The event will be from May 1st 12 pm PST to 12 am PST on June 1st, 2025. NIF takes place entirely online- you don’t need to go anywhere! The marketplace will be available 24/7 every day with the panels and events broadcasted on the weekends (May 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th, and 31st).

In an era where an internet connection can be found in every country, there’s a significant lack of international, online-first comic events. Sometimes festivals stream panels, but it isn’t consistent and doesn’t allow for readers to participate in a more significant way.

Nothing can quite match the feeling of being at a real-life event, but we can certainly try! A few reasons as to why NIF was put together are:

• The desire to host work from amazing authors worldwide without them being hindered by travel or printing costs.
• A lack of proper airborne illness protocols at comics festivals can force our most vulnerable community members into isolation; they deserve to be present at events too.
• The ability to host a more relaxed, stable atmosphere for panelists and artists alike; spacing everything out across a month makes it less stressful than selling and talking for 14 hours a day for multiple days straight.

NIF is run by a whole team of over 20 members of The Cartoonist Cooperative! We’re split into multiple teams that handle submissions, promotions, events, funds, and the website. This way the work of running a festival doesn’t fall all on one individual- we’re stronger together!

Members of the Co-op who have memberships at least three months old as of their submission application may apply to exhibit their comics in NIF. If you were accepted after June 1st (check your intro email!), you may need to wait until next year to exhibit. We’re always looking for more volunteers though! :)

Submissions are open from Sept 1st 12 pm PST to Oct 1st 12 am PST. Acceptances and rejections will be sent out as soon as possible- this is our debut year, so we want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row. Keep an eye on your inbox after Oct 1st!

Submissions for the Oops All Comics zine are open from Sept 1st 12 pm PST to Dec 1st 12 am PST. All members who submit work and abide by the guidelines will be accepted!

As this is a digital space rather than a physical one, there is technically no limit to how many exhibitors (providing they are Co-op members!) can apply. Submissions are not first come first served and are juried.

As long as at least one three month old Co-op member as of Sept 1st is involved, anyone can! Some examples are:

• Four cartoonists want to talk about their experiences getting graphic novels published. One cartoonist is a member of the Co-op and fills out the events form. The other three are not members. ✅
• Four cartoonists want to talk about looking for agents, but none of them are in the Co-op. Even if they apply during the submission period, their panel will not be accepted. ❌
• One artist wants to stream their inking process for attendees to watch. This artist has been a member of the Co-op for over three months. ✅
• One artist wants to stream brush making. They are not currently a member of the Co-op, but had a friend in the Co-op submit their form. ❌
• Four cartoonists want to talk about their different book printing experiences. The cartoonist filling out the form is not a co-op member, but at least one of the artists involved is a co-op member. ✅

Same as the exhibit submissions- panel submissions are open from Sept 1st 12 pm PST to Oct 1st 12 am PST.

No! The event is entirely free.

There is a small credit card processing fee, but otherwise 100% of the sale goes to the creators. If the comic is free, no CC fee is applied. If the comic is PWYW, the CC fee scales appropriately.

All comics go through a review process involving multiple members of the submissions team.

• Work that is cliched, bigoted, or in poor taste will not be accepted.
• Webcomics that are incomplete and haven't updated in over a year may be rejected from the sampler.
• Comics for sale need to be 8 pages or 64 panels at minimum.

Comics made for adults or that deal with sensitive subjects are, of course, very welcome! Let us know in the submission form.