About

Roy Marshall was born in 1966. Roy wanted to be a writer as a child and young man but became distracted for about twenty years during which time he found himself variously employed as a delivery driver, gardener and coronary care nurse, amongst other occupations. Since leaving nursing he has worked in adult education, both in community and as a part time university lecturer.        

His pamphlet ‘Gopagilla‘ was published by Crystal Clear in March 2012.

‘ Poems that hold words to the light until they catch it and flash with sudden truth.’ Andrew McCulloch, TLS.

‘Gopagilla’ has sold out and is no longer available.

Roy’s  first full collection ‘The Sun Bathers’ (Shoestring Press , 2013)
was shortlisted for the Michael Murphy award.

‘Filled with invention, exceptional skill and rueful humour.’
Peter Carpenter, Under The Radar 

A second collection, ‘The Great Animator’  was published by Shoestring Press in 2017.

‘ Every other line offers something in language we can revel in, smile at, whisper in pleasure as we read. Some lines feel like sonic ball-pools we can roll around in, emerging for air only as they resolve.’     Noel Williams in The North

Roy’s versions of poems by the Italian poet Eugenio Montale were published in 2019.

‘A delight to read, beautifully crafted, spare yet lyrical.’ 
Caroline Maldonaldo, London Grip 

Magazine publications

Roy’s work has been widely published in magazines including The Rialto, Ambit,
Poetry Wales, Smiths Knoll, The North, Magma, Agenda, The Manchester Review,  Guardian online, The Butchers Dog , The High Window, The Compass and Stand.

Anthologies

Poems have appeared in anthologies including ‘Blame Montezuma’ (Happenstance, 2014) ‘Double Bill’ (Red Squirrel, 2014), The Emergency Poet Anti-Stress Anthology (Michael O’Mara, 2015) ‘Schooldays’ (Paper Swans 2015),  More Raw Material (Lucifer Press, 2015), ‘No 2 Poetry ‘ (Vanguard 2016)  ‘New boots and Pantisocracies’ (Smokestack, 2016), ‘Over Land and Sea’ (2016, Five Leaves) ‘Millstone Grit’ (Antiphon, 2016)  ‘One for The Road’ (Poetry Business, 2017) ‘The Language of Flowers’ ( Penguin, 2017)  ‘Poems in the Waiting Room’, New Zealand, ‘Diversify; Poetry and Art on Britain’s Urban Birds’ (Fair Acre 2018), ‘The Pocket Poetry Book of Weddings’ & ‘Pocket Poetry Book of Cricket’ (Paper Swans, 2018), ‘Poems for the NHS  (Onslaught Press, 2018)  ‘These Are the Hands (Fair acre press, 2019) and ‘Ten Poems of Hope’ (Candlestick Press, 2022)

Awards

Roy recieved the E.A. Markham award from Sheffield Hallam University to study for an  MA in creative writing. He obtained a distinction in 2015.

‘The Sun Bathers’ was shortlisted for the Michael Murphy Award in 2015 .

Roy’s short story ‘Late’ was highly commended in the Bare Fiction competition, 2014
and appeared in the magazine. You can read it here 

Poems have been awarded prizes in over thirty competitions including Ledbury, Battered Moons, Nottingham Open, Wenlock International, East Midlands, Alan Sillitoe Prize, Flarestack, William Soutar Priza, Ver, and others.

Other Writing

Roy’s reviews have appeared in The Interpreter’s House, The Compass, Critical Survey, The High Window and elsewhere.

Workshops, Readings, Mentoring services.

Roy has extensive experience of running workshops.
Roy has received mentoring training and is an experienced writing mentor.
Roy has judged poetry competitions and been a poet in residence at festivals.

Contact Roy by leaving a message in the comments at the bottom of this page,
or by direct message via Twitter
@RoyMarshall2

Reviews

You can read a more extensive selection of reviews of Roy’s work here .

‘I  read Gopagilla and loved it; really great work. Absolutely fresh, surprising, precise, concise, vivid, moving.’ – Nick Drake

‘.. a satisfying and poetically coherent first pamphlet. It delivers a lot and promises even more. I very much look forward to reading more of Roy Marshall’s poetry in the future.’ Matthew Stewart, Rogue Strands

‘Close observation, combined with beautifully judged phrasing’ – Alan Baker, Litterbug

‘ Compression and unforced lyricism’ (Wayne Burrows)

‘Very self-contained, poised and graceful writing’ (Kim Moore)

‘Pitch perfect cadences’ – (David Cooke, Ink Sweat and Tears)

‘ The Great Animator- a modern lyricism that’s fiercely human. Top pick for 2017’
(Mark Fiddes)