Hop to It!

Trumpets, please!

Right here, right now, we're issuing an invitation to submit poems for our next book, HOP TO IT: Poems to Get You Moving, to be published later this year by our company Pomelo Books. This will be an anthology of approximately 75 poems that incorporate movement and we'd like you to submit a poem for consideration!

Some key elements:

--We're on a super-short deadline. We need to receive poems by March 31, 2020

--We aim to publish this book in August of this year

--Poems should be geared toward PreK - Grade 5 (short poems = better)

--Poems should be previously unpublished (not even included in blog posts yet)

--You'll retain the copyright in your poem (and will be free to use it elsewhere after publication)

--Please understand that we'll have room for only ~75 poems, so we'll have to say no to hundreds of excellent poems (an unfortunate reality for all our books).

We believe that welcoming poem submissions from everyone who would like to have a poem considered for this book is an inclusive approach that will yield a wonderful variety of high-quality poems. Although we currently work with nearly 200 poets whom we adore, we pride ourselves on identifying and promoting new poets-- and we never know who will be able to "deliver" the best poems for a particular topic or need.

So, if you are a poet who loves to hop, jump, twist, twiddle, spin, shrug, reach-- or even sit very, very still, stretching and breathing slowly-- please read on!

What we envision is a book of poems that teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, and leaders in summer camps and afterschool programs can use to help children "get the wiggles out." We'd like many poems to encourage movements that can be done while seated in a chair, both to be inclusive and to fit those moments when jumping around the room isn't practical. If the poems can also incorporate some poetry and language elements (such as simile or alliteration or capitalization or punctuation), that's even better. Here's a list for some inspiration:

What is most important, though, is that these poems be terrific examples of rich imagery, musical language, and relevance to children. While it's so difficult to evaluate this, it is very easy to recognize. We all know it when we read an outstanding poem, right? To see what we mean, take a look at some of our favorite poems at the Pomelo Books Pinterest page  and then, if you're inspired, Hop to It . . . and write a poem!

Submit a poem at PomeloSubmissions@gmail.com.

Now head on over to TeacherDance where Linda is hosting our Poetry Friday fun. See you there!