Lee Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series says
“You can have the best plot and greatest characters ever, but readers won’t get a chance to find that out unless your opening really sucks them in — your first line, your first paragraph, your first page makes or breaks the whole book. That’s why I’m excited to judge the inaugural competition from Black Spring Crime.”
At last, we listen closely: cryptic crossword poems
At last, we listen closely: cryptic crossword poems
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Preorder NOW! | Poetry - Paperback
At last, we listen closely: cryptic crossword poems brings together two favourite pastimes: reading poetry and doing crossword puzzles. In this collection, Holly Painter invents an original form: interconnected poems based on cryptic crosswords. Each one – a paired “clues” poem and “answers” haiku – can be enjoyed as poetry, with subject matter ranging from moon-washed forests to pub brawls, rebellious churchwomen to Vermont dairy cows, or the reader can join the poet in her work, using the poem to solve the haiku. It’s a unique and boundary-blurring reading experience for poetry lovers and puzzle solvers alike.
Holly Painter is the author of Excerpts from a Natural History (Titus, 2015), My Pet Sounds Off: Translating the Beach Boys (Finishing Line, 2020), and The pressure of all that light (Rebel Satori, 2022). Her poetry and fiction have been published in literary journals in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Holly lives with her wife and two children in Vermont, where she teaches writing and literature at the University of Vermont. Read more at hollypainter.com.
Read our article in the Times!
By Richard Tyler. April 26, 2024. Todd Swift, owner of the Black Spring Press Group, says it is getting harder for independent publishers to remain viable amid fierce competition.