Happy New Year!

Both editors would like to wish all our readers, contributors and followers a happy new year.
Also we would like to say a big thank you to Wendy and Chris for a great weekend (also the poetry ed would like to thank Elvis and Toby for the mouse chase. Don't ask).

Prole Laureate poetry competition is still open to entries until 14th February
http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page6.html

Nadolig Merry

Prole's prose ed thinks it's Christmas as he is to be enjoying a few days in his glorious native county of Yorkshire as both eds enjoy a welcome break at the hospitality of Wendy and Chris Pratt (thanks guys, looking forward to seeing you) from the 28th.

Stop the clocks, get out the gin,
we may never make it home again.

Any recent Prole orders will now not be sent out until the New Year - apologies for any inconvenience.

Merry Christmas from Phil.
Nadolig Llawen from Brett.

Going well.

Sales of issue 9 are healthy and at the rate we're going, we may sell every copy. Thank you for your support. If you intended to buy a copy and haven't got around to it yet, best hurry. You won't be disappointed.
http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/index.html

Something to say? Don't be shy.

We encourage our readers and writers to share ideas on each issue at our reader/writer blog, here: http://readwriteblog.prolebooks.co.uk/#home   You’ll also find our contributors’ bios there too. For those of you who have read issue 9, don’t be shy, have a go. For those of you who haven’t, what are you waiting for? Copies available from our website here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

It’s a great read. (It would also make a grand Christmas present!)

Balance?

If you're a regular reader of Prole, could you tell us the main attraction? Is it the poetry, the prose, or do we have the balance just about right?

Christmas shopping?

Issue nine of Prole will be released in early December. You've seen the shops - Christmas will soon be here. If you have a bookish relative or partner, a three issue submission to Prole is a present that will last all year. We can even wrap the first issue for you. Watch this space for launch dates.

Art work, anyone?

Here at Prole we're always looking for striking cover images. We'll consider anything as long it's in black and white. Previous covers can be viewed on the site or here: http://prolepictures.prolebooks.co.uk/#0.0   and submission guidelines are available here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page3.html

Prole Laureate

The third Prole Laureate poetry competition is now open. We are open to all forms of poetry. There is a £190 prize fund and publication on offer. See: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page6.html  for full details.

On stage!

The Cell, written by Michael Crowley, is being staged at the Octagon Theatre on Friday 15th October. After a successful run at the Manchester theatre 24:7 festival, The Cell has been selected by the festival for further development and showing. Great news. Michael is author of Close to home, published by Prole this year.
For more information and tickets see: https://octagonbolton.co.uk/24-7-the-next-stage
On other matters - our judge for the Prolitzer Prize has received his reading material! Thank you to all who entered - there are some crackers.

Prolitzer Prize

What a wonderful response we've had to the Prolitzer Prize competition for prose writing (which ends midnight tonight if you are still thinking of entering). We'd like to thank all who have entered up to now - we know our judge Mark Piggott (http://www.markpiggott.com/) will enjoy the task of picking three winning pieces.
Watch this space!

Other reading

Would our Prole readers and followers care to share which other journals they regularly read and why? To kick start you, the Prole poetry ed subscribes to The Interpreter's House, Other Poetry, and The Frogmore papers because of their quality and eclectic content (and in the case of IH and FP, a bit of solidarity as they are both independent journals too). Go on, keep us on our toes.

A little networking

The Prolitzer Prize for Prose closes for entries on 1st October - if any of our followers are members of writing groups (actual or virtual) or just think you know someone who may be interested, both editors would appreciate your forwarding the link to our comp page http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page8.html

Or maybe you'd be kind enough to spread the word about Prole in general? http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

Many thanks/Diolch yn fawr

Pamphlets and collections

While Prole poetry and prose is the hub of what we do, we are very pleased with the favourable reviews our small selection of poetry pamphlets/chapbooks have received (even in the Times Literary Supplement). All pamphlets can be  seen here http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page10.html long with Prolebooks' first full poetry collection, Something About Snow by Idris Caffrey.

