Zine
Encyclopedia
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication
of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published
work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier.
A popular definition includes that circulation must be 5,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 1,000, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.
Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text (an example being Cometbus). Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. Topics covered are broad, including fanfiction, politics
, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, single topic obsession, or sexual content far enough outside of the mainstream
to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media
. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines. Small circulation zines are often not explicitly copyright
ed and there is a strong belief among many zine creators that the material within should be freely distributed. In recent years a number of photocopied zines have risen to prominence or professional status and have found wide bookstore and online distribution. Notable among these are Giant Robot
, Dazed & Confused
, Bust
, Bitch
, Cometbus
and Maximum RocknRoll
.
(if not before), dissidents and marginalized citizens have published their own opinions in leaflet and pamphlet form. Thomas Paine
published an exceptionally popular pamphlet titled "Common Sense
" that led to insurrectionary revolution. Paine is considered to be a significant early independent publisher and a zinester in his own right, but then, the mass media
as we now know it did not exist. A countless number of obscure and famous literary figures would self-publish at some time or another, sometimes as children (often writing out copies by hand), sometimes as adults.
The exact origins of the word "zine" is uncertain, but it was widely in use in the early 1970s, and most likely is a shortened version of the word "Magazine." with at least one zine lamenting the abbreviation.
The earliest citation known is from 1946, in Startling Stories
.
In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin
also started a literary magazine for psychiatric patients at a Pennsylvania hospital, which was distributed amongst the patients and hospital staff. This could be considered the first zine, since it captures the essence of the philosophy and meaning of zines. The concept of zines clearly had an ancestor in the amateur press
movement (a major preoccupation of H. P. Lovecraft
), which would in its turn cross-pollinate with the subculture
of science fiction fandom
in the 1930s.
, editors of "pulp" science fiction
magazines became increasingly frustrated with letters detailing the impossibilities of their science fiction stories. Over time they began to publish these overly-scrutinizing letters, complete with their return addresses. This caused these fans to begin writing to each other, now complete with a mailing list for their own science fiction fanzines.
Fanzines enabled fans to write not only about science fiction
but about fandom itself and, in soi disant perzine
(i.e. personal zine), about themselves. As the Damien Broderick
novel Transmitters (1984) shows, unlike other, isolated, self-publishers, the more "fannish" (fandom-oriented) fanzine publishers had a shared sensibility and at least as much interest in their relationships between fans as in the literature that inspired it.
A number of leading science fiction
and fantasy authors rose through the ranks of fandom, such as Frederik Pohl
and Isaac Asimov
. George R. R. Martin
is also said to have started writing for Fanzines, but has been quoted condemning the practice of fans writing stories set in other authors' worlds.
s emerged as part of the punk
movement in the late 1970s. These started in the UK and the U.S.A. and by March 1977 had spread to other countries such as Ireland. Cheap photocopying had made it easier than ever for anyone who could make a band flyer to make a zine.
(the name came from a short story by John Brunner
), originally published by Mike Gunderloy and now defunct, catalogued and reviewed any zine or small press creation sent to it, along with their mailing addresses. In doing so, it formed a networking point for zine creators and readers (usually the same people). The concept of zine as an art form distinct from fanzine, and of the "zinesters" as member of their own subculture, had emerged. Zines of this era ranged from perzines of all varieties to those that covered an assortment of different and obscure topics that web sites (such as Wikipedia
) might cover today but for which no large audience existed in the pre-internet era.
scene encouraged an explosion of zines of a more raw and explicit nature (until this time, males tended to make up the majority of zinesters). Following this, zines enjoyed a brief period of attention from conventional media and a number of zines were collected and published in book form, such as Donna Kossy
's Kooks Magazine (1988–1991), published as Kooks (1994, Feral House
).
, and the ability of private web-pages to fulfill much the same role of personal expression as zines, was a strong contributor to their pop culture expiration. Indeed, many zines were transformed into websites, such as Boingboing. However, zines have subsequently been embraced by a new generation, often drawing inspriation from craft, graphic design and artists' books, rather than political and subcultural reasons.
