A. K. Blakemore | |
|---|---|
 Blakemore at the British Library in 2023 | |
| Born | Amy Katrina Blakemore 11 May 1991 |
| Occupation | Poet • translator • novelist |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Period | 2007–present |
Amy Katrina Blakemore (born 11 May 1991), known professionally as A. K. Blakemore, is an English author, poet, translator, and former model.[ citation needed ]
Amy Katrina Blakemore was born on 11 May 1991 [1] in London, England. [2] [3] She was raised in South London, where she attended comprehensive school in Deptford. She then went on to study language and literature at the University of Oxford. [4]
Blakemore has cited Sam Riviere, Mary Ruefle, and Emily Dickinson as influences. [4] She was a winner of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award for her poems "Peckham Rye Lane" and "You Envied the Stars Their Height" in 2007 and 2008, respectively. [5] In 2009 her work was anthologized in Bloodaxe Books's Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century. Her first single author publication, the pamphlet Amy's Intro, was published in 2012 as part of Nasty Little Press's Intro series. [3]
Humbert Summer, Blakemore's first full-length poetry collection, was published by Eyewear Publishing in 2015. That same year she won the Melita Hume Prize for Poetry. [4] [6] In 2016 she collaborated with If a Leaf Falls Press to publish the pamphlet pro ana, which was only distributed in a run of twenty-four copies. [3] Her sophomore poetry collection Fondue was subsequently published by Offord Road Books in 2018 [7] and awarded a Ledbury Forte Prize for the Best Second Collection at the 2019 Ledbury Poetry Festival. [8]
Further original poetry has been featured in various literary publications including The White Review, [2] Hotel, [9] and Ambit, [10] as well as anthologized in Stop Sharpening Your Knives No. 4 (Egg Box, 2011) and The Best of British Poetry (Salt Publishing, 2015). In collaboration with Dave Haysom, Blakemore translated My Tenantless Body, a collection of poetry by Sichuanese poet Yu Yoyo. The collection was published by the Poetry Translation Centre as part of their World Poets Series in 2019. [11]
Since 2021, Blakemore has moved toward becoming a novelist. Her first novel, The Manningtree Witches (Granta Books, 2021), is a fictional account of the Essex witch trials. It has received generally positive reviews, [12] [13] and was the 2021 winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize. [14]
The Glutton (Granta Books, 2023) fictionalizes the true story of Tarrare, a French showman with polyphagia who served as a military courier in the French Revolution. It was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize [15] and the Encore Award. [16]
In July 2022, The Forge Entertainment optioned the rights to adapt The Manningtree Witches for television. [17]
The Manningtree Witches was adapted for stage by Ava Pickett. Directed by Natasha Rickman, the play will premiere in February 2026 at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. [18]
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