The Poetry Business was founded in 1986 in Huddersfield. It publishes books, pamphlets and audio under the Smith/Doorstop imprint, and publishes a literary magazine, The North. It also runs Writing Days, the Writing School (an Arts Council initiative for published poets), residential courses and its celebrated Book and Pamphlet Competition.

In the first of a series, Poetry Business directors Ann and Peter Sansom present Michael Schmidt, whose Collected Poems were published at the end of 2009.