The Emma Press – förlag

In a new home, relationships shift, and ties fray. Bound: A Memoir of Making and Remaking is a collection of essays about sewing and knowing who you are.Each chapter in this sewist's diary charts the crafting of a different garment. From a lining embroidered with the Cantonese names of her female ancestors to a dressing gown holding the body of a beloved friend, Maddie Ballard navigates love, personal connections, and self-care, drafting her own patterns for ways of living.Lyrical, probing, soothing and wise, Bound is a strikingly original debut and a quiet celebration of the remarkable, everyday process of making and re-making: of cloth, of clothing, and of ourselves.

To witness. To contain. To hunt.People in Småland are being provoked into action by a destructive species. It moves in packs at night. Gardens are being destroyed, farmland churned up. Yet its illusiveness draws in both visitors and inhabitants.The forests of this stony province are home to a growing population of wild boar once on the verge of extinction. Told by three people newly arrived in an isolated community, Wild Boar is a compelling and poetic debut from Finnish/Swedish author Hannah Lutz about animals and people, their places in a changing ecosystem, and their capacities to grow and to destroy.

Everyday life mixes with the magical in this enchanting collection of poems. A tiny horse gallops across the table. The moon draws astronauts out into the park. Mountains move, fish fly, and the monster under the bed is surprisingly helpful. When You Were A Cloud is an invitation to look more closely at the world around us and to see nature and language in a new light.María José Ferrada’s poems are playful, speaking directly to the reader with no doubt that they are ready for these fantastical linguistic adventures. Winner of the 2018 Premio Hispanoamericano de Poesía para Niños.

Steam rises from bowls of noodle soup, tender steaks are seared in butter, sand-roasted chestnuts are shared from a paper bag. Suyin Du Bois's Eating Air is a mouth-watering book of poems about food, belonging and connection.Charting a journey across cuisines and continents, these poems carve into the author’s dual Chinese-Malaysian and Belgian heritage and food’s enduring role in our cultural, familial and personal histories.From the low stools of Penang’s kopitiams to the bright lights of London’s Chinatown, Eating Air is a love song to food and a poignant catalogue of its profound capacity to serve up memory, language, and longing.

Tiny Moons is a collection of essays about food and belonging. Nina Mingya Powles journeys between Wellington, Kota Kinabalu and Shanghai, tracing the constants in her life: eating and cooking, and the dishes that have come to define her. Through childhood snacks, family feasts, Shanghai street food and student dinners, she attempts to find a way back towards her Chinese-Malaysian heritage.

The poets write with searing honesty about the incredible strength and capacity for self-sacrifice demanded by motherhood, writing as parents as well as in relation to their own parents. The darkest thoughts of exhausted mothers are sensitively portrayed, as poets expose the weight of responsibility behind the hallowed state of motherhood, and question the expectations society places on mothers. This book gives voice to universal but usually silenced anxieties, showing mothers questioning their ability to raise their children correctly and sometimes struggling to connect with the creatures they have created. Heart-breaking and uplifting in equal measure, this book is a stunning and varied portrait of modern motherhood.

Oils is a gorgeous, beguiling collection of poems where the poise of the delivery belies the emotional, existential turmoil within.Through his portraits of an atheist, a pickpocket and a spinach-loving sailor (among others), Stephen Sexton evokes a strange kind of melancholy as he strives to reconcile passion with detachment and profound self-doubt with unwavering love.

Rachel Piercey charms and disturbs in her first full-length pamphlet, which considers the frailty of human relationships and makes a strong case for approaching life with an open mind and a generous spirit. These are poems which recognise and dip into cynicism but never fully yield, and that Piercey's sharp, unflinching world view still leaves room for romance is both glorious and heart-rending. This is a beautiful collection of poems about love, identity and home.