Blog, anyone?

For those of you who have read Prole, don't forget you can connect with our writers and share you thoughts here: http://readwriteblog.prolebooks.co.uk/#home
Only five weeks left to the close of the Prolitzer Prize for Prose writing competition. £190 in prize money and publication in Prole for the winner. See website for full details. http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

On your doormats

The first batch of issue 8 should have landed on your doormats a few days ago. Don't forget, you can share your thoughts and reactions to our content on our reader/writer blog here: http://readwriteblog.prolebooks.co.uk/#home  or let us know your views right here on this blog.

Issue 8, out now.

Issue 8 of Prole is available from our website now. http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/index.html A great collection of fiction and poetry. If you've never read us before, you won't be disappointed.

New logo?

Unveiling what will likely be our new logo.
Let us know if you like it.

Competition calling

Only eight weeks left to the close of the Prolitzer Prize for Prose writing competition. £190 in prize money and publication in Prole for the winner. See website for full details. http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

Something About Snow - New poetry collection, out now.

Prolebooks is proud to announce their release of 'Something About Snow' by Idris Caffrey.

Something About Snow is Idris Caffrey's seventh poetry collection, these 49 beautifully crafted

and balanced poems are preceded by an introduction by singer-songwriter Ralph McTell and

a foreword by eminent poet, Ruth Bidgood.

'Idris has that love of words that Dylan Thomas urged his readers to enjoy and in these beautifully
observed writings, Idris reminds us of the richness of simpler things that at the first glance can go
unnoticed or evade our grasp and so easily slip through our fingers in our worldly hurry' - Ralph
McTell.

'...haunting is a word that comes often to the mind when one thinks of these poems - the haunting

of time that passes, the winter that pauses but never quite ends, a recurring memory of something

inescapable - something about snow.' - Ruth Bidgood.

With a cover price is £5 (or £3 for a pdf version), Something About Snow is available from our website http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page10.html

Exciting times

Exciting times: Prole 8 will be released in the next couple of weeks alongside our first full poetry collection, Something About Snow by Idris Caffrey. Watch this space.
Summer editorial weekend of the 27th - what do you want to see on the agenda? (We've got Guinness covered!)

Cardiff International Poetry Comp

Brett Evans, poetry ed at Prole, almost choked on his Guinness when he discovered he'd won a prize in the Cardiff International Poetry Competition. Normal service was resumed when he realised that the prize money would only keep him in Guinness for an afternoon. http://www.literaturewales.org/cipc/i/141515

Cover art, anyone?

Prole is currently encouraging submissions of cover art.
Do any of our followers know of any photographers/photography clubs that may be interested in submitting?
Submissions must be portrait and monochrome - to see previous cover art click here and continue to scroll down: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page5.html

Subs, comp and pamphlets.

Issue 8 of Prole aims to go to print towards the end of this month so if you want to be in with a fighting chance of being included get your poems, fiction and creative non-fiction to us over the next couple of weeks! Though remember Prole is open to submissions all year round - Prole never sleeps, just passes out on occasion!

And don't forget the Prolitzer Prize for prose is still open for entries - grab some cash and see your winning piece published in Prole http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page8.html

Prolebooks will soon be releasing a collection of poetry by Idris Caffrey entitled 'Something About Snow' - watch this space and keep an eye on our site http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

Pamphlet reviews

Very pleased (and pretty excited) by three Prolebooks reviews this week. Wendy Pratt’s Nan Hardwicke Turns into a Hare was selected as one of only sixteen pamphlets to be reviewed in the TLS by Andrew McCullock. That’s quite an achievement. I believe Wendy is busy eating her hat as I type.

(TLS 22/6/2012 p22)

And if that wasn’t enough, Close to Home (Michael Crowley) has had a great review in The Morning Star. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/120261

Robert Nisbet's Merlin's Lane has a great review in the current issue of Poetry Cornwall.

