Yes, yes, you read that correctly. Lovely humans, I am beyond excited to announce that I am officially a published writer!!

*cue giddy squealing*

When I was invited some time ago to submit some poetry for consideration to be included in the first Hidden Voice Publishing Anthology, I was excited to say the least. Being told two of my submitted poems were going to be included made my stomach and my heart go full-on flip flopping. But this week, holding an actual book containing actual words that I actually wrote…well, there are no words. It’s a dream come true to have any of my work published but to have words included alongside the work of such incredible poets is really amazing.

Here’s what the publisher has to say about the collection:

“The name ‘Hidden Voice Publishing’ reflects the essential need to make our collective stories and voices heard and that is what we hope to do with this publication. In this world, there are dominant voices that always seem to speak the loudest. These voices are homogenous, and they often control the narratives in which we are all framed. Within in the pages of this collection, you will instead find Hidden Voices that also believe that they have something to say. These are the voices that no longer wish to be invisible and the voices that demand to be noticed. The world in 2019 can be a bleak place and many of us often feel unseen and unheard. Take the stories in these pages to your heart; stand with us to fight for our freedoms and celebrate our differences.”

The poems included in this collection are moving, thought provoking, entertaining, heartfelt – in fact they seem to cover the whole scope of human emotion. They are intensely personal yet widely relatable and each touches on something profoundly human. I am proud and humbled to have some of my own words nestled in amongst such wonderful work.

I have to give massive thanks to the lovely Joel Sadler Puckering, friend, poet and founder of Hidden Voice Publishing, for encouraging me to submit work for this collection – and even bigger thanks to him and Sarah Pritchard for choosing to include my words.

You can read some of Joel and Sarah’s own poems, alongside my own, in the Hidden Voice Anthology, which is available right here, or in their own published works, I Know Why The Gay Man Dances, Feral Animals and When Women Fly: The Seven Ages of a Mad Woman. I also urge you to go give Hidden Voice Publishing a follow on Instagram and Facebook and check out their website for more incredible work.