Penned in the Margins believes in the power of language to challenge how we think, test new ideas and explore alternative stories. We operate across the arts, collaborating with writers, artists and creative partners using new platforms and technologies.

A unique blend of publishing and production characterises our distinctive model in the cultural landscape. The hallmarks of a Penned in the Margins book or event are curiosity, innovation and openness. Collaboration is at the heart of what we do, bringing artists from different fields together to create innovative and invigorating new work. We have a history of developing new artists and writers, and have given important early opportunities to the likes of playwright Inua Ellams, novelist Joe Dunthorne, spoken word artist Scroobius Pip and poets Hannah Silva and Melissa Lee-Houghton.

Penned in the Margins has been a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England since 2015. We have been based in Artsadmin’s Toynbee Studios in London’s East End since 2010. Our books are represented by Inpress Books and distributed by NBN International. We are a member of STAMP, the network of London organisations supporting emerging theatre and performance makers.

Awards

Shortlisted, Clarissa Luard Award for Independent Publishers 2017
Shortlisted, Ledbury Forte Poetry Prize 2017 | The Story of No by Emma Hammond
Shortlisted, Ledbury Forte Poetry Prize 2017 | Spacecraft by John McCullough
Longlisted, Green Carnation Prize | Spacecraft by John McCullough
Winner, Somerset Maugham Award 2017 | Sunshine by Melissa Lee-Houghton
Shortlisted, Dylan Thomas Prize 2017 |Cain by Luke Kennard
Shortlisted, Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2016 | Sunshine
Shortlisted, Costa Poetry Prize 2016 | Sunshine by Melissa Lee-Houghton
Winner, British Book Design & Production Awards 2016 | Cain by Luke Kennard
Shortlisted, Forward Prize for Best Single Poem 2016 | Melissa Lee-Houghton
Shortlisted, East Anglian Book Awards 2016 | What I Learned from Johnny Bevan
Winner, Best Novella, Saboteur Awards 2016 | The Lost Art of Sinking by Naomi Booth
Winner, Best Spoken Word Show, Saboteur Awards 2016 | What I Learned from Johnny Bevan
Winner, Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year 2015 | The Good Dark by Ryan Van Winkle
Winner, Most Innovative Publisher, Saboteur Awards 2015
Longlisted, Medicine Unboxed Prize 2015 | The Hard Word Box by Sarah Hesketh
Shortlisted, Gordon Burn Prize 2015 | Midland by Honor Gavin
Next Generation Poet 2014 | Beautiful Girls by Melissa Lee-Houghton
Winner, Most Innovative Publisher, Saboteur Awards 2013
Shortlisted, Ted Hughes Award 2013 | Total Man by Hannah Silva
Longlisted, Guardian First Book Award 2013 | The Shipwrecked House by Claire Trévien
Recommendation, Poetry Book Society 2013 | Beautiful Girls by Melissa Lee-Houghton
Best Novella, Saboteur Awards 2013 | Holophin by Luke Kennard
Recommended Translation, Poetry Book Society 2013 | Beowulf by Meghan Purvis
Special Commendation, Poetry Book Society 2012 | Adventures in Form

Who we are

Director Tom Chivers

Tom is a writer, publisher and arts producer born in south London in 1983. His poetry releases include How To Build A City (Salt, 2009) and Dark Islands (Test Centre, 2015). He received an Eric Gregory Award in 2011, and was shortlisted for the Michael Marks (2009) and Edwin Morgan (2014) Prizes. Tom was co-Director of London Word Festival from its inception in 2008 until 2011, and was a recipient of a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Breakthrough Award. He was a board member of the Poetry Book Society (2009-2013) and Inpress Books (2013-2017).

Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator James Trevelyan (email)

James Trevelyan grew up in the Midlands and now lives in south London. He has worked in several roles on a number of projects in literature organisations including The Poetry Society, Forward Arts Foundation, the Poetry School, Poetry Book Society & T S Eliot Foundation. As a writer he has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway and poems in various magazines and anthologies including Best New British & Irish Poets 2017. His debut pamphlet, DISSOLVE to: L.A., was published by the Emma Press in March 2016.

Associate Artists

Siddhartha Bose, Hannah Silva, Ross Sutherland

Creative Associates

Russell Bender, Nick Murray

Advisory Board

Chris Baker, Oliver Dawson, Rose Fenton, Julia Payne, Ben Pygall, Aki Schilz, Natasha Tripney