Staff profile

I studied at the Norwich School of Art and Design and at Royal Holloway UOL, before completing a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of East Anglia in 2012. I have published three poetry collections with Faber & Faber, forming a loose trilogy: 81 Austerities (2012), Kim Kardashian’s Marriage (2015), and After Fame (2020). A book of experimental prose, Safe Mode, was published by Test Centre in 2017, and my first novel, Dead Souls, was published in 2021, by W&N in the UK and Catapult in the USA. I am interested in small presses and have published several limited-edition poetry titles, including Standard Twin Fantasy (Egg Box, 2014), True Colours (After Hours, 2016), and Old Poem (A6 Books, 2019). From 2015–2017 I was Writer-in-Residence at the University of Edinburgh, and since 2015 I have run the micropublisher If a Leaf Falls Press, which has released over 90 titles to date. My research interests include contemporary poetry and ‘post-internet’ poetics, found text and appropriation, conceptual writing, small presses and innovative publishing, form and procedure in poetry and prose, imitation and plagiarism, autofiction and experimental fiction, book arts, and post-digital publishing and writing generally, especially the effects of technology on literary style, genre and form.

• 2018: Collyer Bristow Prize for Debut Fiction (shortlist): for Safe Mode
• 2017: Ledbury Forte Poetry Prize (shortlist): for Kim Kardashian's Marriage
• 2017: Society of Authors’ Authors’ Foundation grant: for work in progress
• 2017: Hawthornden Fellowship: from the Hawthornden Trust
• 2012: Forward Prize for Best First Collection: for 81 Austerities
• 2011: UEA Graduate School: Public Engagement Prize
• 2010: Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice: for Faber New Poets 7
• 2009: Eric Gregory Award: from the Society of Authors
• 2008: AHRC full award for research: 2008–2011

Authored book

• Riviere, S. (2021). Dead Souls. Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Riviere, S. (2020). After Fame: The Epigrams of Martial. Faber & Faber
• Riviere, S. (2017). Safe Mode. Test Centre
• Riviere, S. (2015). Kim Kardashian's Marriage. Faber & Faber
• Riviere, S. (2014). Standard Twin Fantasy. Egg Box
• Riviere, S. (2012). 81 Austerities. Faber & Faber
• Riviere, S. (2010). Faber New Poets 7. Faber & Faber

Other (Print)

• on the Foundational Practices of Collaboration and Copying
• Riviere, S. (2021). Unreal Worlds (?): on poetry between Romania and the UK
• Riviere, S. (2018). A thing to be loved: on Chelsey Minnis, Nadia de Vries, Hannah Regel
• Riviere, S. (2018). Optimism: on John Ashbery
• Riviere, S. (2017). Mania of Aggregation: on Ed Atkins
• Riviere, S. (2015). Disappearing the Ferrari: on Eric Amling, Monica McClure, Jon Leon