Studies show that if you fall under any SEVEN or more of the below categories, you might be Bird Brained:

  • You are an unconventional, underground, lowbrow artist.
  • You don’t follow trends or even know what the hell is “trending” in the present moment. You might not even know what day it is.
  • You look unapproachable but you’re actually really, really friendly.
  • You actually read books.
  • You prefer bar arcades over a club. You prefer anything over a club.
  • Horror/psychological films are one of your go-to genres
  • You feel pressure to give up what you love to do for something you don’t love just for financial security.
  • You work hard for your dreams despite any and all odds against you. You’re a do-it-yourself self-starter.
  • You love Science Fiction, Horror, Gothic Suburbia, Satire/Black Comedy, Museums, Philosophy, Psychology, Cartoons, Absurd Art, Oddities, Punk DIY, and/or Diversity and Equality
  • You’re queer as hell. Damn!
  • Your music taste circles around genres like Surf Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Punk, Punk, Metal, Horrorcore, Contemporary R&B, Hip-Hop, and/or Jazz Rap.
  • You have an affinity toward media in the realm of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, Futurama, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Mother, I Love Lucy, Vertigo, Rear Window, Hereditary, Robot Chicken, The Mighty Boosh, Monty Python, Portlandia, and/or What We Do in the Shadows. Bird Brained is NOT affiliated with any of these shows/films. We just like ’em… a lot.

If you checked off 7 or more of the above categories, Welcome to Bird Brained Zine Anthology!

We welcome you completely and are happy to have you. If you would like to submit to be a part of Bird Brained Zine Anthology, please read instructions carefully:

Eligibility:

  • Must be be considered Bird Brained (view list above)
  • Must have less than 5,001 followers on their most used social media account (WE CHECK)
  • Must be 20 or older
  • Must create and submit art/writing/films/music/etc. that fits the Bird Brained Zine overall aesthetic: a mix between absurd, lowbrow, satirical, surreal, punk, gothic suburbia, odd, and unconventional work. Think: The mental state between reality and fantasy. If this sounds like you, by all means, submit!
  • Must also fit current issue’s theme, which can be found on our homepage (if applicable to said issue). Take whatever inspiration you want from the theme, as long as it’s not too much of a stretch.
  • If you already submitted and were accepted into previous Bird Brained Zine Anthology issues, you are NOT eligible to submit again so that we can give more artists a chance to gain visibility. However, it is possible for you to be potentially included as a featured artist. Email info@birdbrainedzine.com for more information if you are interested in being a featured artist.
  • Must believe in equal human rights
  • Must not be a dick

Accepted Art Forms:

  • Prose, flash fiction/nonfiction, essays, poems (cannot exceed 3 pages)
  • Illustrations, comix, photography, paintings, postcards
  • Picture of taxidermy (ethically sourced), sculptures, 3D art, skateboard decks, patches, exceptional latte art
  • Picture of your super cool makeup (sfx included), tattoo art
  • Indie films and animations
  • Underground music
  • Podcasts

Submission Requirements:

