REALITY STREET

I still have vivid memories of the day Out of Everywhere, that pioneering anthology of innovative writing by women, was launched in London in 1996. The small art gallery in Portobello Road that Reality Street had booked for the launch was inadequate for the number of people who turned up, and several had to strain to listen to the readings from the pavement outside. It cemented the reputation of the press, and the book has been in print ever since, and still sells.

There was never any intention at the time or in the following few years of publishing a successor. But that idea was planted, I think, following a conference Emily Critchley organised in 2006 in Cambridge to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the anthology. Two or three years later, it was a definite proposal. I asked Emily, who was more in touch with the new generation of women writing innovatively than I, to put together a long-list. It was notable for containing a far greater proportion of British-based poets than the original, North American-biased selection. That itself was a significant trend.

Another trend has been signalled by the simultaneous publication of a CD containing audio work by nine of the contributors. Many of these poets are also artists or musicians, or collaborate with others in multi-media settings.

It was never going to be possible to emulate exactly the 30 contributors/250 pages of the original. Too much going on. Even with the number of contributors increased to 44 (two of them presenting a collaboration) and the number of pages to 370, there are inevitably many regrettable omissions. But that's anthologies for you.

It was going to be out in 2011, but that didn't happen for a number of reasons. So now at last it's almost here (published on 26 September), very nearly twenty years after Maggie O'Sullivan's anthology.

We did think about a catchy new title. But we couldn't come up with one. So Out of Everywhere 2 it is, and if that suggests a Hollywood sequel, well, let me tell you - unlike most, it's just as good as the original.

You can read more about it, and pre-order, here.