Sam Riviere

Dr Sam Riviere serves as Associate Professor in the Department of English Studies at Durham University, where his academic work intersects with a prolific career as a poet and novelist exploring digital culture's impact on literary production.

Education:

• PhD in Creative and Critical Writing, University of East Anglia (2012)
• Royal Holloway, University of London
• Norwich School of Art and Design

Riviere's research pioneers post-internet poetics and conceptual writing, critically examining found text appropriation, small-press publishing, and technology's transformation of literary form. His work challenges conventional boundaries between creation and plagiarism while investigating autofiction and experimental fiction within digital landscapes.

His 15-year publication trajectory reveals systematic exploration of imitation practices and collaborative writing through poetry collections, novels, and critical essays that dissect online culture's influence on contemporary literature.

Selected Awards and Honors:

• 2018: Collyer Bristow Prize for Debut Fiction (shortlist) for Safe Mode
• 2017: Ledbury Forte Poetry Prize (shortlist) for Kim Kardashian's Marriage
• 2017: Society of Authors’ Authors’ Foundation grant
• 2017: Hawthornden Fellowship
• 2012: Forward Prize for Best First Collection for 81 Austerities
• 2011: UEA Graduate School Public Engagement Prize
• 2010: Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice for Faber New Poets 7
• 2009: Eric Gregory Award
• 2008: AHRC full research award

Riviere secured significant research funding including an AHRC doctoral award (2008-2011) and Society of Authors grants, while his academic mentorship extends through curriculum development in contemporary literature studies.

He founded the influential micropublisher If a Leaf Falls Press (2015), releasing over 100 experimental titles that exemplify his commitment to innovative publishing practices beyond traditional academic frameworks.