Judith Shaw
Creative
Judith is a poet and artist living in St Leonards-on-Sea
About Judith
Judith Shaw is a poet and artist. She has lived in St Leonards-on-Sea since 2004 when she returned from a year living and working in Iceland. She has a practice as a psychotherapist and educational specialist supporting with people with issues around neurodiversity.
Judith’s poetry has been published in magazines including The Frogmore Papers, Ink Sweat and Tears, Black Iris and Magma. She was shortlisted for the prestigious Gingko Prize AONB Best Poem of Landscape, 2021, and won the Hasting Book Festival Sussex Prize for Poetry, 2023. One of her poems is in Ten Poems about Getting Older by Candlestick Press and her work appears in the 2025 Live Canon anthology. She graduated with distinction from the Masters in Writing Poetry at the Poetry School/Newcastle University in 2023.
She is currently Poet-in-Residence for the Cuckmere Pilgrim Path, see below. The residency runs from September 2025 to August 2026 and includes poetry writing and appreciation workshops based at churches on the Cuckmere Pilgrim Path: Berwick, Alciston and Wilmington. These are free and open to beginners and more experienced writers. Please contact Judith for further details.
Follow her on Instagram: @juditheshaw or facebook: Judith Shaw.
The Cuckmere Pilgrim Path
Established in 2018 the Cuckmere Pilgrim Path is a clearly signed circular route of approximately 12–14 miles (19–23 km) along existing footpaths which can be walked in one day. It starts at St Andrew’s Church, Alfriston, East Sussex. This former small medieval market town lies by the Cuckmere River in the South Downs National Park between Lewes and Eastbourne. The route can also be accessed on foot from the railway station at Berwick.
As part of my role as Poet-in-Residence for the Cuckmere Pilgrim Path I’m going to be running some writing workshops. These stand-alone writing workshops are free and open to anyone over 18 years of age. Beginners welcome and no experience is needed, but would be useful to bring writing materials.
Another aspect of my year as poet-in-residence is to produce a pamphlet of the poetry, which will be launched in July 26.