Well done, all three of you.

These pamphlets (and other Prole goodies) are available on our website: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk

Prole does Sid

Both editors have agreed that if Prole was to have a soundtrack it would be this:

We know Philip Larkin would approve!

Don't forget that our special offer on Prole 6 is on for a limited time only (PDFs only £1)
http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

And that the Prolitzer Prize for prose is still open for entries - £130 and publication 1st prize
http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page8.html

Special offer

Special offer! For a limited period only, Prole 6 (bursting with quality fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry) will be available at a reduced price - both hard copies and pdf (pdf £1 only) click here for details.
http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/

Go on, it's lovely!

ebook, anyone?

Wondering how many of you out there would like to see Prole available for ebook - and if so, what formats do you use?

Add to our agenda

The editors meet up in a couple of weeks for some serious Proling. Now is your opportunity to have something placed on our agenda. If you think there's something we could do better, do more of, less of - or you just want to tell us we're doing a great job as we are, post it here and we promise to discuss it over a few glasses.

Contact Anti-Slavery

Thank you to all our readers who made a donation to Anti-Slavery International when you purchased a copy of Prole. ASI would love to contact you from time to time. As we don't share personal details, it will be up to you to contact ASI. Their contact details are here: http://www.antislavery.org/english/contact_us.aspx
Issue 7 is still on sale and you can make a donation to Anti-Slavery International when you buy a copy. We will match that donation: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page5.html

Reviews for Nan Hardwicke

Some lovely reviews for Wendy Pratt’s Nan Harwicke Turns into a Hare.

Wyn Weldon’s thought through and insightful piece here: http://www.wynnwheldon.com/2012/05/nan-hardwicke-turns-into-hare-by-wendy.html

And three reviews at Sphinx, here: http://www.sphinxreview.co.uk/pamphlet-reviews/2012/61-sphinx-20-2012/510-nan-hardwicke-turns-into-a-harewendy-pratt

We particularly like the last by DA Prince as it really gets to the centre of the work.

Thank you Wyn, and the good people at Sphinx.

Nan Harwicke Turns into a Hare is available here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page10.html

Prole Laureate Winners announced

Today we announce the winners of the Prole Laureate. Many thanks to all who entered and to our judge, Andrew McMillan. Congratulations to our winners; excellent writers, all.
To see the winning poems, visit our competition page here:
http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page6.html

Best of British

Jaki McCarrick, who contributed Trumpet City to issue 6 of Prole, http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page5.html is published alongside Will Self and Jeanette Winterson (to name but two) in  The Best British Short Stories 2012, published by Salt. A great achievement. Read about it here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/BestBritishShortStories or support Jaki and independent publishing and buy a copy here: http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/anth/9781907773181.htm

Close to Home, Michael Crowley

Prolebooks has just released its third short poetry collection. In his debut collection , Close to Home, poet and playwright, Michael Crowley, brings together three separate lives to create one existence in a collection that explores a displaced childhood, misplaced adults and the private moments that map a life.

This pamphlet is an invitation to experience life elsewhere, in another skin.
Sarah Hymas

http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page10.html

Michael also has a book forthcoming, Behind the Lines, with Waterside Press.

 http://www.watersidepress.co.uk/acatalog/info_9781904380788.html

We like this one!

We came across these comments at Poets Scratching Heads - Prole punches above its weight as an up-and-coming journal, and has already made a resounding impact on the literary scene. Thanks Claire.

 http://poetsscratchingheads.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/241/

Issue 7, out now

Stop the clocks - Prole 7 is now available from our website http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page5.html and also all you scribblers who have a story to tell, we are now open to entries of our short story competition The Prolitzer Prize http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page8.htmlhttp://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page8.html

Sneak preview 7

Here's a sneak preview of the cover for issue 7. Watch this space, out soon.

