Polly Atkin was born in Nottingham in 1980, and lived in East London for seven years before moving to Cumbria in 2006 to conduct doctoral research on literature and place. Various of her poems have been placed first in the Troubadour (2008) and Kent and Sussex (2011) Competitions, placed third in the Strokestown (2004) and Ashbourne (2011) Poetry Festival Prizes, been commended in the National Sonnet (2007), McLellan (2009), Basil Bunting (2010), Wigtown (2010) and Troubadour (2010) Competitions, and shortlisted for the Wasafiri New Writing Prize (2011). She has also published widely in magazines and literary journals and an earlier pamphlet, 'Bone Song', was shortlisted for the 2009 Michael Marks Pamphlet Award. She currently teaches English Literature and Creative Writing part-time at Lancaster University. In her spare time she enjoys walking in 'Wordsworth Country' the dramatic hills in the Lake District, Cumbria.