When I Was Me Submissions

About the book

When I Was Me: Moments of Gender Euphoria will be a collection of autobiographical comics about the joy of being trans, appropriate for ages 14 and up, to be funded via Kickstarter and printed in autumn 2021. We plan to accept 60-80 trans artists to each complete a one-page comic for a payment of £60. The collection will be edited by Eve Greenwood and Alex Assan.

Our goal with this book is to highlight the beauty in being trans and to provide both openly and closeted trans people with a reminder that our experiences and identities are not defined by pain. 50% of profits from post-Kickstarter sales of When I Was Me will go towards UK charities that support young trans people, such as Mermaids and LGBT Youth Scotland. We will also be offering an option during the campaign for backers to pay for copies that will be donated to organisations that provide queer people in prison or in poverty with books, comics, and educational resources, such as Books Beyond Bars UK.

Quindrie Press is a trans-led Scottish small press, founded by Eve Greenwood. This will be Quindrie Press’ second Kickstarter campaign, and the fourth campaign run by Eve.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for pitches for one-page autobiographical comics about a single positive experience or moment related to your trans identity. The pitch should be about three sentences long and should mention any particular style or visuals you will include in it. The comics can be in any style but can only be one page. Try to think outside of the box; there are more common experiences, like looking in the mirror in a new outfit or getting a haircut, but we are looking for experiences that are specific to you and your life!

We accept pitches from writer/artist teams, but your team must be decided beforehand and we will not pair up writers and artists.

The kind of experiences we are looking to be portrayed are:

  • A moment that in retrospect hinted at your trans identity

  • A moment you realised/accepted you were trans

  • A moment of gender euphoria or a positive experience while transitioning

  • A moment of happiness that you couldn’t have experienced if you weren’t trans

At this time, we do not want:

  • Fiction

  • Erotica or sexually explicit stories (romance and suggestive imagery is fine)

  • Comics centred around the pain or difficulties of being trans

  • Comics featuring transphobia, abuse, or assault

We will also be commissioning some illustrations to go alongside the comics, which will be paid for at the same rate as the comic pages.

Who can apply?

We are looking for artists who feel their identity exists under the trans umbrella, including but not limited to binary trans, nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, bigender, and Two-Spirit people. We are particularly interested in publishing work from trans people who are transfeminine, non-white, and/or disabled. We welcome contributors from outside the UK.

You must:

  • Consider yourself trans

  • Be 18 or older

  • Have a bank or PayPal account for payment

  • Be able to provide a comics portfolio or sample comic pages

If you are applying as a creative team, you must both be over 18 and must both consider yourselves trans. Your team must be decided beforehand and we will not pair up writers and artists.

Project timeline

Submissions close on April 30th and we will notify successful contributors by mid/late May. If you are accepted, the deadline for the initial sketch will be July 15th, after which you will receive any edits or notes, and the deadline for completion will be August 15th.

Payment & rights

Each creative team will be paid £60 for their work. All contributors will receive a copy of the book and the PDF. Contributors will receive £30 at the end of August after delivery of the final pages, and will receive the remainder of the payment, including potential bonuses, after the Kickstarter campaign succeeds. If you are a creative team, payment will be made to one member of the team and can be split at your own discretion.

Payment may increase depending on how much the Kickstarter campaign raises - due to the number of artists we hope to involve, we can not currently give definitive numbers for artist bonuses, but a portion of any leftover funds will be split evenly between the artists.

Creators retain all copyrights to the work. Quindrie Press will have exclusive print and digital rights to the work for one year after publication, after which print and digital rights revert to you. Quindrie Press will retain non-exclusive print and digital rights to the work in perpetuity and may reprint it.

FAQ

  • I am not trans. Can I apply?

    • No.

  • I am nonbinary/genderfluid/etc, but do not consider myself trans. Can I apply?

    • No, we are looking for artists who feel their identity exists under the trans umbrella and consider themselves trans.

  • What dimensions will the comics need to be?

    • The final book will be square, so the comics will either be square or landscape. We will provide contributors with a template.

  • Do the comics have to be full colour?

    • No, we are open to black & white, full colour, and spot colour comics.

  • Do I have to portray myself in the comic?

    • As the comics will be autobiographical, they must be about your personal life experience, but we are open to the comics featuring personas or being more abstract if you are not comfortable depicting yourself.

  • How many comics can I pitch?

    • We strongly recommend only pitching your strongest comic proposal, with an absolute maximum of three ideas. Please submit all pitches in the same submission.

  • Will I receive royalties from sales of the book?

    • Due to the number of people we plan to involve in this project, contributors will not receive royalties from the publisher’s sales of the book.

  • Where will profits from sales of the book go?

    • Funds raised through the Kickstarter will go towards paying the artists and covering the costs of production and shipping. Kickstarter disallows fundraising through its platform, so the remainder will be used to fund future Quindrie Press books. 50% of future profits from sales of When I Was Me will go towards UK charities that support young trans people, such as Mermaids and LGBT Youth Scotland.

How do I apply?

Fill out this form with your information and your pitch. Please do not submit a completed comic. Submissions close on April 30th.

Please be aware that if accepted, you will need to provide your legal name for your contract. As per UK data protection guidelines, this information will be kept strictly confidential and will not be used for any other purpose. You do not need to provide your legal name on the submissions form.

If you have a question that is not answered on this page, please contact us at quindriepress@gmail.com.