Poynting, Jeremy

Jeremy Poynting taught for many years in further education in Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. He was awarded a PhD at the University of Leeds in 1985 for his thesis on Caribbean Literature.

He founded Peepal Tree Press in 1986 and over the next almost thirty years has been the editor and publisher of over 300 titles. He is an active member of the CaribLit group dedicated to developing literary infrastructure in the Caribbean region, and in 2013 founded Peekash Press jointly with Akashic Books of New York, which is dedicated to publishing new and Caribbean-based writers and ultimately being handed over to a Caribbean-based editorial team.

In 2014 Jeremy was awarded an Honorary D. Litt by the University of the West Indies (Mona) for his services to Caribbean literature. He still lives in Leeds with his wife of 47 years, visited by their children and six grandchildren.