Nancy Campbell writes poetry, essays and non-fiction, as well as making artist’s books. She is driven by empathy with the environment combined with a fascination for the material form of the book. Campbell grew up in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland – places where the culture of illuminated manuscripts such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and contemplative retreat to the wilderness still felt very present. She began her career as an apprentice to master craftsmen in letterpress studios in British Columbia and Brooklyn, and has written, designed and published a number of limited edition books including How To Say ‘I Love You’ In Greenlandic: An Arctic Alphabet.
A series of residencies with Arctic research institutions between 2010 and 2017 has resulted in numerous projects, including The Library of Ice: Readings in a Cold Climate. In 2018/19 she was appointed the UK’s Canal Laureate by the Canal & River Trust and The Poetry Society; the resulting poems were published as a pamphlet, Navigations. Her latest book, Fifty Words for Snow, was released in 2020.