Submissions: Inklings 2022 and beyond.
First, we’re excited to let you know that we are due to reopen submissions for our Inklings series from the 1st to 31st of October 2021 (hooray). Second, we want to lay out a blueprint for how the future of the Inklings series will look, and hope you’ll continue with us on the Inklings journey whether as writers or readers!
Submissions reopening
In short: we will be open for submissions for our Inklings 2022 list for the duration of October. We only accept pitches, and not already written books, in the hopes of opening the opportunity to as many people as possible. You can find more information on our submissions page with specifics, but we also have some resources that could be useful:
Submissions - 404 Ink - for full details, submission guidelines, and FAQ
The 2021 Inklings list - for reference
2022 Inklings and beyond
With this in mind, we’re laying out the full schedule for future Inklings. This will look like:
October 2021: Reopening Inklings for submissions and pitches.
November 2021: We will get back to everyone - both those outstanding and those during this window - by this date. ETA: We have had to extend the deadline we hope to get back to everyone by. We are still aiming for November 2021.
Next steps: Those taken to the next step will be asked to fill out a one page plan for their Inkling laying out how it would work as a book, and for a small writing sample on the topic, and decisions will be made from there.
Behind the scenes: A number of titles will be taken forward and worked on in the subsequent months.
May/June 2022: The first new Inkling will publish, and the series will continue through to November 2022, a parallel of sorts to this year’s schedule.
January 2023: The series will move to one every two months, perpetually, forever and ever.
We had initially planned to have submissions open year-round and commission on the go, but as with ambitious projects sometimes the admin to run it is just not feasible. Now we’re over half way through the 2021 series, it feels the right time to put a solid structure in place to both catch up with the incredibly patient pitchers in our inbox at present and offer a firm deadline on replies, while looking to the future with a more concrete plan.
And so, here it is. Inklings is here to stay! We’re really happy with how the series has grown since saying ‘we should publish wee books’ on a Zoom call last summer, to this tangible amazing collection that’s resonating with readers.
Can’t wait to share the rest of our 2021 series with you, can’t wait to see what the next batch looks like. Thanks for those who have been supporting it so far, and thanks for your patience on those who hope to be a part of it. We’ll be back soon.
If you’ve yet to read our 2021 list, check out the Inklings page for more information, or have a look below.
