Grace’s Comics Ops May Edition!
Welcome to Grace’s Comics Opportunities May Edition!
Long time, no see! If you’re wondering why this newsletter is late, you’ll be (hopefully) pleased to know there’s a good reason. I was finishing my debut graphic novel, Song for Medusa, which is due to debut this November. Even more exciting the Pre-Order window has just opened!
If you want to support me, and in turn this newsletter, I would be honored if you considered checking out my book. Find the pre-order here.
Anyways! Back to business. Keep your inboxes open for the upcoming career development email. Get excited to learn about tabling at comics festivals, applications, and festival discovery.
Reminder that any ongoing ops are removed after a three-month cycle, allowing space for new opportunities.
To submit an available opportunity fill out this form.
Where to find Grace?
June 6 – 7, I will be tabling at TCAF in Toronto, Ontario. Excited to be back at my favorite festivals.
Festival Applications
BROOKYLN BASED CARTOONISTS PRIORITIZED Seeking cartoonists and zinesters for their indie comics fest.
Note from Grace: this festival is an amazing small event, perfect for those starting out. It’s organizers are fabulous people with a passion for bringing forward queer, BIPOC artists from the Ditmas neighborhood to the fore of Brooklyn Comics.
Paper Plains Zine Fest – Jun 1 – Lawrence, KS
Seeking cartoonists and zinesters for their small press fest.
Black Cat Book Fair – May 31 – Belfast, ME
Seeking authors, cartoonists, and small presses for their two day festival.
Dartmouth Comics Arts Festiva – May 24 – Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Seeking cartoonists for their indie comics show.
Pretty Good Fest – May 30 – Chicago, IL
Seeking cartoonists and zinesters for their small press fest.
Seeking cartoonist for their indie comics festival.
GeekGirl Con – May 31 – Seattle, WA
Seeking vendors for their festival, SCI-COM and STEM oriented artists highly encouraged.
Submissions
Heading includes link, compensation, and deadline.
BEM Bookstore – Event Booking – Ongoing
BIPOC APPLICANTS ONLY BEM Bookstore is open to hosting events with black and brown authors and cartoonists of food related publications. Especially those related to African Diaspora cooking.
Seeking artists and designers to collaborate with a book subscription box for fantasy and romance readers.
Autists & Their Animals – Artist Copies – May 22
AUTISTIC APPLICANTS ONLY Seeking Autistic creators for their A5 Zine in collaboration with Grrrl Zine Fair.
Seeking single panel comics, gag cartoons, spot illustrations, and public domain artwork.
Strip Comics Mag – Artist Copies – Jul 1
Seeking comics, essays, poems, and general artists to submit under the theme Life & Death.
Dirty Water Comics (Graphic Novels) – Paid – Ongoing Until Closed
Seeking graphic novel submissions for their small press.
Dirty Water Comics (Web Comics) – Paid – Ongoing Until Closed
Seeking single issue and/or short form nonfiction comics for their Hot Off The Press collection.
DISABLED APPLICANTS ONLY Seeking comics about chronic illness and/or disability.
Cool Cat Collective Zine Fest – Paid – Jun 1
Seeking affordable zines about cats for a mini fest in support of the Tipped Ear Foundation.
Note from Grace: This just looks absolutely adorable and it’s for a great cause.
Unpublished Picture Book Showcase – Paid – Jul 5
Seeking unpublished or rejected picture books for a juried showcase.
Seeking genre fiction (i.e. sci-fi, romance, fantasy, spec-fic, etc.) novellas, novels, short story collections for publication. They are open to graphic novel submissions but this is not their priority.
The Monsoon Award – Paid – May 31
ASIAN ARTISTS ONLY Seeking comics and graphic novels by Asian cartoonist.
LGBTQAI ARTISTS ONLY Seeking artists to display work in their Chicago Store.
Brown Paper Fox – Paid – Ongoing Until Closed
Seeking picture books for publication with their small imprint.
Desert Island Press – Consignment Opportunity – Open Until Closed
Seeking comics and zines for their store for wholesale and consignment.
NYC Gutter Show – Unpaid – Ongoing
Seeking cartoonists and/or animators for live readings and screenings of their comics.
Note from Grace: This is an amazing event which I have participated in. The format is especially suited to humor cartoonists and for those who are interested in the combination of performance and comics.
Stray Cat Press – Paid – Ongoing
Seeking A4 zines for distribution.