In her heady debut pamphlet Myrtle, Ruth Wiggins celebrates the primal forces of nature and the human heart. Interweaving the ancient with the modern world, she explores fertility and death, in poems that are imbued with a subtle eroticism. There is a serious playfulness at work here too: a carnival stallholder battles with a spider, and a bored vegetarian contemplates life as a fox, while lovers fear death and separation as the gods look on in amusement. This free-wheeling and assured collection is full of dry humour and wisdom, and is by turns poignant, dark and full of zest.

Do you know your neighbours? But do you really know them? In this delightfully subversive, comic contemporary fable, written for children and adults alike, you will be reminded that everyone you know - even your most boring or annoying neighbour - might be leading a life full of magic and wonder…Renata may not seem like your average hero. She’s an angry neighbour who complains about the people around her, steals food that has been left out for the birds, and yells if she ever hears music. But there is much more to her… what are the seagulls trying to tell her? And what does the accordionist’s mysterious song really mean?In order to find out the answers to these questions, Renata needs to learn about herself, and overcome her past mistakes. Everyone has secrets and problems. How do we overcome them and build a better life for us and those around us? Renata needs to work that out - and she’s going to take you along on her magical journey of self-discovery…This is a story of true love amid the seagulls!

It’s time to let your imagination fly…If you look up on a cloudy day, you'll see a whole new surprising world above you - the world of clouds! The Book of Clouds is an introduction to this world - and the guide you'll want by your side to help you understand it.A mix of dreamy fantasy and scientific fact, this is the perfect gift for any child with their head stuck in the clouds - and for anyone who has ever wondered what's up there in the skies above. This book is ideal for children to use as a starting point for their own imaginative creative play. It is full of playful poems, inspiring, anarchic illustrations, and guides to all of the different aspects of clouds that you could want to know about.With 25 poems and many full-page illustrations that use watercolour and collage, you won’t be able to pick The Book of Clouds up without wanting to immediately start making your own cloud diary. So The Book of Clouds comes with 9 pages for your own notes and sketches at the end - let it truly become YOUR book of clouds!

The Emma Press Anthology of Dance is a celebration of dance and the role it plays in people's lives. This lively collection considers the formal occasions where dancing is expected – weddings, school discos and office parties – as well as the impromptu moments where dancing is drawn from us on a more primal level. Flirting in the kitchen that becomes a shuffle choreographed by intimacy; a weary couple who find solace in a drunken half-stumble half-jig. What makes us start dancing? Why do we ever stop? This anthology examines the defiance and drama of dancing both on stage and off, capturing the passion and exhilaration of rhythmic motion to music.

Malkin is a vivid evocation of the trials of the Pendle Witches in 1612. The sequence of poems is delivered in the form of epitaphic monologues, with the accused men and women eerily addressing the reader with their confessions and pleas. Strikingly, Camille Ralphs has employed unorthodox spelling throughout the monologues, bringing out new meanings in familiar words and encouraging the reader to immerse themselves in the world of the poems. Fully illustrated with woodcut-style drawings from Emma Wright.

We’re all ageing, all of the time. As a society we’re getting even older, but we seldom seem to stop and think about the huge mental and physical changes that happen to us as we get old, or what it’s like to live as an old person. The Emma Press Anthology of Age is a collection of poems which challenge, celebrate and give age a voice, finding humour amidst the heartbreak and comfort within the pain.

Aren’t mildly erotic things the most erotic of all? Sometimes eroticism isn’t just about sex – it can be about anticipation, desire, intimacy and romance. It can be wild, hilarious, beautiful and alarming, and it may be hard to define but you’ll know it when you see it. Mildly Erotic Verse skips the mechanics and dives straight into the emotional core of sex, celebrating the diversity and eccentricity of human sexuality.

How big is the universe? Are there dogs in space? What if your friend – or your granddad – was an alien? Join the poets in wondering in Watcher of the Skies, a sparkling collection of poems about the outermost possibilities of space, life and our imaginations. Fully illustrated by Emma Wright and accompanied with helpful facts from space scientist Rachel Cochrane (Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh) and ideas for writing poems from Rachel Piercey, this is the perfect companion for any budding stargazer or astronaut.

