THE STORY
In late 2016 a spoken word resurgence began in the midst of an undiscovered yet thriving Cornish arts scene. Centred in Falmouth, the literary embodiment of this was The Word Zoo, whose warm and rowdy open mic nights quickly gained a reputation amongst local writers, solo musicians and good-time hunters.
By early 2017 even the national offices of Picador had noticed, claiming The Word Zoo ran one of the best poetry open mic nights in the entirety of the UK, and the quality of local talent now cried out for a printed companion to the performance based night.
With this, The Word Zoo's founder - Teige Maddison - and fellow comrades Holly King, Yusef Sacoor and James Kaffenberger created Sea Post Press.
With almost no budget, the hand folded first issue of "ZooZine" Z1 sold out on its Word Zoo launch night, helping to raise money for refugees. The appetite for new and undiscovered writing had been confirmed, and Sea Post Press spent the next year refining and improving "ZooZine" into its present form - championing new local and international talent such as Kieran McGuigan and Lydia Hounat, and bigger names such as Meredith Miller (author of Little Wrecks and How We Learned to Lie) and Alexandra Payne (Hotel Bravo). "ZooZine" went from strength to strength, in 2018 entering the Southbank Centre's National Poetry Library collection.
But "ZooZine" is not Sea Post Press' only venture.
Sea Post Press also published its first book "a salty kiss" in conjuncture with The School of Writing at Falmouth University, promoting the best of graduating students essay and fiction writing. It attended the FOMO art publishing weekend, and contributed its knowledge and services to the Arts Council funded Thrown Gauntlet Festival in both its 2017 and 2018 incarnations, becoming one of the main partners of the event.
Into the future "SPP" also has exciting times ahead of it, with the upcoming bookmark project, continuing "ZooZines" and a possible new book promoting the best of the county that made us; Cornwall.
THE TEAM
James Kaffenberger
James is a poet, hitchhiker and a playwright, responsible for "Smoking is Good for You", which was written whilst at the BRIT school. Graduating with a degree in English with Creative Writing in 2017, James has gone on to edit for SOBER. Magazine as well as continuing his efforts at Sea Post Press. He likes Ale.
Yusef Sacoor
Since arriving in Cornwall, Yusef has been involved in a number of projects, including Co-directing 2018's The Thrown Gauntlet Festival, and co-hosting The Word Zoo poetry nights in the same year. Aside from creative ventures, Yusef was involved in a number of community rights campaigns before graduating in English, and is a gigging musician. He likes Whiskey Macs.
Holly King
Holly is a short fiction writer and contributor to several online publications including Her Campus and Made From Trees. Graduating with a BA in English with Creative Writing with a first class dissertation which discusses the pitfalls of neoliberal feminism and celebrity, her fictional work discusses social issues and mental health. Holly has been actively involved in local charity work, including aiding LGBTQ Youth Cornwall, and runs frequent creative writing workshops for young people in the county to improve mental wellbeing. She likes Spiced Rum.
Teige Maddison
Teige is a poet who studied in Cornwall and is now based in London, England. Founder of The Word Zoo collective he has organised and hosted open mic nights, writers workshops and trips to festivals, including 2017's Langaland event. Teige's own writing will soon be vindicated, as he looks forward to his first anthology being published by a London press later this year. He likes Rattler.