Author of seven books, Mandy Coe’s prize-winning poetry for adults and children has appeared on BBC radio and television programmes such as CBeebies, Woman’s Hour and Poetry Please. As a free-lance writer she is available for lectures, Key Note speeches, workshops and authors visits to schools.

Workshops and author's visits: Mandy works with schools (all KS) through author's visits. Via lectures, workshops, commissions and residencies she also works with universities, community projects and arts organisations such as National Galleries, The Poetry Society, Bath Festivals and the Barbican.

Educational commissions: Mandy designs educational material for children for National Poetry Day, Booktrust and the Children's Poetry Bookshelf. Her educational work has featured in the Guardian, A&C Black’s Poetry Yearbook and the TES. She was a contributor to 'Making Poetry Happen: transforming the poetry classroom' (Bloomsbury '14), and 'Page to Stage: writing workshop' (Scholastic '16).

Courses and Lecturing: Mandy has tutored with Liverpool's Writing on the Wall, the Poetry School and she presents seminars on poetry at universities such as Bath Spa, Hope, Liverpool John Moores, Leicester, Didsbury, and MMU, Manchester.

Mandy is happy to discuss possible projects and can be contacted via her website at www.mandycoe.com

“All activities were relevant and well resourced... Her enthusiasm was infectious.” Leasowe Primary

“This [INSET] has given me confidence and lots of ideas” Teacher, Times Educational Supplement.

“In two hours we were able to create a piece of poetry we were proud of -thanks Mandy!”
Yr 8 pupil North Manchester High School.

“Mandy Coe is one of our most exciting poets writing for children.” Pie Corbett

Mandy Coe is an original. No one looks at and writes about the world like she does …an almost Blakean sense of the divine in living things.” Anthony Wilson, Lifesaving Poems (Bloodaxe)

Books: *Pinning the Tail on the Donkey (Spike Books ‘00)

*The Weight of Cows (Shoestring Press ‘04)

*Clay (Shoestring Press ‘10)

*There Will be Cherries (Shoestring Press '17)

*If You Could See Laughter (Salt ’11). A first collection for children, launched at the Aldeburgh Festival and recipient of the Children’s Literature in Primary Education Highly Commended Award.

*Mandy Coe, Poetry CD (the Poetry Archive ‘12).

• Let in the Stars: new poetry for children (ed) (The Writing School, MMU '16)

• BBC Schools Radio 'Talking Poetry' (2016)

Poetry prizes: Ilkley Festival Poetry Prize; The Guardian flash-poetry Prize; Petra Kenny Prize, Ted Walters Prize, Southport Writers, and The Writing School’s, Manchester Poetry Prize.

Mandy's Poetry for children has been widely anthologised by publishers such as Pearson Education, Hodder, Macmillan and Bloomsbury.

Mandy is a Hawthornden Fellow.

For more information about her work or to contact Mandy, please visit www.mandycoe.com

Since first working with Mandy Coe four years ago on 'Taking the Plunge',(a NAWE/MMU mentoring scheme for new writers, where Mandy was shadowed by writers and writing students who were interested in developing their skills as workshop leaders) I have had the pleasure of working with her in a number of other capacities. 

Mandy regularly leads sessions on MMU's Masters-level courses on teaching creative writing, for freelance writers and English teachers.  Feedback from her sessions is consistently excellent, with participants commenting on her dynamic workshop skills and her generosity in sharing workshop ideas (which teachers will often deliver back in school to their own pupils).  Mandy is also a regular contributor to our MMU 'Aimhigher-funded' writing days for secondary pupils; pupils who come in professing not to be interested in poetry invariably have their opinions of their own writing, and often of themselves, changed for the better by Mandy's enthusiasm and energy.  The poetry they write in Mandy's sessions are a testament to this. 

As a consequence of having come into contact with Mandy through the CPD courses or 'pupil writing days' many teachers have booked Mandy independently to work in schools with groups of a variety of ages.  They are always more than happy with the results.  Based on this, and on my own experience of working with Mandy, who is a consummate professional, I often recommend her for work with pupils of all ages, and also for INSET work with teachers.  She can always be relied on to bring a breath of fresh air into any teaching situation and has the ability to inspire others to believe in themselves - both as writers and as teachers. 

Outreach Co-ordinator Faculty of Humanities, Law & Social Science Manchester Metropolitan University

Thank you so much for a couple of fantastic days at 'Can I have a Word?' We're so pleased you could join us, and are looking forward to working with you again.

Barbican Education & Events London