Springing into London Book Fair, new titles, events & review news

 Spring is almost here and we're springing into 2026 with new titles, events and reviews...

Tuesday, 10 March - Thursday, 12 March 2026: V. Press at London Book Fair

V. Press editor and M.D. Sarah Leavesley will be at London Book Fair, Olympia, London from 10-12 March 2026, with thanks to Inpress and Arts Council England. If you're there, please do say hello -- as a writer, editor and publisher, there's nothing Sarah enjoys more than talking about writing, reading, publishing and her other V. Press work.

Saturday, 25 April 2026 -- Free Verse Poetry Book and Magazine Fair in London

Sarah is very very excited to be heading to London for the V. Press stand at the Free Verse Poetry Book and Magazine Fair 2026. This free 12noon-6.30pm event takes place on Saturday, 25 April 2025 at St Columba’s, SW1X 0BD.

The fair is a chance to meet other publishers (and poets), find out more about their work and buy some books. For more information about this year's Free Verse, check out this year's event details on The Poetry Society website here.

Just Published

V. Press is very very excited to share the publication of Wild Boar by Jenny Hope.

“Wild Boar invites the reader into the darkest parts of the forest where a previously silenced female voice finds a new wild power. Poems that expand, take up space, howl, cackle and buck with the feel of changing seasons. A mesmerising collection.”

Ruth Stacey

“To read Jenny Hope’s poetry is to become one with nature. These poems uncover the interconnectedness of earth and woman, the strength that binds them together. Here, the richness of soil and words fill the mouth, and we discover a delicious blurring of human, animal and natural worlds. Our ‘inner raw’ secrets are unlocked while the moon looks on. In Hope’s words, we are reminded that ‘you know your inner map’ – power lies in half-light hedgerows and forests, waiting to be reclaimed.”

Claire Walker

Wild Boar is very visceral and very feminist.

ISBN: 978-1-7394122-6-5               

86 pages

R.R.P. £11.99

Ordering for Wild Boar and a sample poem can be found here.

REVIEW NEWS

“Hope writes with a green pen and considers our precious but sometimes dwindling and changing environment. She often personifies trees and animals in order to intensify the reader’s experience and she takes every opportunity to offer connection and to make us share her wonderment. The language is unflinching, raw, and moving as she journeys through the seasons, linking the changes and evolution to those often felt by women as they navigate their lives.”

Pat Edwards, London Grip, full review here

V. Press is also very very pleased to see R. M. Francis' Palmer as featured publication for March and April over on Atrium Poetry.

The feature, which includes sample poems, can be enjoyed here.

More information and ordering for Palmer, a chapbook of poetry that is very wandering and very wondering, can be found here.

Coming Soon

“The essence that makes grown girl stand out can’t be distilled down to just one thing. Here, a confident voice, striking lines, unusual images and light touch all work together to create an interesting and insightful read. More than that though, this pamphlet is very relatable, very re-readable and casts both familiar and unfamiliar experiences in a new light.”

Sarah Leavesley, V. Press Prize judge

“Eleni is clever, subtly witty and honest to no fault. When poetry is this relatable, it reminds you how sharing your experiences can make another feel understood; although it’s shared and not the same, it makes you feel like you’re there again, but this time you’re not alone. Very powerful poetry.”

Jemima Hughes

Grown girl is very raw and very hopeful.

Winner of the V. Press Prize for Poetry 2025-26

ISBN: 978-1-0682701-1-6
32 pages
R.R.P. £7.50

Pre-ordering and a sample poem for grown girl may be enjoyed here.