We are poetry and prose writers who work alongside each other under the title Cut Collective. We are made up of poets A J Moore and Amber Whitham, prose writer Ethel Maqeda and Mark Lindsey who writes in both forms.

We began in 2021 after meeting at University of Sheffield where we were founded by A J, Amber, Mark and another member, Matt McCabe, who has since moved on. After working closely together on our MA Creative Writing courses, we knew each other’s work well and throughout our studies had been able to create an encouraging, supportive and adventurous atmosphere that made us all much better writers. Soon after, we welcomed Ethel into the collective and work with Helen as an associate writer, both whose work we loved and who have proved to be hugely positive additions to our group.

It can be a tricky and somewhat lonely thing to be a writer and submitting and publicising work on your own, however confident you are in its merits, can at times be both intimidating and wearing. With Cut we have been able to capture and continue the supportive community we fostered during our student days, coming together to build on our strengths and celebrate our continuing literary successes both together and as individuals.