Zines distributed for free are either traded directly between zinesters or given away at the outlets mentioned.
Webzines are found in many places on the Internet.
in San Francisco, California
, Parcell Press in Philadelphia, Microcosm Publishing
in Portland, Oregon
, Great Worm Express Distribution in Toronto
, CornDog Publishing in Ipswich
, Café Royal in the UK, AK Press
in Oakland, California
, Missing Link Records
in Melbourne
and Soft Skull Press
in Brooklyn, New York. Zine distros often have websites that you can place orders on. Because these are small scale DIY projects run by an individual or small group, they often close after only a short time of operation. Those that have been around the longest are often the most dependable.
; Wooden Shoe Books in Philadelphia; Civic Media Center
in Gainesville, FL; Bluestockings in New York City; Five in Charleston, SC; Brian MacKenzie Infoshop in Washington, DC; Book Beat & Co. in Oklahoma City, OK; Printed Matter in New York City; Reading Material in Tokyo, Japan; On Reading in Nagoya, Japan; and Domy Books in Austin, TX.
carry zines and other small press publications, often with a specific focus (e.g. women's studies) or those that are relevant to a local region.
In Australia there is:
In Canada, there is:
In New Zealand, there is:
In the UK:
Notable U.S.A. public and academic library zine collections include:
There are also a number of libraries devoted almost entirely to zine production and/or archiving.
In Australia:
In Canada:
In Japan:
In the U.S.A.:
newsgroup
alt.zines was created in 1992 by Jerod Pore and Edward Vielmetti for the discussion of zines and zine-related topics. Since that time, alt.zines has seen more than 26,000 postings.
From the original alt.zines charter: "alt.zines is a place for reviews of zines, announcements of new zines, tips on how to make zines, discussions of the culture of zines, news about zines, specific zines and related stuff."
"Related stuff" has included almost everything under the sun. Throughout the 1990s alt.zines was really the only forum for zinesters to promote, talk, and discuss small publishing issues and tips. And of course argue. It was a place where a zine reader or first time publisher could rub elbows with infamous zinesters. Some of the more infamous alt.zines personalities have included R. Seth Friedman, Rev. Randall Tin-Ear, Doug Holland
, Jeff Kay, "Ninjalicious" (AKA Jeff Chapman), Sky Ryan, Tim Brown, Josh Saitz, Dan Halligan, Heath Row, Jeff Koyen
, Bob Conrad, Jen Angel, Seth Robson, Karl Wenclas
, Asha Anderson, Emerson Dameron, Jerod Pore, Jim Goad
, Cullen Carter, Steen Sigmund, Darby Romeo, Jim Hogshire
, Debbie Goad
, Cali Macvayia, Don Fitch, Jeff Potter, Joel McClemore, Kris Kane
, Marc Parker, Paul T. Olson, Robert W. Howington, Sean Guillory, Ruel Gaviola, Jeff Somers
, Tom Hendricks
, Chip Rowe, Brent Ritzel and Shaun Richman.
While today there are many other online forums for zinesters and traffic on alt.zines has slowed down dramatically since the zinester flame wars of yesteryear, alt.zines remains one of the most influential places on the web for zine publishers and readers alike. Many long-time alt.zines participants now contribute to ZineWiki
.
, Kale Stiglic (Cara Pifko
) created her own zine.
Damien Broderick
's novel Transmitters follows a small group of Australian science fiction fans through their lives over several decades. Pastiche
s of fanzine writing (from fictitious fanzines) form some of the text of the novel.
Set in the 80s and 90s zine heyday, Walking Man by Tim W. Brown is a comic novel written in the form of a scandalous tell-all biography that portrays the life and times of Brian Walker, publisher of the zine Walking Man, who rises from humble origins to become the most famous zinester in America.
In the novel Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger, the main character John begins writing a zine called Bananafish after reading other people's zines he found at Tower Records. One of these zines is written by a girl named Marisol who writes a zine called Escape Velocity. After reading her zine, John decides to meet her and their friendship grows from there.
