Hello!
In the summer of 2017, Will Darbyshire published a book with Penguin Random House called 'This Modern Love'
Posing a series of questions via YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, he asked his viewers to share their thoughts about their relationship experiences, in the form of hand-written letters, poems, photographs, and emails.
After 6 months and over 15,000 heartfelt submissions later, Will collected the letters together to form a compendium of 21st century love, structured into the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.
It went on to become a Sunday Times Number One Bestseller. Amazon.com/ThisModernLove
In 2025, Will is reopening the email inbox for its sequel, This Modern Love 2.
To be a part of the project and have your letter featured in the next book, all you have to do is:
1. Write a submission
Write a letter to a crush, a partner or an ex. This can take any shape you want it to. It could be prose, a poem or perhaps something more abstract. Address the letter to a person and then sign off with a name. If you would like to maintain complete anonymity, you can change the names but do please include a name as it helps maintain the format. Please also include a location, it can be a town, city or country.
In addition we will also be suggesting new prompts weekly on Will’s social media. You may respond to these if you wish to be an apart of the project. Please see current prompts below. Submissions can be sent to the same email above.
Prompt #1 (Jan 5th 2025)
‘Send us the best or worse message you’ve received on a dating app.’
Link
This could be from Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Hinge etc. It can be a pickup line or a series of short messages.
2. Submit the response
Once you have your letter or response, submit it to submissions@thismodern.love
If your letter is selected we will need to contact you so please send it from your primary email address or include an email we can contact you at.
3. That’s it!
Once you’re submitted, your letter will be considered for the next publication! Thank you! We really appreciate you trusting us with your work. It means the world to have your support and we can’t wait to read!
FAQ:
Can I submit more than once? Yes!
How long can my letter be? It can be as long as you want! but please bare in mind, the longer it is, the less likely it is to be included. We want to be able to include as many of your letters as possible.
Is there a deadline? No.
When can I expect a response? Not for a while as we’re still in the beginning stages.
Can I also write a letter to a close friend? Yes if you think it fits within themes of the project.
Can I handwrite it and scan it in? Of course!