  • Please be sure to submit stuff related to the overall aesthetic of Bird Brained and in relation to theme for the specific volume/issue of Bird Brained. View homepage to see the current issue’s theme (if applicable).
  • We only publish original work that has not appeared in print elsewhere. If you printed a small run of mini-comics and sold them at a show, that’s not a problem at all. It’s actually encouraged. When in doubt, just ask [info@birdbrainedzine.com]. Simultaneous submissions are cool, just let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  • Each creator may (but is totally not required to) submit up to 2 different categories, 3 works each within those 2 categories (6 total), and have a max page limit in the zine of 4 pages. For example: Hi, my name’s Billy Bob Jr. and I’m submitting Artwork and Writing (2 categories), 3 art pieces and 3 written pieces (3 works each within those 2 categories), and this will take up 4 pages max in the zine.
  • Collabs are welcome! Make it cool.
  • What counts as 2 different categories? Examples) Submitting Art and Writing, Submitting a Film and a Comic, Submitting Photography and a Podcast, etc. Choose your best work and just submit it! So, which pigeonhole(s) do you fall under?
  • Categories. There are 4 categories.
    • Writing (includes Flash fiction/nonfiction, Prose, Poems, Essays, Biographies, Memoirs)
    • Artwork (includes Paintings, Comics, Photography, Illustrations, ya know, Artwork)
    • Film/Animation
    • Music/Podcasts
  • Writing (Flash fiction/nonfiction, Prose, Poems, Essays, Biographies, Memoirs) cannot exceed 3 full pages. Accepted file types: .DOC, .DOCX, PDF. Fonts will be changed by editors, unless your work is hand-written and scanned in, then awesome, we’re down with that. We want your writing to be in your voice, but please be prepared to receive feedback and potentially to refine your piece(s) before final acceptance.
  • Writing and Artwork. If you only want to send in just artwork or just writing, writing by one contributor will be paired together with artwork by another contributor by the Bird Brained editors. If you’re cool with this, cool, you rock. If you don’t want your art or writing paired with another contributor’s piece, please submit art (made/altered by YOU and appropriate to the zine) to go with your writing, or vise versa. Film/Animations and Music/Podcasts will be sectioned separately from Art and Writing in zine.
  • Artwork/Comics/Photography: You can submit up to 3 pieces of artwork of your choosing as long as they are appropriate to the zine and issue theme. (i.e. Submitting 1 photograph of a skateboard deck, 1 comics page, and 1 painting. These are all considered Artwork.)
  • Artwork/Comics/Photography must be AT LEAST 300 DPI(PPI) or send a vectored image. Accepted file types: .PSD, .JPG, .PNG, .TIFF and converted to CMYK. Files should be named like this: category_title_creator’s name.filename. For example: Comics_ButtholeCosmos_KarloAntunes.PNG
  • Comics must be a minimum of 1 full page in length to 3 pages max at 300 DPI(PPI) (can be a continuous comic, excerpt from larger work currently being worked on, or separate comics). Comics must fit the proportions for the zine. The print size will be 5.5” x 7.87″, so if you like to draw big and want the comic to take up a whole page (or up to 3 pages), you can draw a 6″ x 8.5″ or 7″ x 10″ comic and it’ll fit. We require a minimum 1/4″ title safety area from the edge of the page. We also require an additional minimum of an 1/8” bleed if any art work meets the edge of the page. Please submit all pages as individual files as the accepted file types (stated above) and converted to CMYK.
  • Indie Films/Animations/Underground Music/Podcasts can also be submitted! We may create QR codes out of your links.
    • Films/Animations: Please attempt to submit an HD Still Frame from your film and a link to your film or video on Vimeo/Youtube/Website
    • Music/Podcasts: Please submit Cover Artwork (300 DPI) and one link to your Spotify/SoundCloud/BandCamp/Website or to a specific song/episode

How to Submit:

  • Click this link, fill out the Submission Form, and submit it (Please be sure to read and follow all submission requirements above first, or your submission will be ignored).
  • AFTER submitting the form and agreeing to the Terms of Agreement, send your content over to [submit@birdbrainedzine.com] OR in the Dropbox link that can be found at the bottom of the form. Submissions sent to the above email that don’t have a completed Submission Form submitted will result in us nodding our heads in disapproval and judgingly, then ignoring the submission. Read the directions!
  • If the email above doesn’t work because it’s ugly and it hates you, then you may submit or share your work with us via Dropbox or Google Drive. Make sure to email/allow [bbzineanthology@gmail.com] to view and edit. Please use the same email address you provided in your completed Submission Form.

Open to artists and writers of all shapes and forms, but people of queer/trans experience, women, POC, people who experience neurodiversity, and/or otherwise marginalized groups are STRONGLY encouraged to submit. Get to work. No excuses.

This is a safe space, but we will not tolerate hate speech. Feel free to curse your brains out, though. I don’t give a shxt.

Feeling stuck? Check out our Prompts.

[ Inquiries related to submitting, general information, wholesale, etc. send an email over to: info@birdbrainedzine.com ] Do NOT send submissions to this email. They will be ignored.

Cheers.