Emma Purshouse
@emmapurshouse.bsky.social
Freelance writer, novelist, performance poet and lover of all things Black Country. Editor of The Blackcountryman magazine. One third of Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists.
Happy New Year to anyone reading this :)
January 1, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Happy New Year to anyone reading this :)
I hope you've all had a nice Christmas. Anybody have any good books? I got Benjamin Myers' 'The Offing' which I read in one sitting yesterday. I really loved it.
December 27, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I hope you've all had a nice Christmas. Anybody have any good books? I got Benjamin Myers' 'The Offing' which I read in one sitting yesterday. I really loved it.
People of Wolves, if you've left your shopping until the last minute and you've got to buy for a reader of novels or poetry ...I've got books on the shelves in @waterstoneswton.bsky.social . All Black Country centric stuff. And If the recipient doesn't like it, the great thing is you can blame me😁.
December 23, 2025 at 8:56 PM
People of Wolves, if you've left your shopping until the last minute and you've got to buy for a reader of novels or poetry ...I've got books on the shelves in @waterstoneswton.bsky.social . All Black Country centric stuff. And If the recipient doesn't like it, the great thing is you can blame me😁.
Want to take part in the Wolverhampton Literature Festival Poetry Slam on Saturday 31st January 2026 at 7.30pm. @pandemonialists.bsky.social are taking expressions of interest til midnight on Christmas Eve. We'll do the draw on Boxing Day to see who gets to compete. Winner of slam gets a paid gig.
December 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Want to take part in the Wolverhampton Literature Festival Poetry Slam on Saturday 31st January 2026 at 7.30pm. @pandemonialists.bsky.social are taking expressions of interest til midnight on Christmas Eve. We'll do the draw on Boxing Day to see who gets to compete. Winner of slam gets a paid gig.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
Solidarity with the hunger strikers.
It is an egregious violation for them to be held on remand - without trial or conviction.
All for protesting against a genocide. Shameful.
It is an egregious violation for them to be held on remand - without trial or conviction.
All for protesting against a genocide. Shameful.
December 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Solidarity with the hunger strikers.
It is an egregious violation for them to be held on remand - without trial or conviction.
All for protesting against a genocide. Shameful.
It is an egregious violation for them to be held on remand - without trial or conviction.
All for protesting against a genocide. Shameful.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
So much respect for Robin Ince, who's a lovely bloke, always tries to do what is right, and deserves better than this from the BBC.
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 10:03 AM
So much respect for Robin Ince, who's a lovely bloke, always tries to do what is right, and deserves better than this from the BBC.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
Fifteen and a bit. 😎
Poets! You've got just... *checks calendar*... nineteen days to craft and send your entries to this year's #WolvesLitFest poetry competition, judged by @helenivory.bsky.social and @martinfigura.bsky.social. 40 line limit, £400 1st prize. Details here: pandemonialists.co.uk/wolves-lit-f...
December 16, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Fifteen and a bit. 😎
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
If you see this photo, please leave a comment! 🙏😊
Do you know what kind of duck this is? 🦆😍
#Birds 🪶
My exclusive 2026 Birds calendars make perfect Christmas gifts! 😀
You can buy them here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Do you know what kind of duck this is? 🦆😍
#Birds 🪶
My exclusive 2026 Birds calendars make perfect Christmas gifts! 😀
You can buy them here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
December 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM
If you see this photo, please leave a comment! 🙏😊
Do you know what kind of duck this is? 🦆😍
#Birds 🪶
My exclusive 2026 Birds calendars make perfect Christmas gifts! 😀
You can buy them here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Do you know what kind of duck this is? 🦆😍
#Birds 🪶
My exclusive 2026 Birds calendars make perfect Christmas gifts! 😀
You can buy them here;
www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...
Looking for a Poetry Competition to enter?www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/competition.html
It's open until midnight on 31st December.
It's open until midnight on 31st December.
Competition | Wolverhampton Literature Festival
Competition | Wolverhampton Literature Festival
www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk
December 12, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Looking for a Poetry Competition to enter?www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/competition.html
It's open until midnight on 31st December.
It's open until midnight on 31st December.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
I follow many incredibly creative people and often, their work is their income. I follow them because they bring their imagination and visions into my feed. I also like to re-post work that I like and admire. It really doesn't take much to support artists, be it a commission or sharing. ❤️🎨
December 12, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I follow many incredibly creative people and often, their work is their income. I follow them because they bring their imagination and visions into my feed. I also like to re-post work that I like and admire. It really doesn't take much to support artists, be it a commission or sharing. ❤️🎨
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
Mat The Beacon Riches. I can live with this.
December 10, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Mat The Beacon Riches. I can live with this.