Lunch Money, a children's book by Andrew Clements, has sixth-grader Greg Kenton creating and selling mini comic books, as a way to make money, which leads to one of his classmates making her own publication.
In the Nickelodeon cartoon show Rocket Power
, one of main cast characters, Reggie, publishes her own zine about action sports.
Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing is a semi-fictional depiction of the anarcho-punk
and riot grrrl
scene in early 90s Washington, DC.
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published
Self-publishing
Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier.
A popular definition includes that circulation must be 5,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 1,000, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.
Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text (an example being Cometbus). Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. Topics covered are broad, including fanfiction, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, single topic obsession, or sexual content far enough outside of the mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines. Small circulation zines are often not explicitly copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed and there is a strong belief among many zine creators that the material within should be freely distributed. In recent years a number of photocopied zines have risen to prominence or professional status and have found wide bookstore and online distribution. Notable among these are Giant Robot
Giant Robot (magazine)
Giant Robot is a bi-monthly magazine of Asian and Asian American popular culture founded in 1994. It was initially created as a small, punk-minded magazine that featured Asian pop culture and Asian American alternative culture, including such varied subject matter as history, art, music, film,...
, Dazed & Confused
Dazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine, that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin...
, Bust
Bust (magazine)
Bust is a bi-monthly United States-based women's lifestyle magazine. It was founded in 1993 by Debbie Stoller, Laurie Henzel, and Marcelle Karp.-Content:...
, Bitch
Bitch (magazine)
bitch, whose tagline is feminist response to pop culture, is an independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon with more than 50,000 readers. bitch magazine is one branch of the reader-supported non-profit organization bitch media...
, Cometbus
Aaron Cometbus
Aaron Elliott , better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American drummer, lyricist, self-described "punk anthropologist," novelist, and author of punk rock zine Cometbus.-Personal life:...
and Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum rocknroll is a widely distributed, monthly not-for-profit fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. It features interviews, columns, and reviews from international contributors...
.
Origins and overview
Since the invention of the printing pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
(if not before), dissidents and marginalized citizens have published their own opinions in leaflet and pamphlet form. Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
published an exceptionally popular pamphlet titled "Common Sense
Common Sense (pamphlet)
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense, signed "Written by an Englishman", became an immediate success. In relation to the population of the Colonies at that time, it had the largest...
" that led to insurrectionary revolution. Paine is considered to be a significant early independent publisher and a zinester in his own right, but then, the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
as we now know it did not exist. A countless number of obscure and famous literary figures would self-publish at some time or another, sometimes as children (often writing out copies by hand), sometimes as adults.
The exact origins of the word "zine" is uncertain, but it was widely in use in the early 1970s, and most likely is a shortened version of the word "Magazine." with at least one zine lamenting the abbreviation.
The earliest citation known is from 1946, in Startling Stories
Startling Stories
Startling Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories, Standard's other science fiction title. Startling ran a lead novel in every issue;...
.
In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
also started a literary magazine for psychiatric patients at a Pennsylvania hospital, which was distributed amongst the patients and hospital staff. This could be considered the first zine, since it captures the essence of the philosophy and meaning of zines. The concept of zines clearly had an ancestor in the amateur press
Amateur press association
An amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
movement (a major preoccupation of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
), which would in its turn cross-pollinate with the subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
of science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
in the 1930s.
1930s–1960s and Science Fiction
During and after the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, editors of "pulp" science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
magazines became increasingly frustrated with letters detailing the impossibilities of their science fiction stories. Over time they began to publish these overly-scrutinizing letters, complete with their return addresses. This caused these fans to begin writing to each other, now complete with a mailing list for their own science fiction fanzines.
Fanzines enabled fans to write not only about science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
but about fandom itself and, in soi disant perzine
Perzine
Perzines are a genre of zines; the "per" meaning "personal". Although most zines could be considered personal in that they represent the opinionated work of one person, this term describes zines that are written about one's own personal experiences, opinions and observations...
