Author of HISTORY OF PRESENT COMPLAINT and EX-CETERA, HLR is a prize-winning working-class poet from North London, U.K.
HLR writes poetry and creative non-fiction (often merging the two forms in her distinctive ‘prosetry’ style), as well as essays, interviews and occasional fiction. Her poetry, prose and journalism has been widely published and anthologised across the globe since 2012. A select list of her previous publications can be found here.
She was a commended winner of the National Poetry Competition 2021, highly commended in the Free Verse Prize 2024, and won the Desmond O’Grady International Poetry Competition in 2021. Most recently she was awarded the Poet-in-Residence’s Prize in the PRS Poetry Competition 2025. She has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2022, 2023 and 2025, Cheltenham Poetry Competition 2024, Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2024 and Kathryn Bevis Memorial Prize 2025. She was highly commended in the Dark Poets Prize II, and has been longlisted for the Plough Prize, Mslexia Poetry Competition and Four Faced Liar Poetry Competition.
Recent work has been published by The Poetry Society, The London Magazine, Poetry Wales, Bad Lilies, Hobart, and Banshee Lit. New work is forthcoming in Gigantic Sequins and The Interpreter’s House.
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HLR’s debut full-length poetry collection HISTORY OF PRESENT COMPLAINT (First Cut Poetry, 2021) has been dubbed “a modern masterpiece” “written by one of the UK’s most vital poets.” This genre-defying collection of prosetry was listed in the Top 25 books in The Poetry Book Awards 2022, featured on countless Best Indie Books of 2021 lists, and was a #1 bestseller.
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Her latest collection, EX-CETERA, was published by Nine Pens in September 2023. EX-CETERA presents an intense and intimate portrait of a romantic relationship, charting its chaotic course from the early days of heady, all-consuming young love, through to the inevitable break-up. Exploring themes of mental illness, suicidality, self-harm, domestic abuse, and addiction, EX-CETERA immortalises the minutiae of one explosive love in savage detail and invites the reader to decide how far is too far when all you want is to be loved.
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For queries, commissions, requests, press, or ARCs:
Email – contact@treacleheart.com
Twitter – @HLRwriter
Instagram – @hel.rol
If you’ve enjoyed reading HLR’s work and wish to suppport her, you can buy her a drink (or a book, or treats for Ludo) here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HLRwriter
HLR 
So Happy to see you here and well. XX Cheers My Darling
Are you interested in writing a short films?
I am currently looking for scripts to producer and direct – your writing and style could be just the thing – I was impressed that you had Patick Hamilton works as an influence.
(I have produced a number of shorts this year, but hoping to make some more challanging work!)
Email me if you are interested: godivafilms@yahoo.co.uk
Hi Helena–
I read you work in The Gravity of the Thing (where some prose-shorts of mine also appear) and followed your trail here. Can I spot a kindred soul or what? Or can you? Unlike others, it would seem, I’ve never before interacted with a blog, but now I actually feel motivated. I am just happy to see someone out there fusing brains and passion. Honesty yes but only as art is honest but not actually homely. I appreciate your working with language as a way of understanding life, not as mere reportage. I understand what you mean when you say you write because you have to. Same with me, heaven help us all. Anyway, good luck. See you in the funny papers.
Kurt Cline
Hello! How are you?
Well, It seems like you and I share a lot in common with these people:
Burroughs, Cassady, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Friedrich Nietzsche.
I’ve read those your About me blog and I am hooked. :)
Your forthcoming and honest and I respect that very much.
I’m looking forward to reading your work. You should stop by and read my poetry. It’s very Burroughian style and very experimental.
P.S Hope to hear from you soon.
~Charlie Zero the Poet
comments are funny
sort of madly in love with clarice too
Helena your blog has become something magical and special – incredibly happy for you – see you atop the Premier league Table my Darling.
Hi – please get in touch as I am not sure whether I need your consent in one case of intellectual property.
http://beat.company/impressum/
You write really beautifully and clearly, and with such feeling, don’t stop, from another INFP graduate
May I link to your blog on my blog suddenlybipolar.wordpress.com?
It’s “late” award season on my side and you’re included!
You can find more information by following this link https://anniemationfloe.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/l-l-liebster-again-yes-please-liebster-award/
Hey I sent you an email recently :)
Bukowski? And Arsenal in the next post??? Yeah, Buk for ever. Hum, no, I don’t think the Gunners are anywhere near a title… Nice blog!
I can’t remember how I found your blog or if we have exchanged comments before, but some of your recent posts came up in my feed-reader today and I really enjoyed them. I, too, have bipolar (type II) disorder. Anyways, nice to make your acquaintance and I look forward to reading more of your work here. :)
Kait
Hi. I hope you’re having a good evening. I’m not sure whether you accept these awards (no hard feelings if you don’t) however, I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. Click on the link to follow the rules http://insidethelifeofmoi.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/awards/ enjoy :-)
Hi, thank you for following my blog. I have read a few of your posts and think you have a real talent. Keep up the great work (In a non-patronising way!) and I look forward to reading your future posts :-)
Thank you, gorgeous girl! xx
Keep up the real writing. And I’m sure the battle is difficult, but keep fighting because if you give up then your life will have no meaning.
In all the blogs I’ve seen and read this is my absolute favorite. You are lively, vibrant, intense and display such honesty in your writing. I love every word. I am hooked.
Love,
Erika
Wow, what a compliment!
I’m glad you can connect to my work, I write for people like you. Keep up the amazing writing yourself, you gorgeous talented woman!
xxxxx
Good Profile.. :)
Hi, great blog! Please follow me back for book reviews, author interviews, articles, life in Spain and more. http://www.authorsophia.wordpress.com x
I admire how you make words move. Keep writing. I will be dedicated to reading.
Keep up the good work, Helena! Looking forward to read more from ya.
– Rahul
Great writing!
After reading “Connections,” I am searching out more of your poetry.
Writing in any form is indeed a therapy. see you around. wish u luck and success!
Out of your darkness comes light, this pain, this hurt can breed beautiful things, unknowingly you inspire with your words.
Reading your post brought to mind the following – From George Eliot:
“To be a poet is to have a soul so quick to discern, that no shade of quality escapes it, and so quick to feel, that discernment is but a hand playing with finely-ordered variety on the chords of emotion–a soul in which knowledge passes instantaneously into feeling, and feeling flashes back as a new organ of knowledge.”
― George Eliot, Middlemarch
And I agree that it can be very therapeutic for one’s mental health…
Wishing you much success. Cheering you on from the States.
I love your outlook on life , keep up the great blog.I gave you a follow so i’m hoping to catch your most recent post.take care.
I have nominated you for a Liebster award. For more information, check out my nomination post here –
Keep up the good writing!