Lapwing Publications in Belfast has been my happy poetry home since 2010 when Dennis Greig offered to publish my first book, Sweet Seventeens. Over the past three years, Dennis has been coping with incredible courage with a sharp decline in his health.

In 1988 Dennis and his wife Rene started Lapwing after chatting with Michael Longley and Mairtin Crawford about the need for an independent Northern Irish based poetry publisher. The Arts Council NI helped with a modest sum to start with but for much of its existence Lapwing has been financially independent from any arts body.

Dennis’s son (publisher and writer) Amos Greig says: Over those 36 years Lapwing has published roughly 400 poetry pamphlets, chapbooks and collections helping new and established writers reach a new audience and Dennis has provided years of service to the poetry community both in Ireland and abroad, both in guidance on poetry matters and from time-to-time personal support, all this without any funding. Several of the poets they have published have gone on to be published in other poetry houses and won several literary accolades.

As so often happened with Dennis, he became my friend as well as publisher. In 2010 my life turned upside down and while I found my bearings, Dennis’s encouragement and welcome of my words was a treasure. I am deeply honoured to have four beautiful Lapwing books of my poetry, hand made in my native Belfast, and to be part of the community of Lapwing poets all over the world.

While the Greig family copes with Dennis’s health issues and their own (the family have HHT), Lapwing is offering the sale of backlist PDFs. You can contact Amos Greig through Facebook or through the contact email for Amos’s excellent poetry magazine, A New Ulster: g.greig3@gmail.com

I wish the whole family a turn for better health soon and peace to recover.

If Lapwing is not able to reply to your contact and you would like to buy any of my books, I still have a few and can send you copies for £10 each including postage to the UK and Ireland: rosiejohnstonwrites@gmail.com