A JOLT TO THE MAINSTREAM
– The Guardian
The Aftershock Review is an independent disabled-led press based in Chorley, Lancashire. In 18 months we have published over 507 poems, and 276 poets. We also publish collections and anthologies and in 2027 will be publishing non-fiction for the first time. We believe that literature can be shaped outside of London and national and international presses can start in overlooked places. What started in a bedroom in 2025 has become an internationally reaching press with readers across four continents.
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What began in bed became a crowdfunding success. We raised over £8,000 in crowdfunding and additional private donations. In April 2025 we received Arts Council England funding, and in September a grant from the T S Eliot Foundation. In 2026 we were funded again. This time: bigger, bolder and more sustainable for the future. 2027 will see our nonfiction and other exciting new books and initiatives.
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‘A jolt to the mainstream’ — Guardian. @acegrams @tseliotfoundation funded poetry press by @maxwallis. With @drannapercy & @suzisbookbag.
They said a poetry magazine about trauma wouldn't sell...
In just six months The Aftershock Review proved otherwise, becoming what The Guardian called “a jolt to the mainstream.”
It began in bed, in Chorley, Lancashire: poet Max Wallis, recovering from complex PTSD and a life of addiction and late-diagnosis of severe ADHD returned to the one thing that had always worked: poetry.
(C) Hayley Madden for The Poetry Society, Free Verse, April 26th 2025
Max's Story
Time to rebuild
Following a suicide attempt in London, diagnoses of adult ADHD and complex PTSD, award-winning poet, writer and journalist Max Wallis looked to create a literary magazine that celebrates new and established voices looking at the aftershocks of experience.
“After almost dying, there was only one option in front of me: to survive. But not just that, I had to thrive. This is a celebration of that. It is my manifesto for living. We strive. And we will thrive.” Max Wallis, 2025
Max photographed for The Telegraph
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