‘this modern love’ is finished!

After 6 months and over 15,000 heartfelt submissions later, from a staggering 100 countries, the first crowd-sourced book of its kind, This Modern Love is complete.

A massive thank you to every single person who contributed: the talented writers, photographers and lovers. This Modern Love was a dream of mine; it’s a dream come true thanks to everyone who submitted. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to all of you who wrote a hand-written letter, sent an email, took a picture or tweeted about the book. It’s been an epic project, one of the biggest challenges of my life. But it’s also been an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable process. Thank you for trusting me with your thoughts. Your letters are this book and you are the authors.

I have collected the letters together to form what I hope is a compendium of 21st century love, structured into the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.

It’s sad, it’s funny, it’s tender and it’s cathartic. It’s a portrait of individual desires, of resentments and of fears. But ultimately, I hope, it will remind anyone who reads it, whether they’re in love or out of love, that we're not alone.

I love you all terribly and I hope you like the book as much as I liked putting it together. The book is available for pre-order now. It will be published on 11th August around the world.

Submissions are closed!

Question number 6 for the ongoing ‘This Modern Love’ project. 

Question number 5 for the ongoing ‘This Modern Love’ project: 

What would you say to a crush? Write a letter to them to express it.

Please submit your letter to:

[email protected] OR directly into our Tumblr ‘submit’ box.

Please also include your name, age & location with your submission!

Question number 4 for the ongoing ‘This Modern Love’ project. Please submit your image to:

[email protected] OR directly into our Tumblr ‘submit’ box.

Please also include your name, age & location after your submission!

Question number 3 for the ongoing ‘This Modern Love’ project. If you’d like to submit please send your entries to:  [email protected] OR directly into our Tumblr ‘ask’ box. 

Please also include your name, age & location after your submission! 

A selection of entries from the ongoing ‘This Modern Love’ project.

We asked people the question:

‘What would you say to your ex, without judgement’

The selection of letters and responses, will form a final book. Funny, sad, comforting and uplifting, this compendium of modern relationships will appeal to anyone who is in or out of love.

This Modern Love is a book, written by you and curated by Will Darbyshire, that aims to get to the heart of modern relationships.

Whether you are in love or out of love, single or attached, the book is a forum for anyone to share their feelings and experiences. It is a chance to get something off your chest, to put words to thoughts that might be too complicated to speak aloud. But it is also a moment to pause and celebrate the best of relationships, to reflect on how lucky we are.

Will is going to post a series of questions via this website and his social channels through early spring 2016. The questions are intended to cover a wide range of issues. If you feel a question speaks to you, please write a letter in response. Every single one will be read.

A selection of these letters and responses will then form a book that will be published in July 2016 by Penguin Random House. The hope is that together the letters will form a mini-compendium of modern relationships: a resource that can be browsed for comfort when broken hearted, but read for humour and joy, too.

This Modern Love is now available for pre-order on Amazon. 

a few guidelines

Phrase your letter starting with “Dear so-and-so…”

In the subject, or first line of your response, please include the number of the question you are replying to.

Please include your first name, age, and country. Your identity will only be listed with this information However, if you would prefer to write under a pseudonym, or be completely anonymous, that’s fine, too – please state in your letter.

You may choose to write a line or a page, it’s up to you. Feel free to be creative! If you are more visual and feel a drawing or a photo sums up your thoughts better, that’s perfect.

Finally, please read the Terms and Conditions before you send your letter.

how to get involved

There are a number of different ways:

1) You can leave a message on this Tumblr using the submit section.

2) You can send an email to [email protected].

3) You can mail a handwritten letter:

If you are within or near the US, use the address: This Modern Love PO Box 3119 Boulder, CO 80307