(i.e. personal zine), about themselves. As the Damien Broderick
Damien Broderick
Damien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer. His science fiction novel The Judas Mandala is sometimes credited with the first appearance of the term "virtual reality," and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the...
novel Transmitters (1984) shows, unlike other, isolated, self-publishers, the more "fannish" (fandom-oriented) fanzine publishers had a shared sensibility and at least as much interest in their relationships between fans as in the literature that inspired it.
A number of leading science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy authors rose through the ranks of fandom, such as Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
and Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
is also said to have started writing for Fanzines, but has been quoted condemning the practice of fans writing stories set in other authors' worlds.
1970s and punk
Punk zinePunk zine
A punk zine is a zine devoted to punk culture, most often punk rock music, bands, or the DIY punk ethic. Punk zines are the most likely place to find punk literature....
s emerged as part of the punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
movement in the late 1970s. These started in the UK and the U.S.A. and by March 1977 had spread to other countries such as Ireland. Cheap photocopying had made it easier than ever for anyone who could make a band flyer to make a zine.
1980s and Factsheet Five
During the 1980s and onwards, Factsheet FiveFactsheet Five
Factsheet Five was a periodical mostly consisting of short reviews of privately produced printed matter along with contact details of the editors and publishers....
(the name came from a short story by John Brunner
John Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
), originally published by Mike Gunderloy and now defunct, catalogued and reviewed any zine or small press creation sent to it, along with their mailing addresses. In doing so, it formed a networking point for zine creators and readers (usually the same people). The concept of zine as an art form distinct from fanzine, and of the "zinesters" as member of their own subculture, had emerged. Zines of this era ranged from perzines of all varieties to those that covered an assortment of different and obscure topics that web sites (such as Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
) might cover today but for which no large audience existed in the pre-internet era.
1990s and riot grrrl
The early 1990s riot grrrlRiot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
scene encouraged an explosion of zines of a more raw and explicit nature (until this time, males tended to make up the majority of zinesters). Following this, zines enjoyed a brief period of attention from conventional media and a number of zines were collected and published in book form, such as Donna Kossy
Donna Kossy
Donna J. Kossy is a U.S. writer, zine publisher, and online used book dealer based in Portland, Oregon. Specializing in the history of "forgotten, discredited and extreme ideas", which she calls "crackpotology and kookology", she is better known for her books Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of...
's Kooks Magazine (1988–1991), published as Kooks (1994, Feral House
Feral House
Feral House is a book publisher owned and operated by Adam Parfrey. The publisher itself describes the books it sells as "pure information", and says the topics of the books are "forbidden"....
).
Zines and the Internet
With the rise of the Internet in the late 1990s, zines faded from public awareness. It can be argued that the sudden growth of the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and the ability of private web-pages to fulfill much the same role of personal expression as zines, was a strong contributor to their pop culture expiration. Indeed, many zines were transformed into websites, such as Boingboing. However, zines have subsequently been embraced by a new generation, often drawing inspriation from craft, graphic design and artists' books, rather than political and subcultural reasons.
Distribution and circulation
Zines are sold, traded or given as gifts through many different outlets, from zine symposiums and publishing fairs to record stores, book stores, zine stores, at concerts, independent media outlets, zine 'distros', via mail order or through direct correspondence with the author. They are also sold online either via websites or social networking profiles.Zines distributed for free are either traded directly between zinesters or given away at the outlets mentioned.
Webzines are found in many places on the Internet.
Publishing
While zines are generally self-published, there are a few independent publishers who specialise in making art zines. One such 'art-zine' publisher, who also publish books is Nieves Books in Zurich, founded by Benjamin Sommerhalder. Another is Café Royal, UK based and founded by Craig Atkinson in 2005. Another is Medium Rare, NYC based and founded by Milano Chow in 2008.Distributors
Zines are most often obtained through mail-order distributors. There are many catalogued and online based mail-order distros for zines. Some of the longer running and most stable operations include Last GaspLast Gasp
Last Gasp is a book and underground comix publisher and distributor based in San Francisco, California.- History :Founded in 1970 by Ron Turner to publish the ecologically-themed comics magazine Slow Death Funnies, followed by the all-female anthology It Ain't Me Babe, Last Gasp soon became a major...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Parcell Press in Philadelphia, Microcosm Publishing
Microcosm Publishing
Microcosm Publishing is an independent publisher and distributor based in Portland, Oregon and Leavenworth, Kansas. They distribute ideas through zines, books, pamphlets, stickers, buttons, patches, t-shirts, posters, videos, and more. They publish zine and book works by others in the hopes that it...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Great Worm Express Distribution in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, CornDog Publishing in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, Café Royal in the UK, AK Press
AK Press
AK Press is a worker-managed independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. It is collectively owned and operated.-History:...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Missing Link Records
Missing Link Records
Missing Link Records is a record store in Melbourne, Australia. The shop first opened in 1971, but was then called Archie and Jughead's, named after the comic. The shop's co-founders, David Pepperell and Keith Glass, established the shop as a much-needed rock record shop...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press is an independent publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Richard Eoin Nash from 2001 to 2009. In 2007, Nash sold Soft Skull to Counterpoint LLC, where it continues to function as a division of the press...
in Brooklyn, New York. Zine distros often have websites that you can place orders on. Because these are small scale DIY projects run by an individual or small group, they often close after only a short time of operation. Those that have been around the longest are often the most dependable.
Bookstores
Several bookstores stock zines. Notable examples include Polyester Books in Melbourne, Australia; Cafe Royal in the UK; Reading Frenzy and Powell's in Portland, OR; Needles and Pens in San Francisco; Atomic Books in Baltimore; Quimby's in Chicago; Mac's Backs Paperbacks in Cleveland, OH; Boxcar Books in Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
; Wooden Shoe Books in Philadelphia; Civic Media Center
Civic Media Center
The Civic Media Center is a grassroots, community-based radical infoshop, an alternative library and reading room in Gainesville, Florida, United States...
in Gainesville, FL; Bluestockings in New York City; Five in Charleston, SC; Brian MacKenzie Infoshop in Washington, DC; Book Beat & Co. in Oklahoma City, OK; Printed Matter in New York City; Reading Material in Tokyo, Japan; On Reading in Nagoya, Japan; and Domy Books in Austin, TX.
Zinestores
Sticky Institute in Melbourne, Australia is a not-for-profit artist-run initiative dedicated solely to the distribution of zines.Libraries
A number of major public and academic librariesLibrary
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
carry zines and other small press publications, often with a specific focus (e.g. women's studies) or those that are relevant to a local region.
In Australia there is:
- the Women’s House Library Zine Collection at the Brisbane Rape and Incest Survivors Support Centre, Brisbane, Queensland
- the National Library of Australia Zine Collection, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (which includes the Susan Smith-Clarke Fanzine Collection)
- the ACT Heritage Library Zine Collection, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
- the State Library of New South Wales Zine Collection, Sydney, New South Wales
- the State Library of Victoria Zine Collection, Melbourne, Victoria
- the City Library Zine Collection, Melbourne, Victoria
- the Monash University Library Zine Collection, Melbourne, Victoria
In Canada, there is:
In New Zealand, there is:
- the Wellington City Library's Zine Collection (http://www.wcl.govt.nz/popular/zines.html)
In the UK:
- There is a special collection held at the London Met Women's Library.
- Zineopolis at the University of Portsmouth
Notable U.S.A. public and academic library zine collections include:
- Fales LibraryFales LibraryNew York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It houses nearly 200,000...
at NYU, Link to the Fales Library - the Salt Lake City Public Library
- Multnomah County LibraryMultnomah County LibraryMultnomah County Library is a public library system serving Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. Started in 1864, the system has 19 library locations with books, magazines, DVDs, and computers. It is the largest library system in Oregon serving a population of 724,680, with more than 425,000...
in Portland - the San Francisco Public Library
- the Ypsilanti District Library in Ypsilanti, Michigan
- Barnard College Library
- DePaul University Library http://library.depaul.edu/Collections/resourceList.aspx?t=202
- The original Factsheet Five collection at the New York State LibraryNew York State LibraryThe New York State Library is part of the New York State Education Department. The Library and its sister institutions, the New York State Museum and New York State Archives, are housed in the Cultural Education Center...
in Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/ - The Sarah DyerSarah DyerSarah Dyer is a comic book writer and artist with roots in the zine movement of the late eighties and early nineties.-Early life:Dyer was born in Louisiana, went to college in Gainesville, Florida and then moved to New York City.-Career:...
