Distro Submissions

Submission Guidelines

Submissions are open for independently published (or unpublished) comics and comics-related zines in any format. You have the following options:

1. Sell or trade copies of your stuff to the distro. Typically I buy for a percentage of cover price in cash for bulk orders (usually 5 copies or more), or 100% of cover price in trade credit. You can also choose a mix of cash and credit if you wish.
2. Use the distro as a print on demand service. You can send me a PDF of your zine, I will print it per your specifications using the People's Copier at Radstorm, and give you a negotiated number of copies for your own use in exchange for printing some extra copies for the distro plus some promotional or review copies.
3. License your material for me to publish. This is a good option for those who would like to publish a comic or zine but are not interested in designing or printing the book itself. The cost or trade terms are negotiated on a case by case basis.

Please note that whatever option you choose, you can always select another option if you decide you want to, or we can discuss a custom option. For example, you may have a new comic that you have printed and simply want distribution, but you may also have some out of print issues that you are willing to license for distro inventory as long as you don't have to print them yourself.

For situations where I am paying an artist for commissioned work, payment and rates will be based on the Pricing and Ethical Guidelines of the Graphic Artists' Guild. I do want to be as transparent as possible with anything money-related, and to encourage zine makers to consider trading and licensing as ways to explore alternatives to simple capitalist exchanges (eg., your zine for some cash). Nothing against cash, but like the old joke goes, the same $20 bill circulates around a comics convention among all the artists buying each others' books. So if you're like me and you're just sinking your zine "profits" back into more comics and zines, I hope to make the distro another viable place for you to find cool shit to try.

What We Are Looking For

Nearly automatic YES if you are making comics in any form here in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Bonus points if you are underrepresented in the arts and comics industry (eg., queer folks, indigenous people and other people of colour), but that is not required of course. Everyone is welcome to submit stuff for consideration. If you're not sure or you want feedback even if you think the answer is no, feel free to submit.

Not as likely but still pretty likely YES if you are making comics independently anywhere else in Canada, followed by the rest of the world. I don't have unlimited resources for buying books so preference goes first to Atlantic Canadians, then the rest of Canada, followed by anywhere else.

What We Are NOT Looking For

It's an automatic NO if your work is oppressive in any way: homophobic, transphobic, fatphobic, racist, sexist, ageist, ableist, etc.

Nudity and sexual content are not automatic NOs on their own, but they are a NO if they only exist in the service of oppression or depicting illegal or nonconsensual acts.

Very likely NO if any of the following apply:

• your zine has nothing to do with comics (eg., text only zines with no visual component)
• your zine is using comics as part of a grift (eg., "comicsgate")
• your zine is AI generated
• your zine primarily or regularly depicts IP that doesn't belong to you. I do make exceptions for satire and abstract, conceptual projects.

Hope to hear from you soon!