Freedom in the Dark

A Black Sails fanzine, organised by fans for fans.Issue 1 was released digitally on April 2, 2022, the 5th anniversary of the series finale. Issue 2 is now in development, ahead of the 10th anniversary in April 2027. There's still time to get involved!Currently: Our interest check is OPEN until April 23, 2026. Take part below!

• ISSUE 1: FREE DOWNLOAD
• ISSUE 2: INTEREST CHECK

Frequently Asked Questions

⬛ Is Issue 1 still available?
Yes! Issue 1 of Freedom in the Dark is available as a free digital PDF. You can access the SFW zine alongside all digital merch here, and the NSFW zine here.⬛ How can I help or get involved in Issue 2?
We have a full moderator team so we currently don't need more people to help us organise. What you can do is complete our interest check (open now!), apply to be a contributor (coming soon), engage with us on social media, and of course, spread the word!⬛ Who can contribute and how does the application process work?
Applications will be open from May 7 to May 21. Anyone can apply, regardless of experience. More details on the application process can be found in our Contributor Guidelines.⬛ What is the timeline and when are the deadlines?
The deadline for applications is May 21. You will receive a response on May 30, and you will have until August 29 (that's 3 months) to complete your piece. Check out our schedule for more details!⬛ Will I have to pay to get the zine, and will there be physical copies?
Our intention with issue 2 is to raise money for charity with a limited print run! Details on this will be provided in due course.⬛ What charity will this zine be fundraising for?
Stay tuned! The charity will be chosen by our contributors, so this will be announced in June/July. If you have a recommendation, let us know!⬛ How many contributors are you looking for?
Our current target is 30 artists and 15-20 writers, but this is subject to change depending on the number of applications we receive and the variety of pitches provided. It's flexible at this stage.⬛ Can I submit more than one piece?
No, you'll only be allowed to submit one piece to the zine. We want to ensure that we can give as many people as possible the chance to participate.⬛ Can I submit a previously published piece of mine?
No, only new pieces created for the zine will be accepted, but you'll be welcome to publish your zine piece wherever you like after the zine is released.⬛ Will content about AUs and non-canon ships be allowed?
Yes, we welcome any AUs and non-canon ships! Just keep in mind the zine is SFW.⬛ Will there be overarching themes for the content?
Not explicitly. Though the zine's primary focus will be on pieces that fit the tone of the show, we welcome other themes as well.⬛ Will I get paid for contributing?
No, all moderators and contributors will be volunteers. Money raised will go to our chosen charity, plus covering any printing and shipping costs.⬛ What's the maximum word count for writing and what are the necessary specs for art pieces?
All important information about restrictions and specs can be found in the Contribution Guidelines.⬛ What does [___] mean?
▪️ SFW: Safe For Work. This content is appropriate for PG-13 audiences.
▪️ Ship: A romantic relationship between fictional characters.
▪️ AU: Alternate universe. Characters of Black Sails thrown into a different plot, i.e. mermaids or modern day.
▪️ Canon-Divergent: The plot of Black Sails diverges slightly, i.e. a character makes a different decision, or a dead character lives.
▪️ WIP: Work in Progress. A preview of a piece in an unfinished state.

Schedule

Our current place in the schedule is highlighted for clarity.

*A check-in involves contributors giving mods a progress update and mods providing feedback. This allows discussions for accommodations if extra help or time is needed.

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• Contribution Guidelines
• WIP Guidelines

