Subject strengths: Literature, Contemporary Literature, Publishing, Poetry

The Bloodaxe Books archive is considered one of the most exciting archives for contemporary poetry that exists. The material in the collection includes 592 boxes of original typescripts, editorial work, correspondence and examples of marketing, business and financial records dating from the 1970’s to the present day. These records represent authors and books that have won virtually every major literary award given to poetry, including the T.S. Eliot Prize, Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize. Bloodaxe is also known for its work with translated collections and American poetry, and have published responsively to cultural change in Britain, publishing some of the finest writers in the British-Caribbean and South-Asian diaspora. Another significant achievement is that Bloodaxe publish more female writers than any other British poetry publisher, at a 50:50 male:female ratio. The company has opened up poetry to thousands of new readers and the material held in the archive demonstrates how Bloodaxe Books has been able to achieve this.

 

Collection Name and Collection Reference Code:

Collection Name: Bloodaxe Books Archive

Archive Ref Code: GB186/BXB

Date Range of Material

1978 - current (Bloodaxe Books continue to deposit items within this collection)

Type of Material

Company records of the Bloodaxe Books poetry publishing house

Size of Collection

103 Linear Metres of shelving 

How To Order Items From This Collection

Please use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.

If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example BXB/1/1/MAB/1 - The Book of Demons).

You can then place your order by linking to our Request Form. 

Finding Aid 

Archival catalogue available via the Archives Hub.

Unable to visit our Reading Room?

If you are unable to visit our reading room, we also have a virtual reading room service and a digitisation service archive and rare book collections.

Other Resources

See Bloodaxe Books Collection for printed material relating to this archive.

The Bloodaxe Books Archive has been selectively digitised for the “Poetics of the Archive” AHRC funded project, in collaboration with the Culture Lab and NLCA which can be viewed here as well as for CollectionsCaptured.