SOLRAD, the online literary magazine for comics, publishes original content ranging from comics criticism, original comics, essays, interviews, and the promotion of small-press events and releases. The site is a platform for new, underrepresented, and otherwise marginalized creative voices, in addition to commissioning work from well-established cartoonists, critics, journalists, and authors.
We are currently open to submissions and pitches.
Please read the guidelines below.
SOLRAD focuses on comics arts outside the mainstream genre comic. We strongly encourage you to read the last few pieces from SOLRAD to see what kind of books we tend to cover before considering pitching us.
All pitches and submissions must be in English and must be previously unpublished. Pitch/submission emails should be sent to pitch@solrad.co. We accept work in long-form narrative and in comics form. All published writing has a minimum length of 1,000 words. The editing process will occur through Google Docs (shared with editor@solrad.co). We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
SOLRAD encourages pitches and submissions from writers of color and LGBTQ+ writers.
SOLRAD recognizes the right of media workers to obtain a living wage – our current pay rates represent an honorarium with the goal of moving towards a higher rate of pay over the life of the magazine.
SOLRAD is currently accepting pitches for:
Reviews/Criticism: SOLRAD is interested in reviews that provide a critical analysis of the work being reviewed. Our reviews and essays focus on the theme of the work and how cartoonists use their tools to convey that theme. In your pitch, please tell us what the focus of your review will be. If there is a specific comic you are interested in writing about, we can request review copies for you from the publisher, but review copies are not guaranteed.
Interviews: SOLRAD is interested in interviews with artists, comics writers, and those in comics-adjacent fields (e.g. publishing, comics sales).
Essays: SOLRAD is interested in original journalism and investigative work, personal essays, profiles, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction. We are looking for well-written, solidly-reported work with a personality and a viewpoint.
SOLRAD is currently NOT accepting pitches for:
Comics: SOLRAD commissions original fiction and nonfiction comics – we are not currently accepting pitches for new comics at this time.
SOLRAD is a publication of Fieldmouse Press:
Submissions to Fieldmouse Press: If you are interested in submitting printed work for consideration to our publisher, please follow this link.
WHAT WE PAY
- $80 for an approximately 1,000-word review/essay/interview.
- $60/page for commissioned comics.
Upon publication, you grant SOLRAD 6 months of exclusive digital rights, whereafter all rights revert back to the writer in perpetuity.
If, after reading all this, you still feel that SOLRAD is an appropriate place for your writing, let’s get going. Please send us your pitch at pitch@solrad.co!