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A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 19

Day 19 of the Sidekick Advent Calendar brings us to the final character from our series on A Christmas Carol, a ruddy-faced young man who embodies the Christmas spirit and drives Scrooge up the wall.

Yes, today’s guest is Fred, Scrooge’s ever-optimistic nephew, in a poem written by Sidekick editor Kirsten Irving. Each card will fit a size DL envelope. Click here for the printable PDF and let the party begin!


A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 17

Our third and final Christmas monster appears! The most dangerous yet? Quite possibly!

Move over, Krampus!

*pant* Can’t believe I ran up that big hill for *pant* this!
While Krampus himself is easy to spot, with his frightening visage (that badass German children are totally unafraid of), this final demon is all the more terrifying because they could be anywhere. Worse: they could be anyone.

We’re talking about The Artist. Waiting under cover of darkness to create dissident, corrupting images and weld together unnatural words, this fiend is a master of disguise.

Thankfully, Sidekick Books has published Confronting The Danger of Art, by noted scholars Ian McLachlan and Phil Cooper.* A useful guide to spotting the Artist in your town and reporting them to the appropriate authorities, this pamphlet may well become your best friend.


Here is an excerpt on the threat posed by Art to our communities, our children, our very lives.


* who are DEFINITELY NOT POETS OR ARTISTS.

A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 16

On the 16th day of Christmas, the Sidekick Advent Calendar gives to you the jolliest boss in fiction!

In 2011, we commissioned six splendid poems to print as Christmas cards, starring characters from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Now we’re giving each one away as a download, so you can print them yourself, and have a very moral Christmas (sort of)! Each card will fit a size DL envelope.

Today’s presence is Mr Fezziwig, Scrooge’s magnanimous employer, in a poem written by Wayne Holloway-Smith, host of the salons immortalised in our anthology Follow The Trail of Moths. Click here for the printable PDF and get customising your card!


A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 14

It’s time for the second of our Sunday quizzes, this time returning to the well-traversed territory of British birds. But from a new angle! These colder months are, after all, a time for filling up bird feeders to the brim, even if the only place to hang them is outside the front window in front of someone else’s parking space, as in the old Sidekick HQ. The species that feature in this quiz aren’t necessarily winter birds, but you may encounter a few of them on your brisk December walks.

A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 13

Our Sidekick Advent Calendar strikes 13, and a small waif knocks at the door!

In 2011, we commissioned six splendid poems to print as Christmas cards, starring characters from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Now we’re giving each one away as a download, so you can print them yourself, and have a very moral Christmas (sort of)! Each card will fit a size DL envelope.

Today’s presence is Tiny Tim, in a poem written by Chrissy Williams, author of Twin-Peaks-meets-Cabot-Cove sinispectacular, Angela. Click here for the printable PDF and get customising your card!


A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 12

Time for another taste of what’s to come! Ghost of Christmas Future and all that. From next year onwards, we’re hoping to spend more time monkeying with digital media. As well as more of the Judge’s excellent video reviews (and he’ll be joined in these efforts by other critics) we’ll be attempting semi-regular reportage of free events from London’s never-ending literary festival.

This week, armed with a second-hand video camera and my own slightly trepidatious brand of impertinence, I set out to roughly document two unique December gatherings. Here goes nothing!

A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 11

Christmas being a time for magic, we thought we’d share an extract from one of our first micro-anthologies, way back in 2009. Pocket Spellbook was Dr Fulminare’s attempt to travel light, while retaining all of his important charms, curses and rants.

Here, we present a fireside extract to warm your cockles. Enjoy John Clegg‘s ‘Spell For A Furnace’ and the stunning illustrations of Saroj Patel.

A Sidekick Advent Calendar: Day 10

Day 10 of our Sidekick Advent Calendar, and it’s time for another ghostly visitation!

In 2011, we commissioned six splendid poems to print as Christmas cards, starring characters from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Now we’re giving each one away as a download, so you can print them yourself, and have a very moral Christmas (sort of)! Each card will fit a size DL envelope.

Today’s presence is The Ghost of Christmas Present, in a poem written by Holly Hopkins, whose work has appeared in our Birdbook series and in our games poetry anthology Coin Opera II. Click here for the printable PDF and get customising your card!