About Catherine

Catherine Redford is a poet, writer, editor, and researcher from the West Midlands.

Her Forward-shortlisted debut poetry collection, The Way the Water Held Me (The Emma Press, 2026), explores the caring, grief, loss, and love experienced by a young widow.

A Magma Selected Poet, Catherine has also had poetry published in Under the Radar, Propel, New Welsh Reader, and Lighthouse. She is an editor at Dust Poetry magazine, a Nine Arches Press Dynamo Poet, and a Writing West Midlands Room 204 Writer.

Catherine has published widely on Romantic and Victorian literature, with a particular focus on Mary Shelley, post-apocalyptic texts, and the Gothic. She previously taught at the University of Oxford.

‘Catherine Redford is a luminous writer and her poems will touch your heart.’ (Liz Berry)

the way the

water held me

While newly married, with the couple expecting their first child, Catherine Redford's wife was tragically diagnosed with a terminal illness. The Way the Water Held Me is a mesmeric plunge into the caring, grief, loss and love experienced by a young widow.

Across poems of heartbreak and honesty, memory and mourning - and through unlikely companionship with a widowed Mary Shelley - Catherine Redford's debut collection is visceral, profound and alive with what it is to be human, to have lost and to find ways to continue to love.

The Way the Water Held Me is shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection in the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry.

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order a signed copy

Praise for The Collection

‘A beautiful, heartbreaking book that charts deepest grief and deepest love. Catherine Redford is a luminous writer and her poems will touch your heart.’

Liz Berry

‘Part elegy, part séance, part scream, this is a gorgeous wound and wonder of a book. Spiked with dark humour and the gothic shades of Mary Shelley, luminous with metaphor and experiment, The Way the Water Held Me bears witness to dark tides of grief and the irretrievable grammar of a shared love. It is essential, transformative reading.’

Fiona Benson

UPCOMING Readings & Workshops

Reading: 2026 Forward Prizes Ceremony, 24 October 2026

Workshop: Birmingham Literature Festival, 10 October 2026

Reading: Headliner with Claire Walker at Caffe Grande Slam, Dudley, 24 September 2026

Reading: Oxford Poetry Library with Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana, 19 September 2026

Workshop: Sutton Coldfield Literary Arts Festival, 12 September 2026

Reading: Sutton Coldfield Literary Arts Festival, 12 September 2026

PAST READINGS & WORKSHOPS

Reading: Opt Indie Books (online), in conversation with Ali Isaac, 22 July 2026

Reading: Lyrical Mehfil, Bradford Literary Festival, 4 July 2026

Reading: The Heath Bookshop (Birmingham) with Erica Hesketh, 30 May 2026

Reading: Poetry Pharmacy York, 27 May 2026

Reading: St. Hilda’s College (Oxford), 2 May 2026

Reading: Headliner at Dear Listener, Script Haven (Worcester), 16 April 2026

Reading: The Hive Library (Worcester), 21 March 2026

SELECTED WORKS

academic Research

Catherine has published widely on Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, H.G. Wells, post-apocalyptic literature (specifically that depicting the Last Man on Earth), and the Gothic.

She is the author of the Connell Short Guide to the Gothic, and her essays have been published in leading journals, including Romanticism and The Byron Journal, and in the Encyclopaedia of the Gothic (Wiley-Blackwell). She has also written articles for English Review, Issues in English, and The Conversation.

Catherine has reviewed for Romanticism, The Byron Journal, British Academy Review, The BARS Review, The Routledge Annotated Bibliography of English Studies, and La Questione Romantica.

She holds a BA from the University of Oxford and an MA and PhD from the University of Bristol. She has taught at the University of Oxford as a lecturer and a postdoctoral Fellow.

Catherine is a former British Academy Rising Star award holder. Her research has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Mentoring and Feedback

Catherine offers a range of poetry mentoring packages, from one-off sessions to longer-term arrangements. She is also available to give feedback on manuscripts of both pamphlets and full collections. Please get in touch to discuss your needs and for details of fees.

‘Working with Catherine has really helped me develop my pamphlet manuscript, taking poems that I felt were ‘pretty good’ to the next level. Her technical knowledge and wider understanding of the publishing industry have been super helpful when thinking about eventual publication. I would absolutely recommend working with Catherine!’

Former mentee

AVAILABILITY

Catherine is available to perform at festivals, bookshops, libraries, and other events. She also offers workshops and school visits, and has previously led sessions for organisations such as the National Literacy Trust, The Emma Press, and the Birmingham Literature Festival.

Please get in touch for details of fees and availability.

CONTACT

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