Island poet Lydia Fulleylove is proud to announce the publication of her first collection of poems entitled Notes on Sea and Land by the award winning HappenStance Press.

In celebration of this, Waterstones in Newport are hosting a book launch on Tuesday 26 July at 6:30pm, all are welcome to attend and hear Lydia read from her collection.

Lydia came to prominence when she was awarded 3rd place in the Bridport Prize competition of 2009; she was subsequently shortlisted for the Forward Best Single Poem Award in 2010 and her poem Night Drive was published in The Guardian.

Lydia has encouraged many people to write creatively through her work with community groups, schools, mental health groups and in Island prisons. She is currently co-ordinating Estuary, an Arts Council and West Wight Landscape Project funded cross arts project based upon Kings Manor Farm and the Yar Estuary in the West Wight.

Nature and the outdoors are central to Lydia's character and wellbeing. Most days start with a run or cycle and swim in the sea; living close to the south west coast of the island she is surrounded by land and seascape which inform and inspire her writing. Her best lines often come to her when walking, running - or swimming in the sea.

"Wild places and the rhythm of the seasons are integral to my work. I see writing as a form of exploration and experiment, rooted in the senses, a voyage through observation, memory and reflection to the shaping and crafting of a ‘final’piece"