Sally Read is editor of Word on Fire’s groundbreaking 100 Great Catholic Poems, and the award-winning author of four of her own collections of poetry. Her poetry has been recorded for the UK’s Poetry Archive, and her writing, in both poetry and prose, has appeared in numerous publications and anthologies, including The Times Literary Supplement, The Picador Book of Love Poems, and Forward’s Poems of the Decade. Sally's poetry has also been featured on BBC Radio, and episodes of her Radio Maria England show are available on Spotify.     

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The memoirs Night's Bright Darkness and The Mary Pages, recount Sally's conversion from atheism to the Catholic faith, while her book,  Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World, is a meditation on the Annunciation written for her daughter. Sally’s first children’s book, Bell and the Joyful Mysteries, is out from Word on Fire in August 2026 and this will be followed by her singular guide to reading poetry: “The Secrets to Reading Poetry: Unlocking the Language of God” in November of the same year. 

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Originally training and working as a psychiatric nurse in London, Sally chased the muse to South Dakota, Sardinia, and Rome, where she now lives. Sally is available for talks, poetry workshops, and creative consultancy in schools and retreat centres. She has spoken at the Good News Conference (USA), the Angelico Project (Cincinnati), the University of St Thomas (St Paul), the Oxford Literary Festival, St Patricks (London), Lismullin Retreat Centre (Ireland), and the Legion of Mary (Ireland), among many other venues. This summer she is due to speak at the Summer Literary Series of the University of St Thomas in Houston, and the We Believe Festival in the UK.  She also works with individual writers.​​

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Awards:

1st place in Biography, 2025 ACP Excellence in Publishing Award: The Mary Pages (Word on Fire)

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1st place in Memoir, 2025 CMA Book Award: The Mary Pages (Word on Fire)

 

1st place in Poetry, 2024 CMA Book Award: 100 Great Catholic Poems (Word on Fire)

 

1st place in Anthology, 2024 CMA Book Award: 100 Great Catholic Poems (Word on Fire)

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1st place in Poetry, 2021, CMA Book Award: Dawn of this Hunger (Angelico Press and Second Spring) 

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Shortlisted, 2005, for the Jerwood-Aldeburgh prize for best first collection: The Point of Splitting (Bloodaxe Books)

Recipient, 2001, Eric Gregory Award, for promising poets in the UK under 30