Applicant Guidelines

⬛ Application ProcessContributor applications will be open from May 7 to May 21. You will receive a response to your application on May 30, and you will have until June 6 to confirm your involvement.There are three application forms for the zine: one for artists, one for writers, and one for merch creators. You’re welcome to apply for all roles but you’ll only be accepted for one.Anyone is welcome to apply, and previous zine experience isn’t necessary; we’ll handle all the formatting.⬛ SamplesSamples of previous work will be required. You’ll need to provide 2-5 links to your works, or 1 link to a larger portfolio. As an example, this could be an AO3 account, an art blog, or a PDF.The works submitted don’t need to be Black Sails themed, but they should be reflective of your current skill level and in line with the content you’re hoping to contribute to the zine. For example, if you’re applying to write meta, please include examples of your meta; if your pitches are all for comic-style art pieces, please don’t only include lifelike portraits.Writers are welcome to include long pieces, but please know the writing mods will be looking to read approximately 500–2,000 words from each applicant. Including just your favourite chapter or your strongest scene from a longer piece is recommended.Content warnings would be appreciated so the moderators aren’t caught off-guard by potential triggers.⬛ PitchesYou will also be required to submit 1-3 pitches for your contribution, and you’ll have the freedom to rank them in order of preference. If you’re filling out more than one application, you’ll need to provide separate pitches for each.Your pitch for merch is allowed to be similar to your art pitch if you’re entering both, as long as you remain aware of the formatting limit of merch, depending on what you create. For example, a sticker might only fit one or two characters without a background, and bookmarks and phone backgrounds will both be in portrait mode, providing limited space.We’re looking to create a diverse zine with a balanced selection of themes, characters, ships, and styles, so including a variety of pitches in your submission might improve your chances of acceptance. But if there’s only one idea you’re really passionate about, that’s okay too! We want you to create content that you can feel excited about.A pitch should include, at minimum, the characters, the ship, or the concept. Exact ideas don’t need to be finalised yet but the more detail you can provide us, the better.Canon-compliant, canon-divergent, fully AU, non-romantic, and romantic pitches are all welcome. There are no restrictions on the characters or the ships you can pitch, as long as any characters in romantic situations are over 18.Below are some example pitches. Feel free to format your pitch similarly.▪️ A flashback fanfic of Flint, Miranda, and Thomas being cute and domestic together in London. There will be cuddles, comfort, book-sharing, and a tender conversation about shame and happiness.
▪️ Vampire Silverflint AU. The Walrus = The Lost Boys. Details TBD.
▪️ A watercolour painting of the Walrus at sea during sunset.
▪️ Meta exploring how Max and Eleanor parallel each other throughout the show and how their shifting positions of power affect their dynamic.
▪️ A sticker sheet of fun and colourful Jack Rackham doodles.⬛ LogisticsContributing to the zine is a voluntary and unpaid opportunity.If you’re unable to finish your contribution after being accepted, that is completely okay. If it’s a matter of inspiration, we’re happy to work with you to find a pitch that works better for you. If it’s a scheduling or personal matter, or if you simply lose interest, we totally understand.Please just let us know so we can make the necessary adjustments to the zine.⬛ Selection CriteriaWhen the time comes to select applications, we will be considering the following:▪️ Quality of the submitted sample pieces.
▪️ Uniqueness of the submitted pitches.
▪️ Balance of each character/ship within the zine.
▪️ Balance of genre (canon/AU) within the zine.
▪️ Balance of the types of work (art/fic/meta/merch) within the zine.Our current soft target is 30 artists and 15-20 writers, but the numbers are flexible at this time.