Pages and Panels – Unpaid – Ongoing
Seeking writers and journalists to cover comics for this online publication. Email contact@pages-and-panels.com or for more information see this link.
David Higham – Representation – Ongoing Until Closed
Agency open to submissions.
Note from Grace: Querying an agent is awesome! But! Make sure this agency aligns with your long-term goals as well as your creative style. Finding an agent is a lot like dating—it takes some work and lots of rejection to find the right one.
PIETN Anthology – Paid – Jun 14
TRANS APPLICANTS ONLY Seeking art about trans perseverance and joy.
Seeking comics, journalists, reviewers, and artists for their comics lit. magazine
Coin Op Press – Paid – Ongoing
Seeking art for their themed zines.
Fit to Print (in collaboration with Anyone Comics) – Unpaid – Ongoing
Seeking comic strips, article ideas, essays, reviews, pop culture op-ed, literature, & poems.
Email submissions to any1news@gmail.com
Anarkiss Zine – Unpaid – Ongoing
QUEER APPLICANTS ONLY Seeking interdisciplinary artists, writers, and zinesters for their ongoing anarchist zine publication.
Seedlings – Rolling – Artist Copy
Seeking writing, art, and multimedia projects.
UK based publisher seeking picture books, pre-school educational books, and activity book pitches.
Skirt Chaser Local – Payment Unclear – May 23
NYC ARTISTS PRIORITIZED Lesbian magazine dedicated to sapphic love, events, and gossip in NYC.
Residencies/Grants
Heading includes opportunity name, deadline and location.
WNY Book Arts Center – Rolling – Buffalo, NY – Studio Space
Month long studio space residency for printmakers.
The Ou Gallery Residency – Rolling – Vancouver Island, Canada – Housing and Studio
Peaceful residency to unplug on Vancouver Island.
Wedding Cake House Residency – May 31 – Providence, RI – Work Exchange
Work Exchange residency in the historic Wedding Cake House. Provides space for artists to live and work on a project of their choosing for up to 18-months.
Make More Comics x Power Pulp Comics – Jun 15 – Grant
Offering $1000 grant for cartoonists in their early career.
Events
Comics Crit Event – May 28 – Brooklyn, NY
MASKS REQUIRED Comics critique group.
Glasgow Zine Fest – May 19 - 24 – Glasgow, Scotland
Zine fest showcasing a range of skilled artists and zinesters. Workshops and zine library also available to the public.
Bubbles Con – May 30 – Richmond, VA
Indie comics show focused on artists talks with some leading voices in the indie comics space.
Binch Press X Queer Archive Work – May 31, Jun 14
Zine library and open studio. Open 12 – 3 PM
Brooklyn Pride Comics Fest – Jun 6 – Brooklyn, NY
Small comics fest hosted by Anyone Comics.
SLICE – May 23, 28, 31 – St. Louis, MO
St. Louis comics organization hosting ongoing comics-oriented events.
BCAF – Ongoing Programing – Greater Boston Area
Boston Comics Arts Foundation has fabulous ongoing programing in the greater Boston area.
Olympia Zine Fest – May 30 – Olympia, WA
Indie zine and comics festival.
Pride Book Fair – Jun 26 – NYC – Location TBD
Book fair inspired by Scholastic Book Fairs of your youth. Queer books only.
Employment/Volunteer
Source Books - Various jobs – Publishing
Saga Press Books - Publicity Coordinator
San Francisco Zine Fest – May 30 - Internship
Artist Spotlight – Isabella Rotman
Isabella Rotman is an Eisner and Ignatz nominated cartoonist and illustrator. Her contributions to the comics community are integral to a growing and diverse community. She runs CAMP (Comics Art Maine Portland) and Luna Moth Zine Fest, both of which are fabulous festivals worth applying to – especially for Maine locals.
One of my most beloved resources by her is Self Publish, Be Free! It serves as an excellent guide to zine and mini comics making on a DIY, accessible scale.
Additional Submission Resources
As usual, here are some additional resources available for your own personal research.
I’ve come across these sources on my own time, of which have sponsored me for their shout out.
- Submittable.com
- Instagram: you.got.this.gigs
- Instagram: chillsubs_official
- Art Book Fairs (artbookfairs.com)
By the way, Pretty Good Fest ended applications on May 20, not the 31st. Otherwise, great updates as usual. I just applied for almost all of these events.