The Razor Wire of Exile: The Annual Bridgette James Poetry Competition, 2026 Winners’ Anthology amzn.eu/d/0iB0l8Qi #Amazon via @Amazon

We're about to publish Bridgete James' collection, 'Gestating Creatures', and here she is, reading from her poem, Baby Blues ... ditheringchaps.com

A poem about the 'stilted nomad', 'Curlew', read by the poet himself, Tom McLaughlin. We're publishing Tom's collection, 'In Rooms of Falling Rain' later this year. For now, here's a teaser of things to come! ditheringchaps.com

These beauties are on their way to South Africa 🇿🇦 and one is eager 🤩 to go visit competition judge @ChinuaEzenwa 😜😮👇 The Razor Wire of Exile, the winners’ anthology amzn.eu/d/0fQuRdU3 #writingcommunity

I'm desperately seeking an essay/flash fiction to open the next edition of Penned in Rage Journal, due out June 30th. Ten quid for flexing your wrist muscles. Thank you. Please submit here: ellaspoems.com @izom_chisom

2026  Poetry Winners' Outsider Anthology Alphabetical List of 52 Poets in Collection ellaspoems.com Please note that the WINNING POEM (to be revealed on Sunday) opens the collection. The WINNER'S photo is on the blurb. I hope that clarifies any issue. Query: am I the winner? Answer: You would've BEEN NOTIFIED if you were. Thank you. A bathroom is a logical place to hide by Linda Sparks A Spiritless Eureka by Toluwanimi Hannah Ajayi A stranger inside a familiar face by Ann Nziku A Stranger Under My Skin Rachael Ajisafe Alone and Happy by Joanita Richter and they said: Be Like the Porcupine by Hyginus O. Ekwuaz Audience of My Own by Benjamin N. Amakobe Beloved Country by Zizipho Godana Bohemian by Audrey Neema Buy a Casket for Dorcas by Chiamaka Ogiji Chasing dreams by Chiemeziem Everest Udochukwu Close, but aloof by Celestine Kenechukwu Onah Coronach on Easter by Adegoke Adeola Gaps, spaces and fences by Isah Qulsum Grasping Steam by Victoria Amune Homeland: Together We Sit and She Tells Me a Story by Nailah Tataa Horseback by Ethan Bramwell Hymn for a Headless Silhouette by Imole Olusanya I am a foreigner in my body by Neo Samunzala I arrived early, as always by Magauta Nicole Sapho I came here dyed with loss by Blessing Ojo I hold God through my mother's hands by Henry Opeyemi In Search of Another Ending by Abdul Samad Jimoh Invasive outsider’s aroma by Jive Lubbungu Invocation by Taofeek Ayeyemi Journey of Truth by Mariam Yussuff Lágbájá by Babajide Olusanua Margins by Damilola Oyedeji My Illusions & The Truth by George Zulu Numbers, From the Outside by Ishaq Isa El-Qassi Olamichayin Akulijele by Ocheni Kazeem Oneshojo Queer by Tshegofatjo Makhafola Raw/Rou by Yuwinn A. Kraukamp Scarf of Stigma by Phyllis Oniopusaziba Akpoti Spectator at the Border of Massacre by Michael Excel Chinagorom Stranger Danger by Edinam Denoo The beauty salon by Kauser Parveen The Etymology of Homesickness by Janine Milne The Free Man by Chidebelu Emmanuel Nnazoba The Girl Who Asked for a Pen by Halima Raji the origin of silence by Ajise Vincent This Poet is a Banker by Terry Egharavba The Monster Home Made by Mosimiloluwa Dorcas Kupoluyi The priest's litany by Alabi Miracle Mezabo Theophany by Marvinci Bobbylex-Oduali This Goliath Was a Victim by Nas Jolaade Veil of deceit by Jonathan Ampofo Water Jugs by Ukachukwu Victor Ikechukwu We are Tired of Burying by Victoria Kerubo What Privilege by Brett Anderson When I Was Alone by Oratilwe Mahlangu Wounded by Mercedes Ovis #heatwwave #writingcommunity

I will be taking care of my friend and may not be on X as much in the coming days, so I want to wish our #writingcommunity: Creativity. Courage. Commitment. Clarity. Confidence. Write the hard stuff. Just give us what you've got. @sanjeevpoems3 @sreelekha001 @gopallahiri @Kushalpoe @ronita_c @BhaumikJayanta @drsunilsharma @w_v_sutra @petedevonald @susanlleary @sam_szanto @pinkyandrexa @fahmidangroup @CarmellaPoetry @djck_live @AlliumJournal @jacarpress @DitheringChaps @theislandwriter @AlexRettie @PaulDragonwolf1 @chillsubs @JulianD86666247 @PoemTrees @SteverinoD @zindaily @ImogenForster2 @ScottLaudati

Here's the brilliant Jamie Truscott, working on the cover of our forthcoming publication, "Gestating Creatures" by Bridgette James. We meet up with Jamie twice for each publication, once to discuss the mood boards we prepare for them, and then again to fine tune the design.

We're so looking forward to meeting up with Tom McLaughlin next month to begin the publication process. Here he is, reading from his poem, Complex regional. His collection, "In Rooms of Falling Rain" is coming soon to ditheringchaps.com #poetry #ditheringchaps

We're so looking forward to meeting up with Tom McLaughlin next month to begin the process of creating his collection in print. Here he is, reading from his poem, Complex regional. His collection, "In Rooms of Falling Rain" is coming soon to ditheringchaps.com

In english we say : I love you But Dostoevsky said : I do not ask for your love in return. To love you is enough. To have known you, to have felt alive in your presence-that is my greatest joy, and I will carry it with me always. You cannot imagine how much happiness you've brought into my life. You came like a light in my darkness, a warmth in my cold solitude, and for that, I will always be grateful. Even if it was but for a single moment, I have known what it is to love and be loved, and that moment will be mine forever, untouchable by time or sorrow.

Did you know I’m in the middle of building an African Traditional Language Poem Repository? It’ll house 🏠 all the poems written in local languages submitted in this year’s competition. I intend to make an open call for a traditional-poem submission as part of a regular call whenever Penned in Rage opens. #BunyanUmMarsoos #Blogs ellaspoems.com

Bobby Ewing’s infamous return to Dallas, 40 years ago today, is a masterclass in TV secrecy. They shot it without telling CBS execs, fed the press fake storylines, smuggled Patrick Duffy onto set under a blanket, then added the scene less than an hour before the show aired

Call for Submission: Essay I'm looking for an essay of up to a thousand words for the upcoming edition of Penned in Rage. Preferably on Queerness and popular discourse or the othering of people with disabilities. Payment $10 USD *if published. Submit online at ellaspoems.com #saturdaykitchen #Eurovisión2026 #writingcommunity

Wasn’t putting my purse on the ground for anything or anyone.

Thanks to ALL the hardworking competition judges, I can now reveal the fabulous shortlisted entries heading to @ChinuaEzenwa ellaspoems.com/allcompetitio… #voteTory #Eurovisión2026 #Nigeria #SouthAfrica

Body mind spirit become one when a poem is being written.

if you don't know how to end a poem you can just write BANG