Submissions Call: Ten Poets Travel to the Dark Side of the Moon

Our next book in the hit 10 Poets series is inspired by this year’s National Poetry Day theme of ‘Counting’, which made us think of the countdown sequence in Tintin: Destination Moon and, in turn, of cosmic horror and interstellar exploration. As with previous titles, we’ve approached a number of poets directly. But for this one we’re also opening up four places for previously unpublished poems submitted to us between now and December 15th.

What kind of poems are the editors looking for?

We want writing that responds to the prompt embedded in the title – or, more accurately, writing which enacts what is proposed by the title! While this should, of course, have the general character of a poem or poem-adjacent text, it does not have to be a straightforward lyric piece. It could be a prose poem, vignette, short lyric essay – in fact, we encourage you to think in terms of longer, looser forms, of up to 500 words. This follows the trend established over our last eight anthologies, which mixed and combined poetry with elements of essay, guidebook, puzzle, flash fiction and so on.

The titles in this series allude to broad themes from popular culture, and our intention is to subvert the usual stereotypes about what poets write about. But they’re a starting point – while each piece of work should technically fit within the remit, the series showcases how far a good writer can run with (and/or swerve from) a simple concept, while also investing it with unexpected depth. Feel free to submit what is in essence an advertisement for your own style and set of preoccupations.

Is there any payment?

At the moment we aren’t funded by the Arts Council or any other arts charity funding, and as we otherwise tend to operate on a break-even basis, we aren’t in a position to pay contributor fees this time. If your poem is selected for inclusion, however, you will receive contributor copies of the book and a discount code for all Sidekick titles.

I’ve already been in a 10 Poets book. Can I submit again?

For now, we’d like to have it so each book in the series contains a unique set of poets. This way the series will eventually, with a fair wind, grow to be a window onto the work of a significant number of poets.

I’m worried my poem is going to be too similar to other submissions, as the theme is quite narrow.

This is certainly a risk if you get too caught up in descriptions of the lunar landscape or references to the moon landings, say, so really do try to take the title as a starting point and imagine what strange events might occur after you reach the other side of the moon. Or perhaps the emphasis could be on the journey, rather than the destination? Maybe ‘the dark side of the moon’ means something else in your piece?

Will there be other submissions calls like this one, for books on other themes?

If the series continues to sell and generate interest, then yes. We enjoy putting the books together and want to create a big collectible series, but they’re a lot of work and the market for slim anthologies is tough! Tell your friends these books exist!

How do I submit?

Send one piece only as an attachment to contact@sidekickbooks.com, with the subject line ‘Ten Poets Submission’. No need to include a bio at this stage – just a short covering note. The deadline is midnight 15th December.