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Kym Deyn

@shortestwitch

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Writer, publisher, nuisance, fortune teller. In books & in bogs.
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Poetry Reading at 1b Books: Fatema Abdoolcarim, Kym Deyn, Megan Pattie⁣ ⁣ Join us in November for a free poetry reading in collaboration with @poetrybooksociety at 1b Books, Newcastle. With readings from Fatema Abdoolcarim, Kym Deyn and Megan Pattie.⁣ ⁣ Tuesday 17 November, 6.30pm. Free! Book a place via the Eventbrite link in our bio. ⁣ ⁣ 1b Books⁣ Bolingbroke St⁣ Newcastle NE6 5PH⁣ ⁣ ⁣* ⁣ Fatema Abdoolcarim is an Indian-Pakistani Hong Konger who makes films and writes. Her films have been shown internationally, including at Locarno Film Festival, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Osaka Asian Film Festival. 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 is her debut collection of poetry, and was a Poetry Book Society Spring Choice. She lives in the Baltic Sea, on the island of Bornholm.⁣ ⁣ Kym Deyn is a writer and editor. Their debut collection folkish was published by Nine Arches in 2026 and was made a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Their pamphlets include Dionysia published by Verve Poetry Press, and Unfurl, a collaborative fiction experiment. They have been widely published in anthologies and journals for their poetry and prose, including 𝘖𝘹𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝟷𝟺 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘴 and 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘴, and are the recipient of a Jerwood Fellowship from New Writing North. They run The Braag CIC, a poetry and speculative fiction press.⁣ ⁣ Megan Pattie’s writing explores subjects ranging from the Gothic, mythology, and the natural world, to food, mental health, and small moments of wonder. She is a previous Foyle Young Poet, and has been published in a variety of journals, as well as anthologies from Eibonvale Press, The Emma Press, Fragmented Voices, Dreich, and the Black Light Engine Room, who also published her pamphlet, Tracts. Megan’s debut collection 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 was published in February 2026 by Broken Sleep Books.
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I’ll be joining the amazing @fatemaabdoolcarim and @shortestwitch at @1b.books with @monitorbooks and @poetrybooksociety next month! Come hang with us and hear some knock-it-out-the-park poetry.
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Sunday morning was spent with poetry from Clementine Ewokolo Burnley and Helen Mort that crossed continents and climbed mountains, hosted by Poetry Book Society. We heard from Dan Jackson about his football heroes and why the North East has such a connection to this sport. Did you know that County Durham produces more professional footballers per head than any other county? In the afternoon, Louise Doughty and Nicola Wilding shared honestly about their memoirs of family secrets and working-class upbringings. We indulged in lighthearted Regency fun with Sophie Irwin and Katie Kennedy – from bizarre fashion trends (ever seen a hat decorated with vegetables?) to the challenge of balancing historical realism with frothy romance. Kym Deyn, Katherine Horrex and JA Mensah joined us at The Light for an intimate session, complete with teas and coffees, about developing a writing career. Clare McGlynn and Natasha Walter spoke about the urgency of the interconnected crises that affect women today and the real potential there is for change. “What we see today in the world is not inevitable, it is not eternal, it does not have to go on forever.” We heard about some of this year’s special festival commissions; new stories by Romalyn Ante, Naomi Booth and Sarah Hall about the complex relationships women have with sleep; and an essay and poem from Jake Morris-Campbell about Bishop Auckland’s River Gaunless, with conversation from Northumbrian Water and Wear Rivers Trust about how we can look after this special, ancient river. The Gala main house closed out with a beautiful and moving conversation between Christopher Eccleston, Jo Clement and The Bee about the work of late poet Tony Harrison and the power of words as we find our own voices. And we said goodbye to the festival with two sold-out events: Morvern Graham, Amy Jeffs and Aimee MacDonald shared the folkloric traditions passed down from their families and how they combine visual art and storytelling, while over at Collected Books we spent a cosy hour chatting with HF Askwith and Hannah Kaner about their newest Northern fantasy novels. What a brilliant day to close out a brilliant weekend 💥 📸 @robirishmedia
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Yesterday I attended a talk at The Light Durham, by three Jerwood Fellows, on developing writing. It was superb. An event held by New Writing North, we learnt about motivations, themes and poverty Vs prose. #iamwriting #indieauthor #newauthor #bookstagram
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It was a delightful first Durham Book Festival evening at Gala Durham yesterday. We kicked off the festival with writers Naomi Booth and Kayo Chingonyi sharing an honest conversation about how publishing works, how to get an agent, and knowing when your writing is ready to take to the next stage. An audience of writers asked great questions and received really practical advice – there was lots of scribbling in notebooks! The October vibes were strong as we chatted all things tarot with Jill Dawson and Kim Deyn, with tarot cards guiding the conversation. “The best novels tell a secret and keep a secret,” said Jill on her novel Pixie, about the forgotten third designer of the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck. Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen garnered many laughs as they shared their funny, fast paced and heartfelt poems from the main stage. They joked that many people are dragged along to poetry gigs against their will, but the audience was fully on board from the get go. And we closed out the night with our Durham Writes Poetry Scratch Night expertly hosted by Rowan McCabe, where we heard new poetry from participants on our recent Durham Writes poetry course, as well as from brave audience members who submitted their names for an open mic. Poems spanned a full range of subjects from grief and illness to platypuses and vampire boyfriends. Bring on day two! Photo credit: @robirishmedia
