Submissions
We are open for submissions!
After the success of our July-August 2024 submissions window, we are happy to announce that Dithering Chaps is now permanently open for submissions.
For more on this, and to find out about our shortlisted authors, please read our September 2024 blog.
Here’s the plan.
We will be publishing two poetry chapbooks each year.
All submissions received by our two cut-off dates, at the end of March and September, will be considered for our next available publication slot. For example, all submissions received between now and March 2025 will be considered for our late 2025 publication slot. All submissions received between April and September 2025, will be considered for our early 2026 slot. And so on.
What we are looking for
Dithering Chaps is all about the poetry. However, we’re pretty flexible about what that means. It’s the words that count for us, as much as the form. Whether you craft sonnets, prose poems or even poetic flash fiction, so long as you pack your work with innovative images and wordplay … we are in! At the submissions stage, we ask you to submit a ten-page sample of your work, but please bear in mind that our publications generally contain 30-50 pages, and, if you are shortlisted, we will ask you to submit a collection of this length.
Our commitment to you
We promise that each submission will be read with care and respect. Our approach is to read each ten-pager through at least twice (ideally with a month or so between readings, so that your words have had time to distil). If we are unable to find a place for you in our shortlist, we will email you to say so. We’ll also include a brief reader’s report, outlining the positive features we found in your writing. We’re all at different points in our writing trajectory, so rather than rejecting your work, we look for ways to encourage you to reach higher…
Here’s what some of you had to say about our 2024 submissions window
“Thank you for sharing your thoughts about my initial submission – your words are very helpful and illuminating, and I do appreciate reading them.” M.S.
“Thank you for being prompt with your decision and exiting on an encouraging note. I’m glad you liked the poems I sent. It's always good to be sensitively read.” S.W.
“I appreciate the time and care you took in reading my submission and giving the feedback, which will be invaluable in moving forward.” H.C.
“Quite the nicest rejection I've had! Thank you for taking the time to share your comments - it's really appreciated.” T.G.
“Thanks ever so much for your detailed, (and encouraging) feedback. You didn’t have to do that, it’s a very kind, selfless gesture.” P.S.
If you are ready to submit, please scroll down for more details…
Are you the author of our next poetry chapbook?
Dithering Chaps is open for submissions and eager to read your work.
We know the submissions process can be daunting. Complying with each publisher’s requirements can feel like a minefield! For us, the key thing is the quality of your writing. Of course, it helps us a lot if you send us exactly what we have asked for, but don’t panic if you miss something out - we’ll still give your writing the consideration it deserves.
To get a better feel for what we are after, please read on…
What we are looking for …
We are keen to publish thematically-linked sequences of poems: works that riff on a core conceit, event or narrative voice. Cohesion is important to us, as is consistency of register and attention to form.
However, we don’t want to be too rigid, as much of our favourite poetry is shape-shifting and studded with chameleonic surprises, even within a single poem.
We are happy to consider any mix of longer and shorter poems (or poetic prose pieces).
We want to be surprised (even shocked) by the way your words and poems work with - and against - each other.
At this stage, all we ask is that you submit up to ten A5 pages of your work in Arial 11 point font or similar, with a 200-word treatment, explaining the your vision for the collection as a whole. If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to submit your full manuscript.
We are happy for you to include previously published work (or work posted on social media). Where previously published, please add a footnote on the relevant page(s), giving publication details.
How to submit your work …
Before you submit, you will need to pay our submission/reading fee and make a note of the date and receipt number. Our reading fee is £10. Please pay here before you submit anything to us.
If you would like to understand more about why we make this charge, please see below, or read our blog here.
Please email your submission to our Associate Editor, David Herring, via ditheringchaps@gmail.com
In the body of your email, please include:
· details of your submission fee payment – name, date and receipt number. We cannot consider your work until we can match it up to a payment on our system.
· a 200-word treatment, consisting of a brief introduction to yourself and your work and a brief description of the full collection - please note you are only submitting an extract at this stage.
Your work should be attached as a Word or .pdf file, consisting of no more than ten A5 pages of Arial 11 point (or similar) and saved in the following format:
[Your Name] - [Title of your collection] - [Submission receipt number]
eg ‘David Herring - An Editor’s Life - 007’
In the same file, at the front of your submission, please provide a contents page for the full collection. (This does not count towards your ten page limit).
You may submit more than one document at a time, but each work must be submitted and paid for separately.
We have no problem with you submitting to other publishers at the same time as sending your work to us, but please let us know if your collection is accepted elsewhere. (We’re afraid that our submission/reading fees will not be reimbursed in these circumstances.)
What happens next …
We will let you know within four months of receiving your submission whether you have been shortlisted or not. The shortlist will also be announced on our website shortly after each cut-off date in March and September.
Shortlisted authors will be sent further information about the next steps.
The poet we choose after each submissions cut-off will be offered a publishing contract with us. We prefer to develop this on a case by case basis, depending on a variety of factors affecting each project.
Typically, our initial print-run will be 100 copies, which will include a small number of author copies.
Bearing in mind that a large proportion of poetry chapbook sales are author-driven, we usually suggest a fifty-fifty share of all sales income as their royalties. We also provide each author with a page on our website to promote online sales of their chapbook. We also publicise their work via our blog page and social media accounts and by provision of review copies to literary magazines.
Good luck, everyone!
We want to read what you have written.
Please read our notes on the submissions process…
Why we charge for submissions
We want to be upfront about why we are asking you to pay a small reading fee to submit your work (£10). We are a non-profit publisher and receive no external funding. We offer our own time and expertise free of charge for the work we do at every stage of the process leading to publication. However, there are naturally costs associated with publishing our chapbooks, principally: printing, cover design and hosting our website. The income we receive from reading fees, along with sales, simply allows us the chance to break even. Please be assured that all income we receive goes directly to covering our publication costs: it might be some consolation to know that, if you are unsuccessful this time, your payments are helping another writer achieve their dreams…
Before you submit
Before you submit anything, we ask that you check you have sufficient poems of the right quality to be published in chapbook form. We would usually expect to print up to thirty to fifty A5 pages of poems, in 11 point font, per chapbook. However, we will also consider shorter (or slightly longer) collections, and are always ready to vary our formats to present your writing in the best way possible.
What we will not accept
We reserve the right to reject material that is offensive or considered to be hate speech. This includes content that is racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, transphobic or discriminates on other grounds, eg religion. It is, of course, acceptable to tackle these topics in your writing, but not if the content is directly discriminatory.
BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR SUBMISSION -
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU INTO THE DITHERING CHAPS’ FOLD!