Photograph © Eleanor Bennett

Bumper issue - coming up

Issue 7 of Prole is going to be a bumper issue. Instead of turning excellent writing down, we just made it bigger. Also including the winners of the 2012 Prole Laureate competition. Out in a couple of weeks.

Saddened to read of the death of writer Don Jennings (aka Randy Lowens, aka Prole Cat) who we were proud to publish in our very first issue. Our thoughts go to his family and friends.
http://anarchistnews.org/content/randy-lowens-don-jennings-prole-cat-rip

 

New Anti-Slavery campaign

New campaign from Anti-Slavery International: sign the Slavery free London pledge. http://www.antislavery.org/english/campaigns/slavery_free_london/default.aspx
Please do take time to visit the Anti-Slavery international site and see if you can support their work.

Review for Prole 6

Prole 6 has received a great review in The Crack, a fantastic arts and events magazine for the North East.

Click on the link and scroll down a little to read.  http://www.thecrackmagazine.com/index.php?section=2&category=17

Thank you to all at The Crack.

To tweet or not to tweet...

If some of you prefer to tweet, we're now live and tweeting over on twitter -https://twitter.com/#!/Prolebooks

Issue 7 coming soon

Content for issue 7, due out in April, is firming up and looking exciting. If you have anything to send us, please do. We read submissions year round. Our submissions guidelines are here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page3.html

There are only nine days left to enter our Prole Laureate poetry competition. Get polishing and have a go. First prize is £130 and publication. Details here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page6.html

Dead Poets' Society #1

Welsh poet RS Thomas (1913 - 2000) enjoying a public reading of Prole 6 in Porthmadog.
At least he did not state otherwise.
Where do you read yours?

Award winning issue 6!

We're very pleased to have two poets from issue 5 win a Poetry Kit Award. Judi Sutherland's An Exercise in Subtraction and Menu by Rafael Miguel Montes were selected by an independent publishing agent. Many and well deserved congratualations. Our thanks to Poetry Kit. A full list of winners can be seen here: http://www.poetrykit.org/awards2011.htm
Our second Prole Laureate open poetry competion has just 24 days to go before submissions close on March 1st. If you were thinking of trying your luck, get polishing and submitting. There are cash prizes and publication for the winner. Full details here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page6.html

Reprint!

Really good news: we've sold out of issue 6. As there's still over two months until the launch of issue 7, we've decided to go for a short reprint run. Thank you for all your support. Please spread the word that Prole is still available and a fantastic read.

Anti-Slavery International

We're pleased to be working with Anti-Slavery International. Prole will be aiming to help raise their profile with our readers and raise some money to support their work. Watch this space. In the meantime, why not check out their site: http://www.antislavery.org/english/

Reviews for Nan Hardwicke Turns into a Hare and Merlin's Lane

London Grip have been kind enough to review two of our pamphlets: Nan Hardwicke Turns into a Hare by Wendy Pratt and Merlin's Lane by Robert Nisbet. Read the reviews here: http://londongrip.co.uk/2012/01/poetry-review-winter-2011-pratt-nisbett/
The pamphlets can be purchased here: http://www.prolebooks.co.uk/page10.html

Almost sold out

Only a few copies of issue 6 remaining. If you fancy one and have been putting it off, get your skates on before they all go. Click here.

Literary resolutions

Care to share your literary resolutions for 2012? Here at Prole, we want to keep publishing excellent examples of poetry and prose. On a personal level, I’m going to reread some Hardy novels – that’s Thomas, not the adventurous boys - and try to find a home for a few more pieces of writing of my own. A friend of the poetry ed is studying several of Shakespeares plays and he's agreed to read along. (Any excuse for some Shakey - though where Green Door fits into the bard's works I have no idea.) He'll also be submitting his own efforts to respected journals and finishing the copy of Catch 22 I bought him over a year ago.
So, what are your literary resolutions?