About Liz
Liz is an award-winning poet, and was shortlisted for the prestigious CLiPPA prize for poetry in 2022. She lives in a village in the south west of England with her husband Peter, and dog, Paddy.
She grew up in Wales and the south of England, and went to nine schools before she was 11. She drew a lot and sometimes wrote stories and poems. Her love of animals has meant various pets, including 8 rabbits, a slow worm and a greenfinch, rescued when its nest was blown apart in a storm. Grizelda Greenfinch lived with Liz until she was 13 (Grizelda was 13, not Liz!). One day Liz hopes to write her story.
When she was young Liz helped out at a local vets. She went to Art College, Film School and then worked in the advertising industry.
When her children Emmelie and Jem were young Liz started writing again, and soon realised she liked writing poems best. After being published in loads of poetry books she went back to school and did an MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, and even though she was quite old they let her in.
Liz has lots of wonderful poet friends and they sometimes go on retreats together and do lovely things like read poetry to each other, and sing and dance. You can see some of Liz’s poet friends on the interactive page in a video. In September 2009 Liz organised a successful poetry exhibition at the Arnolfini in Bristol. Lots of the poets came to help, and you can see the photos on the interactive page as well.
As Liz has no warning symptoms of low blood sugar, Liz’s dog Paddy is her assistance dog. Trained by Medical Detections Dogs, Paddy alerts her before her blood sugar drops too low, so she can eat something. Liz’s last dog, Lola, used to do this before Paddy, but sadly she died in 2023, and is very much missed.
If you would like to book Liz, she will come to your school, via Zoom, and have fun with poets and words with your pupils – helping them express themselves and write and perform a poem. Liz herself most of all enjoys showing images of endangered animals, talking about them and sustainability, but there are lots of other subjects she can Zoom, too! Please see the contact page for details.
Liz’s book, Animal Magic, about endangered animals and including advice on how to help them, is available in bookshops, from IRON Press and Amazon.
Shaping the World, 40 Historical Heroes in Verse, Macmillan, edited by Liz and written by a whole host of brilliant poets, is available here.
Apes to Zebras, An A-Z of Shape Poems, Bloomsbury, written with Sue Hardy-Dawson and Roger Stevens, is available here.
Being Me, Otter-Barry Books, written with Matt Goodfellow and Laura Mucha, is book of poems about thoughts, worries and feelings, and speaks to the heart of what children think and care about, offering understanding, support and encouragement. It is available here.
Reaching the Stars, Poems about Extraordinary Women and Girls, Macmillan, written with Jan Dean and Michaela Morgan, is available here.
The Same Inside, Poems about Empathy, Friendship, Tolerance and Love, Macmillan, written with Matt Goodfellow and Roger Stevens, is available here.
Be the Change, Macmillan, written by me, Matt Goodfellow and Roger Stevens, is book of poems about sustainability, with hints to help children make difference themselves. It is available here.
Reaching the Stars won the Somerset Teachers’ book Awards in 2017 and in 2018 both The Same Inside and Apes to Zebras were shortlisted and Apes to Zebras won.
