- Cherry Potts
Category Archives: LGBT
‘Oi’ on Tour
All kinds of loveliness and laughter experienced so far on the A Voice Coming From Then Tour. Here’s a quick snapshot from Brecon Carmarthen and Cardiff
Join Jeremy next Thursday 5.45 at Cardiff Library for more…
[There’s an annoying flicker on the Brecon video, I’ve cleaned it up as best I can, and set that part to B&W as it’s less trying, but it’s the sound that’s the joy in this so… you could always shut your eyes…]
Thanks to our lovely audiences, and our hosts, The Hours, Brecon; Waterstones, Carmarthen; and Waterstones, Cardiff.
Happy Birthday, A Voice Coming From Then!
Today is exactly one year since we published A Voice Coming From Then by Jeremy Dixon. Largely written and edited during lockdown, A Voice Coming From Then recently won the English-language Poetry award at the Wales Book of the Year 2022 and this has given us another chance to celebrate Jeremy and his extraordinary collection in real life.
We’re building an A Voice Coming From Then tour of Wales this Autumn, with events already planned at several libraries, independent bookshops and Waterstones stores across Wales this October and November.
If you run a bookshop, library, arts venue or poetry night, then please get in touch with us on outreach@arachnepress.com and let us know if you’d be interested in hosting an event with Jeremy Dixon as a part of this tour.
If you’re in Wales (or close by) and would like to see Jeremy reading from A Voice Coming From Then, please keep an eye on our blog and social media channels for the event dates and locations – coming soon!
For now, we are celebrating A Voice Coming From Then‘s book birthday with an online offer: buy a copy of the print book from our webshop and we’ll send you a code for 50% off the ebook or audiobook, which is beautifully narrated by Nigel Pilkington.
A Voice Coming From Then starts with Jeremy Dixon’s teenage suicide attempt and expands to encompass themes of bullying, queerphobia, acceptance and support.
As well as exploring identity, the tragic effects of bullying and the impact of suicide, this collection also includes unexpected typography, collage, humour, magic, discotheques and frequent appearances from the Victorian demon, Spring-heeled Jack.
One of the Wales Book of the Year judges commented: “I really admire Jeremy’s ability to be so vulnerable. I felt like he just really put his heart and his whole self into the collection.” Congratulations to Jeremy on having this immensely personal and moving collection out in the world for a whole year.
A Voice Coming From Then shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year!
We couldn’t be more excited to share the news that A Voice Coming From Then by Jeremy Dixon is on the shortlist (of three!) for the 2022 English-language Wales Book of the Year, in the Poetry category.
We are celebrating by holding an online event with the other shortlisted poets, Angela Gardner and Abeer Ameer, on 20th July at 7pm. Get your free ticket here.
A Voice Coming From Then, which we published in August 2021, starts with poet Jeremy Dixon’s teenage suicide attempt and expands to encompass themes of bullying, queerphobia, acceptance and support.
As well as exploring identity, the tragic effects of bullying and the impact of suicide, this collection also includes unexpected typography, collage, humour, magic, discotheques and frequent appearances from the Victorian demon, Spring-heeled Jack.
Jeremy Dixon said: “I am beyond delighted that my collection of poems dealing with bullying, queerphobia and attempted suicide has made the shortlist of Wales Book of the Year 2022. My greatest hope throughout the difficult writing process was that the book would be understood and resonate with an audience beyond myself. For the book to have been selected by the judges is the most unexpected and welcome compliment!”

‘beyond delighted…’
The Wales Book of the Year Award is an annual prize celebrating outstanding literary talent from Wales across many genres and in both English and Welsh. Today, Friday 1 July, Literature Wales announced which books have reached the English-language Wales Book of the Year Short List 2022.
YOU can VOTE for the people’s choice from the shortlist via Wales Art Review
The winners will be announced on BBC Radio Wales on 29 July.
Congratulations Jeremy! We are so pleased A Voice Coming From Then is getting the attention it deserves.
You can order a copy of A Voice Coming From Then from our webshop. To celebrate Jeremy’s place on the shortlist, we’ll send you a code for 50% off either the ebook or audiobook, when you order a print copy.
Any press enquiries, please email Saira Aspinall on outreach@arachnepress.com.
Arachneversary – The Dowry Blade – Cherry Potts
Author Cherry Potts talks about and reads from her lesbian fantasy epic, The Dowry Blade.
