Submission deadline extended to Sept. 15
Maamoul Press, a Detroit-based small press and artist collective, is seeking proposals for 30- to 50-page graphic novellas from comic artists who have not been published professionally.
While there is no specific theme or genre for the call, Maamoul Press is seeking stories that align with its mission, which is to support authentic storytelling by, for, and about communities that are frequently marginalized within the comics industry.
The selected artist will receive a micro grant to support the completion of the work, and will be awarded a three-week artist residency as part of the Arab American National Museum’s Artists+Residents program in November to work on the book.
During the residency, the artist will be given free private housing and studio space at the City Hall Artspace Lofts in east Dearborn, and will have the opportunity to learn from and network with local comic artists.
The resulting work will be the first full-length graphic novel published by Maamoul Press. This initiative is also one of 62 finalists for this year’s edition of the Detroit Knight Arts Challenge.
“Comics readers are really hungry for more diverse stories, we want to see ourselves represented, not just through a few token characters, but also in terms of authorship,” Maamoul Press co-founder and local graphic novelist Leila Abdelrazaq said. “Sadly, the industry still has a long way to go in order to start meeting that demand. We are here to forge some much needed space to tell our own stories, stories that aren’t usually centered in mainstream comics publishing.”
The deadline for submissions has been extended to Sept. 15, to allow artists more time to get their submissions ready. Submissions are in the form of a short synopsis and page or script samples. For more information, interested artists can go to https://maamoulpress.com/Open-Call-Graphic-Novel-Proposals.