The Daily Cartoonist

Industry news for the professional cartoonist

Rina Piccolo: how to get your cartoons into the New Yorker

Alan Gardner102 mins

Rina Piccolo, creator of Tina’s Groove and the new Velia, Dear webcomic, writes on her blog her experience in meeting with New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to discuss her cartoons for publication in The New Yorker.

Let me say one thing about Bob. I’ve heard a lot of negative things floating around, but in my experience, he struck me as the kind of guy who genuinely wants to help. If you’re good at cartooning, he will give you more than just his time. He’s a cartoonist himself, and I can remember numerous chats I’ve had in his office about things like process, and writing, and well, everything you’d imagine cartoonists chat about. The difference was that I wasn’t just shooting the shit with a cartoonist, I was talking with an editor who’s job it is to nurture what talent he believes is worth his – and the magazine’s – time. I’ve had some frustrating moments with him, but that’s expected in a cartoonist-editor relationship. I’ll expand on this later.

She writes that she’ll write a few more times of her experiences in the future.

10 thoughts on “Rina Piccolo: how to get your cartoons into the New Yorker”

  1. I’ve been a fan of Rina’s work for many years, since meeting her at a Convention, I think in New York. I’m glad she’s giving some insights here.

  3. I, too have been frustrated with cartoon submissions to the New Yorker. It is hard to tell what they like. I heard they get something like 3600 cartoons a month, so I shouldn’t expect comments with my submission rejections.

  4. 3600 cartoons a month is probably right. I used to see a stack of at least 600 on any given tuesday, and that’s not including the ones sent by email. I was once told they get up to a 1000 per week, if you can believe!

  5. I beleive that. The New Yorker is one of the few venues left for gag cartoonists. There is no where else to send gag cartoons. Magazines are dropping like flies and they don’t need our “fillers” or “page breaker-uppers” any more. A generation ago fiction disappeared from magazines, now the mags themselves are disappearing. Freelancers seem to be free to starve. Newsweek is for sale, and there are no takers–I don’t blame them–Newsweek is as thin as comics used to be–32 pages. The great magazine illustrators would have had a hard time today–everything has gone to photgraphy. Paperback cover art is about the only market for illustrators.

  7. I sent 100 gag cartoons in March 2011 and never heard one word
    I wonder what else I should do to get some reply ? You cannot call them they do not pick up. Why doesn’t the New Yorker post submission guidelines for cartoons ? It seems to be a national secret to submit cartoons.

Comments are closed.

Top