What we are looking for
At the Novel Hovel weʼre looking for poets who donʼt fit into the usual boxes. We are a home for the random and the unpolished. We welcome poets who are finding their voices.
We donʼt have limits on the type of poetry we accept. You can send us work that is surreal, free verse, narrative, elegy, lyric, whatever. We do have an interest in political poetry, but weʼre also looking for poets who recognise the fluidity of words. Dylan Thomas said that a good poem ʻhelps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyoneʼs knowledge of himself and the world around himʼ. Whilst this seems like an ambitious remit, this is what we would ask our poets to aim for.
NHP is also interested in the concept of fusion and overlap. Words as colour, paint as sound, music as both, a synthesis of mediums. Over the years we have seen various movements group together, for example the New York school of poets and movements such as abstract expressionism, the symbolist poets and symbolism in the art world, and so on. We hope to encourage these connections and help revive the notion of synthesis and cross-over in the arts.
First Sight is aimed at unpublished poets aged between 18 – 25. We hope to help promising young poets get into print early. It can be disheartening starting out life as a poet facing rounds of competitions, magazine rejections, and a hostile climate towards the arts politically. ʻFirst Sightʼ wants to put young poets on the path towards a career in writing by publishing their first pamphlet of 12-24 pages. This can consist of poetry alone or combined with prose, flash fiction, song words or artwork. Further details can be found on our ʻFirst Sightʼ submissions page.
Our books:
Itʼs important to us that our books make an impact and are distinctive. We want each collection to stand out visually, to be as unique as the poems it contains, so each collection has original artwork on the cover.
Cover art:
NHP will be actively seeking artistsʼ work for our front covers. Submission windows for art will be up-dated on the site as and when needed. See our submissions page for further information.
Art featured so far on our website and covers:
Our home page features the fantastic art of John Walker – detail from his painting ʻAcross the Thamesʼ and on our What we are looking for page, detail from his painting and on our About page, detail of work by Nicky Taylor. Our first book collection cover is a detail of the painting ʻJourneyʼ by the Lyrical Abstract artist Eelco Maan (mixed media on canvas). All by kind permission of the artists.
