Neil Astley
b. 1953
Neil Astley was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.
Neil Astley is the editor of Bloodaxe Books, which he founded in 1978. Bloodaxe has, for 40 years, published poetry from the most inclusive and international range of authors, who have won all the major prizes, including Pulitzers and Nobels. Its numerous anthologies, often edited by Neil, have also been game-changers. They include the Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Women Poets (ed. Jenny Couzyn) in 1985, through to the Staying Alive trilogy (2002-2011). Astley is himself a poet and novelist. The End of My Tether (2002) was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award.
Image credit: Adrian Pope