Watched a documentary on poet Edna St. Vincent Millay last night. Turns out the St. Vincent bit was the name of a hospital that saved her uncle. Wow.
December 10, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Watched a documentary on poet Edna St. Vincent Millay last night. Turns out the St. Vincent bit was the name of a hospital that saved her uncle. Wow.
Celebrate the best of the Black Country this Xmas with our ‘Black Country people’ book bundle. On sale now in our online shop, at unbelievable prices! www.blackcountrysociety.com/shop
December 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Poets...
Join us 9th Jan to cheer, clap and holler as Glasgow’s top poets compete in the second of 10 heats for the biggest prize in UK slam poetry.
You have until the 23rd of December to signup to take part! forms.gle/BJFGyyWCMDri...
Stay tuned for an update on tickets going on sale soon!
You have until the 23rd of December to signup to take part! forms.gle/BJFGyyWCMDri...
Stay tuned for an update on tickets going on sale soon!
December 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Poets...
I've got a cold and a cough...and suddenly I feel like I want to do a jigsaw.
December 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I've got a cold and a cough...and suddenly I feel like I want to do a jigsaw.
Delighted that my latest poetry collection 'Unsung' has covered it's publishing costs. This is no mean feat as it only came out at the beginning of September. It is a genuine worry that a small press's investment in my work doesn't pay off for them...or worse, causes them to have to stand a loss.
December 9, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Delighted that my latest poetry collection 'Unsung' has covered it's publishing costs. This is no mean feat as it only came out at the beginning of September. It is a genuine worry that a small press's investment in my work doesn't pay off for them...or worse, causes them to have to stand a loss.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
These are all very good books, folks...
Support small independent presses...oh, and a tall independent Black Country author! 😂 If you'd like to take a chance on one of my books as a Christmas present for someone then go to Offa's Press online shop for poetry, to Fairacre Books for kid's poetry, and @ignitebooks.bsky.social for my novel.
December 6, 2025 at 5:54 PM
These are all very good books, folks...
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
The wife of Birmingham poet Benjamin Zephaniah says a writing competition celebrating his life is empowering people across the UK to use their voices for the planet
Benjamin Zephaniah writing competition sparks powerful new poems
The wife of Birmingham poet Benjamin Zephaniah says a writing competition celebrating his life is empowering people across the UK to use their voices for the planet.
www.blackcountryradio.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
The wife of Birmingham poet Benjamin Zephaniah says a writing competition celebrating his life is empowering people across the UK to use their voices for the planet
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
Thank you so much to @alanparrywriter.co.uk, @thebrokenspine.co.uk, for choosing my novella-in-flash as one of the three winners in the Summer 2025 Competition. I've been working on The Knack of Gaining Entry for years and have never given up on it. Now it has found a perfect home. I'm thrilled.
December 8, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Thank you so much to @alanparrywriter.co.uk, @thebrokenspine.co.uk, for choosing my novella-in-flash as one of the three winners in the Summer 2025 Competition. I've been working on The Knack of Gaining Entry for years and have never given up on it. Now it has found a perfect home. I'm thrilled.
Coughing like a gudd un. Cough, cough, cough. Sometimes I stop and blow my nose...just to ring the changes.
a white cat is sitting on a wooden table with its mouth open .
Alt: a weird white cat is sitting on a wooden table with its mouth open like it's coughing.
media.tenor.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Coughing like a gudd un. Cough, cough, cough. Sometimes I stop and blow my nose...just to ring the changes.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
Bad weather getting you down? Brighten up your weekend by penning an entry or three for #WolvesLitFest poetry competition, judged this year by @helenivory.bsky.social and @martinfigura.bsky.social. Closes December 31st. £400 1st prize. 😊 pandemonialists.co.uk/wolves-lit-f...
December 6, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Bad weather getting you down? Brighten up your weekend by penning an entry or three for #WolvesLitFest poetry competition, judged this year by @helenivory.bsky.social and @martinfigura.bsky.social. Closes December 31st. £400 1st prize. 😊 pandemonialists.co.uk/wolves-lit-f...
I've contributed a couple of poems to a wintry music and poetry download put together by Ian Marrey to raise money for Acorns. www.justgiving.com/page/from-acorns-grow The download is free but if you're able to contribute to the charity then please do.
From Acorns Grow...
Help Ian Marrey raise money to support Acorns Children's Hospice Trust
www.justgiving.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I've contributed a couple of poems to a wintry music and poetry download put together by Ian Marrey to raise money for Acorns. www.justgiving.com/page/from-acorns-grow The download is free but if you're able to contribute to the charity then please do.
Reposted by Emma Purshouse
The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness.
December 7, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness.