flotsam/jetsam

call for submissions

it’s a strange time to be a mariner.

It can be an isolating profession with a hard schedule, long stretches away, and work most people never see. So we’re putting together something by the community, for the community. A collection of the things we wish someone had handed us before we first went to sea.

A zine is a small-run, independently published work passed from hand to hand outside the usual channels. This one is for mariners.

Submit something and maybe help the next person feel a little less alone, or at least give them the chance to make their own kind of mistakes. You do not need to be a writer or a trained artist to submit. 

❋ Issue 1 Theme: FNG (f*cking new guy)

Seeking art, short essays ( 500-700 words), poems on:

  • Money mistakes and financial lessons no one teaches you

  • How you knew a job was good or already going bad

  • What this work does to your body, mind, and relationships

  • How you actually moved forward in your career

  • What you’d tell someone stepping aboard for the first time

Got an idea but not sure if it fits? Reach out!

❋ Paid

We believe in paying people for their work.

If your submission is selected for publication, you’ll receive a $150 stipend

Note: You can submit anonymously but we do need a working email to contact you.

❋ Details

  • For art submissions: PDF , PNG or JPG

  • For essays /poems: word doc or email body

  • editors reserve the right to edit or anonymize any identifying information

  • anonymous submissions welcome

  • zine will be printed and mailed

  • extra copies will be available on this site

❋ Resources

We’re also putting together a resources section in the back of the zine: funding opportunities, training programs, financial planning, mental health resources, and anything else that might help someone stay afloat in this line of work.

Maybe even a personals section. Who knows.

If you work in one of these fields, have resources to share, or simply have something worth passing along, send us an email.

submissions open

email us: hello@withdrawlstudios.com

Who We Are

  • A woman wearing sunglasses and a cap steering a ship's wheel with the words "Torngat" and "Graham" engraved on it, against a background of a cloudy sky.

    Biz Wallace

    Co-Editor

    Biz started working on the water as a teenager and has spent the last decade aboard research vessels, sailboats, and charter boats. She holds a 200-ton Master Captain’s License and an AB Unlimited endorsement. She currently runs With Drawl Studios and works as a relief captain.

  • A woman is on a sailboat, leaning forward and pulling a rope, with water and land in the background.

    Carolyn Corbin

    Co-Editor

    Born and raised on the Chesapeake, Carolyn spent ten years working aboard wooden boats before training as a shipwright. She currently runs the schooner Tyrone out of Rockland, Maine, leading youth and adult sail training expeditions.