, relief and distress, by women who have experienced menopause, whether naturally or as a result of surgery; with a healthy dose of views from the global majority and the lesbian, bisexual and trans communities.

Byways, an anthology of stories and poems from across the UK and elsewhere, exploring the urban shortcuts, well-trodden meanders, ancient pathways, hillside and field paths. The public and the secret ways that take us away from the crowds and out of our vehicles. Mainly in English but including a handful of poems in Welsh (with translation), join us off the beaten track.Arachne Press has a track record (pun intended) of publishing what academics call psychogeography, but we call well-routed. We also have history with climate concern. We combine the two here, offering drama and solace from experiencing the world at the slow pace of a walk, whether the short cut to the chippy, or an all day hike in the hills.with contributions from Adele Evershed, Amelia Foster, Angela Arnold, Annemarie Cooper, Annie Kissack, Attalea Rose, Cath Humphris, Des Mannay, Diana Powell, Eabhan Ní Shuileabháin, Em Gray, Gloria Heffernan, Gregory McGreevy, Gwyn Parry, Heather Lane, Helen Campbell, Jane McLaughlin, Jeff Phelps, Jonah Corren, Josie Levin, Judith Mikesch-McKenzie, Katie Harrison, Katie Margaret Hall, Kelly Davis, Laura Besley, Lisa Farrell, Lizzie Lovejoy, Mab Jones, Maddison Price, Marcus Smith, Michael Shann, Michelle Penn, Mitzi Dorton, Nicholas McGaughey, Phil Wood, Raymond Luczak, Rhys Owain Williams, Ros Woolner, Sara Louise Wheeler, Seth Crook, Simon Chandler, Sue Burge Sue Moules and Thea Smiley

Arachne Press has long been a champion of LGBTQ+ writers, but we’ve never before published an anthology of LGBTQ+ poetry. These are joyful poems that celebrate all that is best about our community/ies and lives. This is not an ‘explain it to the straights’ book, this is for us. LGBTQ+ readers can open this book at random and find a moment of poetic queer joy for themselves, however big or small.Featuring contributions from: Abhi Alexander Williams Annie Kerr Aoife Mannix Becky Brookfield Cherry Potts Conway Emmett Dean Atta Desree Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell Elizabeth Gibson Garnett ‘Ratte’ Frost Helen Bowie Jane Aldous Jeremy Dixon John McCullough Joshua Linney Joshua Jones Joy Howard JP Seabright K. Angel Kate Foley Khakan Qureshi, BEM Laurie B. Lawrence Wilson Lydia Fulleylove Maria Jastrzębska Mwelwa Chilekwa P Burton-Morgan Rab Green Rick Dove Robert Hamberger Sophia Blackwell Steph Morris Tanya Erin Sheehan Tom McLaughlin Vron McIntyre Zo Copeland

From tigers in a South London suburb to retired Victorian police inspectors investigating train based thefts, from collectors of poets at Shadwell to life-changing decisions in Canonbury, by way of an art installation that defies the boundaries of a gallery, Stations takes a sideways look through the windows of the Overground train, at life as it is, or might be, lived beside the rails: quirky, humorous and sometimes horrifying.