Contribution Guidelines

You will receive a response to your application on May 30, and you will have until June 6 to confirm your involvement before we'll move onto other applications.You'll then have until late August (or 3 months) to complete your piece. You can find the full schedule here.All contributions must abide by the following guidelines.⬛ Etiquette Guidelines▪️ Your contribution cannot be a previously-published piece; it must be a new piece created for the zine.▪️ The use of AI is strictly forbidden. Your work must not, in any capacity, be AI-generated, made with the assistance of AI, edited with AI, and so on. Please be aware that we will expect to see sketches, drafts, version history, etc. during our check-ins.▪️ By agreeing to contribute to the zine, you agree not to publish your piece anywhere else until after the zine has been published. Please review the full WIP Guidelines below.▪️ Your final piece must align with the pitch we approved. If you’re having inspiration trouble with your pitch, contact us and we’ll work with you to find something else.⬛ Content Guidelines▪️ We accept all ships. All characters involved in romantic situations must be over the age of 18.▪️ Issue 2 is an entirely SFW (safe for work) zine, so romance should be kept PG-13. Kissing, fade-to-black, and suggestions of sexual activity are okay; explicit nudity and sexual content is not.▪️ Depictions of incest, pedophilia, sexual assault, and dubious consent of any kind are strictly forbidden, but implications or mentions of them may be permitted (i.e. hurt/comfort, relevant backstory). Please discuss this with the mods before you begin creating your piece.▪️ No discrimination or harmful portrayals of marginlized groups (e.g. racism, transphobia). Given the nature of the show, pieces that discuss discrimination and oppression are okay, but if your work itself is discriminatory or harmful it will not be approved. We will ensure all pieces are read by sensitivity readers before publication.▪️ When submitting your final piece, please include a full list of content warnings.⬛ Format-Specific GuidelinesArt pieces must be drawings or paintings (e.g. no 3D models, cosplay, etc.) in A4 300dpi. They can be created digitally or traditionally, but traditional artists must be able to scan their final piece at a sufficient resolution (A4 300dpi) to match the zine specs. They should be saved in PNG format.Writing pieces can be prose (traditional fanfiction), poetry, scripts, or meta. They must not be any longer than 2,000 words (or for scripts, no more than 6 A4 pages). Meta pieces must not insist that the meta writer’s interpretation or opinion is the only correct one.Merch pieces can be either digital (i.e. a phone or computer wallpaper) or physical (i.e. a bookmark or sticker sheet).▪️ Sticker art is ideally digitally drawn and turned into a PNG with a transparent background.▪️ Common bookmark sizes are 5x15cm (2x6 inches) or 7.5x21cm (2.5x8.5 inches).▪️ Both phone and computer wallpapers should have an aspect ratio of 16:9 - landscape for computers and portrait for phones.▪️ As with regular art, your format should be approximately A4 (300dpi if working digitally). From there, you can look more accurately at sizes of both a single sticker and many small ones, as well as bookmarks. Only phone wallpapers don’t need this format; their size should average 960x640 pixels.If the specific art or writing style you would like to submit isn't listed here, there's an "Other" option on the application form, and you're welcome to contact us on social media first if you'd like to check whether we'll accept what you have in mind.⬛ DisclaimerThe zine mods reserve the right to adjust and update these guidelines if necessary, and we agree to inform you when changes are made. Sensitive topics not mentioned on this page will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.If you have any questions, contact us via any of the social media links below.

WIP Guidelines

You’re more than welcome to share your WIP (work in progress) on social media, but we do have some guidelines we’d like you to follow. These are intended to give you guidance and to hopefully avoid spoiling your full piece before the zine is released.When we say “public social media,” we mean Tumblr, Instagram, X, etc., regardless of whether your account is set as public or private. When we say “private groups,” we mean platforms like Patreon, closed Facebook groups, and small Discord servers.⬛ Writers▪️ On public social media, please post no more than 200 words.▪️ In private groups, please post no more than 500 words.⬛ Artists (page and merch)▪️ On public social media, please post no more than 25% (a quarter) of the image.▪️ In private groups, the full piece can be shared up to the line art stage. Once you’ve begun colouring the piece, please post no more than 50% of the image.▪️ Process videos/GIFs are allowed as long as they comply with the above guidelines and don’t include the last 25% of finishing touches.⬛ Artists (covers)▪️ Please send us a preview of what you’d like to post on social media before you post it. If it’s sufficiently cropped and unpolished we’ll most likely approve it, but we would like to have a “cover reveal” closer to the release date.⬛ General▪️ Please either tag us directly (@blacksailszine) or mention the zine in your WIP posts.▪️ Please be mindful that you don’t essentially reveal your entire piece by cropping it in different ways throughout the months. You don’t have to stick with one crop and never deviate, just keep in mind how much of the piece you’re showing in total.▪️ For clarity, these guidelines don’t apply to the zine Discord server. Feel free to post your full piece in the zine server at any stage.Also, we encourage you to post at least one WIP teaser in March 2027 in anticipation of the zine being released, so you may want to hold onto your favourite WIP or your most polished crop for that time. This will be optional but it’s something to keep in mind. More info about this will be shared closer to the time.Of course, after the zine has been released, you're more than welcome to post whatever you want, such as the full finished piece, uncensored process videos from beginning to end, and so on. The above rules only apply to before publication.

Scroll Back To...

• Applicant Guidelines
• Contribution Guidelines

Apply

Please read the guidelines and the schedule thoroughly before applying. By submitting an application, you agree to follow the terms and deadlines we've set.Applications open on May 7. Stay tuned!