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Hipflask Series


H  I  P  F  L  A  S  K      S  E  R  I  E  S

Available individually or as a set

The Hipflask Series is an improvised dance of unusual forms and genres, played out across four collaborative, pocket-sized collections. Each book comprises a selection of written works that skirt close to (or cross the border into) poetic composition, revealing the dynamic relationship between poetry and other written forms.

The major theme of each is extrapolated from one or other of these key aspects of modern poetry – play, appropriation, subtext and conflict – but the result is a series that occupies its own strange niche: mutant miscellanies, oddball assortments. Good for a nip or a shot or a long, deep swig.


The Hipflask Series is an improvised dance of unusual forms and genres, played out across four collaborative, pocket-sized collections.


Each book comprises a selection of written works that skirt close to (or cross the border into) poetic composition, revealing the dynamic relationship between poetry and other written forms.

The major theme of each is extrapolated from one or other of these key aspects of modern poetry – play, appropriation, subtext and conflict – but the result is a series that occupies its own strange niche: mutant miscellanies, oddball assortments. Good for a nip or a shot or a long, deep swig.

About

Sidekick Books is a small press based in Cambridge and London, founded in 2010 by Jon Stone and Kirsten Irving – though (un)officially the editor-in-chief is the disgraced alchemist Dr. Fulminare, with the next in the chain of command being his familiar, Bandijcat.

We specialise in collaborative books, mostly made up of poems. Our guiding ethos when we began was to explore alternatives to the single-author poetry volume, and to mix poetry with other genres and types of book. Our books have been nominated for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, been featured in The Guardian and BBC Wildlife Magazine, and won the Sabouteur Award for Best Collaboration. We’ve put on various joint readings and events with other presses and organisations, including The Poetry Society, and we’ve thrown book launches as toga parties and immersive theatre.

We also sometimes sell bookmarks, badges, special editions and so on at book fairs, but these tend to disappear pretty fast.

Current calls for submissions

Submissions

 

As of 16/12/2024, submissions are currently closed. Thank you to everyone who sent in work for our last call!

Submissions FAQ

Do you publish solo poetry collections?

No, we don’t. Sidekick specialises in collaborative and mixed-media work, with strong themes and blurred genre boundaries. Have a look at our other books to get an idea of what we do.  

How about if I just send it anyway?

Please don’t! As a team of two people (working jobs alongside running the press), we don’t have time to reply to unsolicited collections sent to us.  

There are many incredible presses who publish single-author collections. You can find a good starter list on the National Poetry Library’s website.  

When is your next submissions call?

We are planning a new series in 2025 and will release the call via our newsletter (see bottom of this page) and through our social media accounts on Instagram, Threads and Bluesky. We look forward to seeing your work!

Sunday Review: Idra Novey’s Exit, Civilian

posted by the Judge


This Sunday, Rowyda Amin reviews Exit, Civilian, by Idra Novey, selected for the National Poetry Series in the US of A. You can find the review here. An entire collection dedicated to the American prison system – you don’t get poetry much more socially engaged than this.

Have a great Sunday!

CONTACT:

contact [a] sidekickbooks.com

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