A boy selkie who takes girlness off like a sealskin, an untameable kelpie, the warrior-wife of a princess, and a Loch Ness monster who is too busy having fun to worry about words like “girl” or “boy”. This is the way the world is - with just a bit of Scottish myth and magic thrown in. Wain is a fully-illustrated collection of LGBT themed poetry aimed at teens (but suitable for all ages) based on retellings of Scottish folk tales. These poems immerse readers in an enriching, diverse and enchanting vision of contemporary life.

Meet Skig, who’s meant to be a warrior (but is really more of a worrier). Meet a giddy comet, skidding across the sky with her tail on fire. Put a marvellous new machine in your pocket and maybe you’ll be able to fix all your life’s problems. Kate Wakeling’s first book of poems for children is full of curious characters and strange situations. The poems she writes are always musical, sometimes magical, and full of wonder at the weirdness of the world.Moon Juice contains 25 poems and features bonus materials, including interviews with the author and the illustrator, and ideas for writing your own poems.

Who was the world’s first female programmer? Who made history as the first British woman to sail solo around the world non-stop? Who is Birmingham’s first female Muslim MP? Meet Mary Lee Berners-Lee, Lisa Clayton, Shabana Mahmood and many more in Once Upon a Time in Birmingham, a lively introduction to thirty of Birmingham’s most awe-inspiring women, past and present. From pioneers in their field to everyday heroines, these are women who refused to be silenced, who fought for what they believed in, who proved they were just as good as men… if not better!Compete in two days of challenging heptathlon events with Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis. March the picket lines with staunch activist and seeker of justice Jessie Eden. Raise your voice and speak up for girls around the world with courageous campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.Accessible, educational and downright inspirational, this empowering collection of creators and innovators, activists and changemakers, is a must-read for all ages. Complete with vibrant illustrations from a host of up-and-coming female illustrators, learn about the women who made, and are making, Birmingham the great city it is today.

The Dog Who Found Sorrow is a beautiful, resonant picture book about sadness and healing, suitable for all ages.It tells the story of a dog who, waking to find his hometown covered in thick black clouds, goes out in search of the source of sorrow. It's an intrepid quest, a parable about hope, and a tonic for our sorrowful times. The gentle fantasy storytelling is accompanied by textured, detailed artwork.

Second Place Rosette is a calendar of the customs, rituals and practices that make up life in modern Britain. The poems take in maypole dancing, mehndi painting, and medical prescriptions. Some events, like the Jewish Sabbath, happen every week; some, like the putting away of Christmas decorations, thankfully come only once a year. The subjects range from the universal to the personal: every family might have its own ritual, and each culture its own important figures to remember and commemorate. In the introduction, co-editor Emma Wright notes how, as the daughter of a refugee, she felt ‘deeply disturbed by current discourse about Britishness and how it seems impossible to separate talk of national identity and pride from talk of exclusion and isolation.’ Against that divisive rhetoric, Wright and co-editor Richard O’Brien have assembled a refreshingly inclusive take on national identity. Poets from different cultural backgrounds speak to their sense of what Britain means through their own daily lived experience, through what they care about on a grass-roots level. The nation which emerges from the poems is a patchwork quilt of betting tips and TV dinners, nights out on Bold Street and strolls in the park. While the years pass, the seasons cycle, and the people who make up the country change, these poets reveal how much stays the same. In Britain, there will always be a man running late who really should have been allowed to get the bus, and a warm spot by the fire in a pub in December. Much of the book displays an ambivalence towards the land and its rituals, but there is also love, affection and pride. Mixed feelings: what could be more British than that?

