Art Gallery Submission Guidelines
** The Strange Horizons Art Department is currently on hiatus. We are not running new illustrations or galleries right now.
However, we continue to welcome submissions for future illustration and gallery commissions. Please see the guidelines below, and do send us your work! We look forward to reopening a strong Art Department in the near future. **
What We Want and What We Don't Want
We love art that is stylistically distinct while maintaining the essence of speculative fiction. Abstract expressionism, impressionistic, photorealistic, just about any approach, are all considered, provided that the speculative fiction theme is at the core. One theme we are looking for is material that captures the dramatic nature of speculative literature—think about it: alternate realities where magic can yield power similar to potential technological achievements a million years in the future, where a single person can change the outcome of an entire world, or where nature in all her majesty outwits human ingenuity yet again.
All these ideas bespeak drama, and we'd love to see art that reflects it in some fashion. This does not preclude other themes, such as humor or whimsy or eye-catching beauty and charm. Also, art pieces that tell a story are a good bet. What we're NOT looking for is media tie-in art, such as Star Wars, or the X-files, etc. Just about anything else that is speculative fiction related will be seriously considered.
Naturally all artwork must be in electronic format to be displayed on the site. The original work represented may be in any medium. The editors will have final approval on each piece to be exhibited. Art may be exhibited under a pseudonym.
Illustrations
Each month, an artist will be selected to illustrate one story on-site. This may be the same artist that has been chosen for a gallery display, or it may be a completely different person. Pay is $75/illustration, and we purchase ongoing non-exclusive electronic rights for the current issue and our archive. We request that you wait three months before reprinting the work elsewhere, but leave that decision to your discretion. This illustration will be linked to the main gallery if the artist was also selected for the gallery.
How to Submit
Send three pieces representing the body of work you would like to exhibit to art@strangehorizons.com. They must be sent as an attachment via email, and each one should be sent separately. Do NOT send all three attachments with a single email message. The subject line should be:
ART SUB: Your name #1
etc.
Submissions should be in either *.gif or *.jpg format, whichever is more appropriate for your work. If you do not know how to save your work in these formats or don't know which one to use, please e-mail us for instructions.
NOTE: Along with your submission, please indicate if you're interested in doing on-demand illustration, the gallery, or both. Submissions are archived for possible future commissions, so it is important that we know who's interested in creating images for stories. If no notice is given, it will be assumed that the artist is just interested in having work displayed in the gallery.
Don't send samples by snail mail. We strongly prefer e-mail submissions, as detailed above. If you cannot submit that way, then e-mail us and we may be able to work around the problem.
Response Time
Response time will vary. We will try to get a response to you within a month of receiving your submission. We would recommend that if you haven't heard from us after two months, send us an e-mail inquiry, in case the art has gone missing and has not been received by us.
Material other than art should be submitted to the appropriate editor.
Thank you.