You can buy the book from our Webshop
Throughout August, this book is discounted with code ARACHNEVERSARY.
Arachneversary – Outcome with Tom Dingley
As part of our Eighth Anniversary celebrations, Arachne Press editor, Cherry Potts, talks to photographer Tom Dingley.
Outcome was a project to photograph LGBT people with their childhood photograph; the idea was to let young people know ‘it gets better’. A celebration of all the jobs an LGBT person can excel at.
Grow up, come out, be fabulous, be you.
And we captured it all in a book!
A book you can buy from our webshop at a discount during August: use the code ARACHNEVERSARY at the checkout.
IDAHOBIT 2020 Stories & Poems
Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
I’ve already drawn your attention to our marvellous LGBTQI writers of individual collections and novels, so I thought I’d hilight the LGBTQI short story and poetry gems nestling in our anthologies.
- Noon
- An Outbreak of Peace
- We/She
- The Other Side of Sleep
- Stations
- Solstice Shorts: Sixteen Stories about Time
- Departures
- London Lies
- Lovers’ Lies
London Lies: Leaving, Cherry Potts
Stations: All Change at Canonbury, Paula Read
Lovers’ Lies: Tasting Flight, Catherine Sharpe; Mirror, Cherry Potts; Dara Jessica Lott
The Other Side of Sleep: Naming: AD 2006, Alwyn Marriage;The Other Side of Sleep, Kate Foley
Liberty Tales: Tabernacle Lane; Pearls over Shanghai; Flax, San Francisco; all by Jeremy Dixon
Solstice Shorts – Sixteen Stories about Time: Death and Other Rituals, Tannith Perry; Stars, Emma Timpany (not sure that’s what she intended, but I certainly read it that way).
Noon: Under the L, Liam Hogan
An Outbreak of Peace: Surplus Women, Rebecca Skipwith
We/She Desperately Seeking Hephaestion, Elizabeth Hopkinson; Cages, Joanne LM Williams
Departures: Alpaca Moonlight, VG Lee; Over, Joy Howard
You can buy all the books mentioned from our webshop, we will post them out to you.
If you would prefer eBooks, all these books are available from your usual retailer, now VAT free! We recommend Hive for ePub.
Happy IDAHOBIT!
Lesbian Visibility Week
Phew, a bit late in the week, but let’s fly the flag here, before I go back to the emergecy fund application to ACE, refreshed with reminding myself why I do this.
We publish everyone. (Except people who aren’t writers, obviously).
But my first publications as a writer were with a lesbian press, and while we aren’t a lesbian press we are a lesbian-owned press, and we can still use that visibility.
So in celebration, here are our lesbian authors and poets, together with the books they are in, all of which are available from us direct, and from intrepid bookshops, and as ebooks from your usual supplier. There are probably more, but if they don’t tell me, I can’t celebrate them.
- An Outbreak of Peace
- Mosaic of Air
- Foraging
- A Gift of Rivers
- Lovers’ Lies
- Jane Aldous
- Joy Howard
- Shortest Day, Longest Night
- Joanne LM Williams
- Dusk
- V G Lee
- We/She
- Noon
- Let out the Djinn
- Kate Foley
- Cherry
- Time and Tide
- Carolyn Robertson
- The Dowry Blade
- London Lies
- The Don’t Touch Garden
- The Other Side of Sleep
- Stations
National Coming Out Day 2019
11th November is National Coming Out Day. We like to tie in our LGBT titles to this day when we can. (Or history month in February!)
Yesterday we published Let Out the Djinn, by Jane Aldous, and tomorrow we are launching this delightful debut collection of poems in Edinburgh.
Not in Edinburgh? buy a copy here!
Three years ago we published Outcome by Tom Dingley to coincide with Coming Out Day, and we have now permanently reducing the price of this book of 80 photographic portraits buy your copy here for £15
Other LGBT poetry titles:
In Retail, poems from Jeremy Dixon (just going into a second print)
A Gift of Rivers, Kate Foley
The Don’t Touch Garden, Kate Foley
Foraging, Joy Howard
Erratics, Cathy Bryant
LGBT Fiction
The Dowry Blade, Cherry Potts
Mosaic of Air, Cherry Potts
Happy Publication day, Jane Aldous
Happy Publication day, to Jane Aldous, as her debut poetry collection, Let out the Djinn hits the streets.
See you at Lighthouse Radical Bookshop in Edinburgh at 5pm on Saturday

Cake in preparation