In The Emma Press Anthology of Love, that familiar four-letter word takes on a world of meanings. Love is written across the sky for the whole world to see, and whispered to a partner at the bus stop in the rain. Love is transcendent and love is everyday, found equally in steamy texts and shopping lists, and the only reliable thing about it is that it's never where you expected to find it. Building on the success of 2015's Mildly Erotic Verse, this book explores the diversity of modern romance. Often awkward, never perfect, romantic encounters and relationships are rooted in our own contemporary world of Tinder, Twitter and TV dinners. But they are also part of an enduring tradition: the cornerstone of our common humanity. In this book, thirty fresh, diverse and original voices speak to what love means right here, right now, bridging the gap between Hollywood imagery and modern lived experience.

Na Willa is a bright, adventurous girl living in Surabaya's suburbs, her home in the middle of an alley surrounded by cypress trees. She spends her days running after trains, going down to the market, and thinking about how people can sing through radios. Indonesian author Reda Gaudiamo has created a collection of stories of curious adventures and musings of a multicultural girl growing up in Indonesia with an East Indonesian mother and a Chinese-Indonesian father. Set in a time when children spent the day outside, listening to Lilis Suryani's songs on the radio, and when race and gender would still go undiscussed, this is Na Willa's story as she grows up unafraid to ask the big questions.

Kira always feels gloomy when it rains. She can't read outside, can't play in the park, and has to wear all her thickest clothes. But one day her friends Ana and Ilo ask her to join them on an adventure outside during another downpour. Kira discovers the joy of all the things that happen outside when it rains – from the new friends she makes, to the umbrellas on the streets, to the thrill of lightning, and finally, the warmth found at the end of each rainfall.With her delightful artwork and enchanting words, Rassi Narika spins a story of hope and discovery that will brighten even the rainiest of days.

Each day of 2015 Jan Carson wrote a short story on the back of a postcard and mailed it to a friend. Each of these tiny stories was inspired by an event, an overheard conversation, a piece of art or just a fleeting glance of something worth thinking about further. In this collection of highlights, Carson presents a panoramic view of contemporary Belfast – its streets, coffee shops, museums and airports – through a series of small but perfectly formed snapshots of her home.

The stories in First fox offer an everyday world tinged with the dreamlike qualities of fairy tales. Radojkovich explores the complex dynamics of families with a blend of dry wit and startling imagery. Disappointments and consolations meet with fantastical moments, winding their way into the realm of possibility.

In 1940, a young girl is taken from her home in Eastern Poland to Arkhangelsk, Siberia; in 1942, she boards a train. Seventy years later, that journey is reimagined by her granddaughter, Zosia Kuczyńska. As Kuczyńska’s poems tell the story of her babcia, her maternal grandmother, coming to England, she confronts some of the big questions of art and history: how do you tell another person’s story without exploiting it? What’s at stake when we try make patterns out of the past, and can we ever leave those patterns behind? Kuczyńska’s poems are both richly narrative and sharply attentive to the complexities of home and culture. They capture human endurance through the redrawing of political maps, from ‘the heat of Easter in Tehran’ to the powdered eggs and stocking shortages of the London Blitz.

Rakhshan Rizwan's debut collection simmers with a poised, driving anger. Drawing on the rich visual and material culture of her home region, Rizwan unpacks and offers critical comment on the vexed issues of class, linguistic and cultural identity – particularly for women – in the context of Pakistan and South Asia. She writes about the hypocrisy of the men who claim to worship women, the nuances of using Urdu or Hindi, and the many contradictions of the city of her birth, Lahore. As well as startling free verse, Rizwan's many accomplished ghazals both explore and demonstrate her fascination with multilingualism, code-switching, displacement and belonging. The poems in Paisley are an unflinchingly feminist assault on received ideas about womanhood which present the reader with often-uncomfortable truths.

The Emma Press Book of Beasts rustles and roars with the voices of animals and humans, co-existing on Earth with varying degrees of harmony. A scorpion appears in a shower; a deer jumps in front of a car. A swarm of snowfleas seethes through leaf litter; children bait a gorilla at the zoo. The poems in this anthology examine hierarchy, herds, power, and the price we pay for belonging.