Rebecca Swift

Rebecca Swift (10 January 1964 – 18 April 2017)[1][2][3] was a British poet and essayist. She was co-founder in 1996 of The Literary Consultancy.

Rebecca Swift
Born
Rebecca Margaret Swift

(1964-01-10)10 January 1964
Highbury, London, England
Died18 April 2017(2017-04-18) (aged 53)
EducationCamden School for Girls
Alma materNew College, Oxford
Occupation(s)Poet and essayist
Known forCo-founder of The Literary Consultancy
Parent(s)Clive Swift
Margaret Drabble
RelativesAdam Swift (brother)
Joe Swift (brother)
David Swift (uncle)
A. S. Byatt (aunt)

Biography

Rebecca Margaret Swift was born in Highbury, north London, the daughter of Clive Swift and Margaret Drabble.[1][4] Her brothers are Adam Swift and Joe Swift.[1][2]

As a student, Swift attended the Camden School for Girls and New College, Oxford.[1][2]

From 1989 to 1995, she worked as a junior editor at Virago Press.[2] She was fired after Virago was purchased by Little, Brown and Company.[4] In 1992 and 1995, she published Letters from Margaret: The Fascinating Story of Two Babies Swapped at Birth, and Imagining Characters, respectively.[2] She co-founded The Literary Consultancy, an editing company, in 1996 with Hannah Griffiths.[1][2] The Literary Consultancy has helped many writers, including Prue Leith, Neamat Imam, and Jennifer Makumbi.[1][3] In 2009, The Literary Consultancy became a founding member of the Free Word Centre.[2]

In 1999, Swift wrote "Are You Reading Me?" for her master's thesis at the Tavistock Clinic.[2] In 2001, she organised a bursary scheme to provide for free editing services to low-income writers.[1] In 2011, she published Dickinson: Poetic Lives, a biography of Emily Dickinson.[3] In 2012, she organised the first digital conference for writers in the United Kingdom, "Writing in a Digital Age" at the Free Word Centre.[2][3][4] The conference discussed the current publishing landscape, including self-publishing.[2]

Honour

Swift died of cancer on 18 April 2017, at the age of 53.[1][2][3]

In her honour, the Rebecca Swift Foundation was formed.[5] In June 2018, it announced the Women Poets' Prize, to be awarded biennially to three poets, at the Second Home Poetry Festival.[5][6] It will also provide support to winning poets, in partnership with affiliated organisations.[5]

References

  1. Finch, Emily (19 May 2017). "Rebecca Swift, writer's friend who supported voices of the marginalised". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  2. Silgardo, Melanie (25 April 2017). "Rebecca Swift obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  3. Page, Benedicte (20 April 2017). "The Literary Consultancy's Rebecca Swift dies | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  4. Shamsie, Kamila (23 May 2017). "Obituary: Rebecca Swift | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. Onwuemezi, Natasha (21 May 2018). "Foundation and poetry award launches in memory of Rebecca Swift | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  6. Anderson, Porter (14 June 2018). "The Rebecca Swift Foundation's New Women Poet's Prize Opens for Submissions". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
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