Longlisted for the Portico Prize

I was just eating my lunch (yes – in front of the computer *shame*) when Elizabeth Baines got in touch to say I've been longlisted for the Portico Prize, which is awarded to 'books about, or set mainly in, the North of England'. I'm delighted and surprised in equal measure. The Corner of Arundel Lane and Charles Street is one of only two poetry collections out of a longlist of 21.

Other names on the longlist include, oh you know, Simon Armitage, Reginald Hill, Jacob Polley... This is my first appearance on a prize longlist so please excuse my rapture!