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Today was the first day of the Durham Book Festival and I've just gotten back from three of the evening's events. Talking Books was an informative discussion about different routes that can be taken to reach publication. Pixie had Jill Dawson answering questions (with relevant tarot cards!) from Kym Deyn about her book about the illustrator of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, Pamela Colman Smith. The last session of the night was a Scratch Night led by Rowan McCabe (I performed my shortest poem). #durhambookfestival #durhamevents #bookfestival
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One last look back @newcastlepoetryfestival and Saturday’s final day @stmarysbythetyne. The day began with mentoring for new poets, followed by a conversation about the work of poetry publishers and editors with Neil Astley @bloodaxebooks, @luckyflowerhowe, @jocolley and Julie Hogg. Then came an afternoon reading from @shortestwitch, @0liviamcc and @anitapati79. I arrived back at the festival just in time to hear James Berry Poetry Prize winners @ewokila, @nadineelenany and @roshnigallagher share their work, before Carl Kears and Clare Lees took us all the way back to Cædmon’s “Hymn” - the earliest surviving English poem - exploring its connections to Northumbria through its different voices, versions and translations. And then, a suitably big finish. The Griffin Gala brought Rachael Boast, @carolynforche, @luckyflowerhowe, Roger Reeves and @alessteger together for the final readings of the weekend - and a brilliant way to close this year’s festival. Events like this can’t happen without people turning up, buying tickets, picking up books and supporting the poets and organisations that make them possible. So keep your eyes peeled for news of next year and make sure you join in again. Until then!
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Back for day two of @newcastlepoetryfestival, and I’m wearing my @poetrybooksociety hat again, helping to cover the bookstall for the final few panels of the weekend. While I’m here, it felt like a good opportunity to pull together a stack of festival favourites - poets appearing across the weekend, books I’ve been enjoying, and some brilliant small presses and indie publishers making their presence felt on the festival tables. On the stack: Archivum by @munozpoems, @livunipress Borderlands by @martinbewickwriter, @blueprintpoetry Best Barbarian by Roger Reeves, @wwnortonuk Drunken Driving by Martina Evans, @carcanetpress Folkish by @shortestwitch, @ninearchespress Shadow Reader by @dharkerimtiaz, @bloodaxebooks Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology 2026 - edited by Luke Hathaway, @griffinpoetry Viewsley by @daljit.nagra1234, @faberbooks Otherwhere by @carolynforche, @bloodaxebooks A pretty good snapshot of just how wide-ranging the poetry has been this weekend - and plenty of additions to the reading pile. For now, there are still books to sell and a few more panels to catch. We’ll follow up with a proper festival roundup later.
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Happy National Poetry Day: the perfect time to celebrate a busy, brilliant year of #poetry so far. What have you read from our 2026 titles? LIGHT YEAR by @jenniferwswong CHERRY BLOSSOM AT NIGHTBREAK by @betarish FOLKISH by @shortestwitch PAIN SONGS by @danielsluman LIKE STARLINGS FALLING by @dillonjaxx PRIMERS VOL 8 feat @caarlalexandersson @rachel__jeffcoat & @livtuckreadsandwrites BLUE, BABE by Shagufta K. Iqbal MINDSET MINDRISE by @kmngriffiths Thank you to all our poets, partners, supporters and readers 📚 Use the NPD5 code at our checkout and save £5 when you spend £20+ on books with us. #poetry #poetrycommunity #NationalPoetryDay
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Writer and Tarot reader Kym Deyn will use her deck to interview Jill Dawson about the life of twentieth-century artist Pamela ‘Pixie’ Colman Smith – the forgotten third designer of the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck. In her magical new novel Pixie, Jill narrates Pamela Colman Smith forging a career in the art world via Jamaica, Devon, London and Brooklyn, navigating seances, secrets, successes and devastation. This feminist reclamation of Pamela’s work breathes life into her fascinating story after decades of erasure in favour of the Tarot deck’s male publishers. Jill Dawson is the author of 11 novels, one poetry collection and the editor of six anthologies of poetry and stories. Friday 9 October, 6.30-7.30-pm
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*Recommended read* Folkish, by Kym Deyn. “At what point does an idea become an egg?”
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For early career writers, making the jump from debut publication to the next project can be complex and full of uncertainty. At Durham Book Festival, writers Kym Deyn, Katherine Horrex and J.A. Mensah will speak about their experiences as New Writing North’s Jerwood Fellows and how they have developed their practice during their fellowship, offering inspiration and insight to other writers navigating their career. This event is taking place at Durham’s brand new cultural venue, The Light, a short walk from the train station. Come and see what it’s all about! https://newwritingnorth.com/event/developing-your-writing-with-jerwood-fellows/
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