Claire Miller

I was initially accepted onto the scheme with my ecopoetry collection idea. However, only a few months into the mentoring scheme, my cat fell unexpectedly ill and had to be put down. I kept a journal through my grief, which inevitably became poetry. I’m immensely grateful that the mentoring scheme was flexible enough to give me the space to switch to the more emotionally pressing project at that time.

My mentor was Jake Wild Hall of Bad Betty Press. Jake was very approachable and tactful around my grief while still giving useful and honest feedback. His fresh perspective and ideas really helped when I hit major roadblocks, and now the difference between my first and most recent drafts is palpable. It was invaluable to have someone with first-hand experience of both editing and submitting pamphlets as a sounding board during my confidence wobbles, and lovely to have someone in my corner. The deadlines helped push me too!