Stop Press News!

J.S. is very, very pleased to have signed a contract with a publisher for the publication of a new, full poetry collection.

More details will be provided in due course. Watch this space...

Bad News. Good News.

 

The bad news: apparently the summer issue of The High Window, as just now published, will be the last one. Ever.

The good news: to sweeten the pill slightly, J.S. has two new poems in the summer issue - Hospital Thoughts During A Very Long Afternoon and Half-Heard Truths and Stories - plus a review of Incompletion, a poetry collection by Oliver Dixon, and you can read all three pieces for free.

To read J.S.'s two new poems, go here and scroll down to the end (they are a long way down).

To read J.S.'s review of Incompletion, go here and scroll down.

Going in Search of Beasties

J.S. Watts will be reading a brand new poem as part of the following event:

An Echo in Memory

The rather beautiful "Memory" issue of The Amphibian is now out. It contains "Catching an Echo", a new poem by J.S.Watts. You can buy a copy of the magazine, if you are so minded, by going here.

 

An Ely Sundown

J.S. will be providing the poetry at the Sundown Sessions in Ely on Sunday 10th May. It will be her second visit to the Sessions, and she is looking forward to it.

Pursuing Thoughts in White

J.S. reads Pursuing Thoughts in White (Blackthorn and Marble) from her poetry collection Underword. The video is courtesy of Herts Book Festival, which is taking place on 16th and 17th May 2026. J.S. is participating in the Hertford event on 16th May.

For further videos of J.S. reading her poetry, check out her YouTube channel.

Herts Book Festival in Hertford in May

 J.S. will be at Herts Book Festival on Saturday 16th May in Hertford.

What Colour Will You Be Known By?

By The Colour of Our Coat Shall You Know Us has just been published online by "Literally Stories". It's a
new, horror story by J.S. Watts set on the ancient high heathland of North Hertfordshire. You can read it here.

Schlock!

Don't miss the March 2026 edition (volume 19, issue 14) of Schlock! (the webzine for science fiction, fantasy and horror). 

"Why not?" you ask.

Because it contains a brand new SF short story by J.S. Watts, Oversight, in which a billionaire's vanity space flight does not turn out as expected.

Karaoke at the Fitzwilliam

J.S. will be reading a shiny new poem amongst the shiny ancient weapons of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge on Wednesday, 25th March.

March in The Lake

 J.S. is delighted to have two new poems in the March issue of The Lake:

• The Spirit of the Bed
• Roaming Backwards Round The Circulade of Nezignan L'Eveque

You can read them both here

Shouting or Whispering?

J.S. will be performing some of her poetry at Shout or Whisper in the Barn at The Vic, Ickleford Road, Hitchin at 7.30pm next Thursday, 5th March. Further details can be found on the Events Page of this website or via the Shout or Whisper website.

It's the International Women's Day edition, so you don't want to miss it.

Standing Up for Clockwise Cat

At the beginning of February, Clockwise Cat published J.S. Watts' prose poem "Standing Up" in its Dadaesque 46th issue.

Now you can hear J.S. read the self-same poem on Clockwise Cat's YouTube channel 

A New Spring. A New High Window

There's a new Spring Issue of The High Window out, and if you go to the reviews section you'll find a review of the poetry collection "leaves borrowed from human flesh" by Abigail Ardelle Zammit  as written by J.S.Watts. It's fourth from the bottom, so you'll have to scroll a fair bit.

Sundown's A Little Later This Year

J.S.'s poetry performance at the Sundown Sessions in Ely has been rescheduled. She'll now be performing on Sunday 10th May, and not in April as originally advertised. See the updated  Events Page for further details.

ICE in Dada

J.S. has a new prose-poem in issue 46 of the Clockwise Cat - The Dada verse issue, also known as the FUK ICE Edition. The piece is called "Standing Up" and you can read it for free online or purchase a print copy by clicking here

Word Salad at The Artyst - First Time

J.S. will be one of the selected open micers at Word Salad (a @Colliding Lines production) on Saturday 17th January, beginning at 7pm. She will be reading a couple of her poems from Y

ears Ago You Coloured Me.

This is the first time that Word Salad is being held at The Artyst, at 56, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1EN. The Artyst is a new venue "honouring Syd Barrett’s Legacy with a New Arts Space, Café and Bar in Cambridge".

If you want to hear J.S. read from Years Ago You Coloured Me, or want to support Word Salad at its shiny new home, come on down on 17th January 2026.

Happy New 2026!

Welcome to 2026. 

J.S. has a growing number of short stories and poems scheduled for publication this year. They will be announced here when they become available. So do check back for further information as the new year gets into its stride.

You can also follow J.S. on Facebook and BlueSky to keep up to date with her activities.