Collection at Duke University - The West Coast Zine Collection at the San Diego State University Library
There are also a number of libraries devoted almost entirely to zine production and/or archiving.
In Australia:
- the Copy & Destroy Zine Library at the Visible Ink Valley space, Brisbane, Queensland
- the Octapod Association Zine Library, Newcastle, New South Wales
In Canada:
- the Toronto Zine Library (Tranzac, 292 Brunswick Ave. Toronto, ON)
- the Welland Zine Library (11 Ascot Ct., Welland Ontario, Canada, L3C 6K7)
- the Anchor Archive Zine Library (5684 Roberts Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- the Hamilton Zine Library (27 King William St Hamilton Ontario)
- Bibliograph/e in Montréal
In Japan:
- the Booklet Library in Tokyo
In the U.S.A.:
- the ABC No Rio Zine Library in New York
- the Chicago Underground LibraryChicago Underground LibraryThe Chicago Underground Library is a collection focusing on material produced by small presses or independent publishers in the Chicago area. The collection includes zines, comics, perfect-bound novels, chapbooks, newsletters, art books, magazines and pamphlets, with an emphasis on inclusivity and...
- the Denver Zine Library
- the Zine Archive and Publishing Project in Seattle, Washington
- the Olympia Zine Library, housed in Last Word Books in Olympia, Washington
- the Papercut Zine LibraryPapercut Zine LibraryPapercut is a lending library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its collection of over 14,000 circulating materials focuses mainly on independently published zines, also known as fanzines.Papercut was started in 2005 by a collective of volunteers...
in Somerville, Massachusetts - the Independent Publishing Resource Center, a Portland, Oregon zine library and resource for writing and distributing zines.
- the Queer Zine Archive Project in Milwaukee, WI
Australia
- Biannual Festival of the Photocopier and International Literary Conspiracy Week Festival, held in alternating years each February, run by the Sticky Institute, Melbourne.
- Emerging Writers' Festival's annual Independent Press Fair held each May in Melbourne. While formerly a notable zine event, this Fair has increasingly focused on "emerging" published authors in recent years.
- National Young Writers' Festival's annual Sunday Artists' Market & Zine Fair, part of the This is Not Art festival in Newcastle, NSW.
- Format Festival held every March.
- ACT Writers' Festival zine fair each June
- http://www.mca.com.au/Annual MCA Zine Fair. Held yearly at the exhibitors hall at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Showcasing zines, design and art by emerging and established creatives.
Canada
- Canzine in Toronto and Vancouver, the largest annual Canadian zine event, organised by the publishers of Broken Pencil.
- Expozine held annually in Montréal
- Le Rendez-vous des publications parallèles held annually in Québec city
- North of Nowhere (NoN) Expo in Edmonton.
- Halifax Pop ExplosionHalifax Pop ExplosionThe Halifax Pop Explosion is a music festival that takes place every fall, two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada.-History:...
zine fair, held annually in Halifax
United Kingdom
- London Zine Symposium.
- Manchester Zine Fest.
- Publish And Be DamnedPublish And Be DamnedPublish And Be Damned is an annual independent publishing fair in London, United Kingdom. Its name comes from the retort of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington on being blackmailed by John Joseph Stockdale and Harriette Wilson.-Origin:...
- Zineswap.
- Birmingham Zine Festival.
United States of America
- 24 Hour Zine Thing
- Philly Zine Fest
- San Francisco Zine Festival.
- Salt Lake City Library Zine Day in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco, California.
- Portland Zine Symposium in Portland, Oregon.
- Allied Media Conference in Bowling Green, Ohio.
- Boston Zine Fair, formerly known as Beantown Zinetown.
- Madison Zine Fest in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Richmond Zine Fest in Richmond, Virginia.
- NJ Zine Fest in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
- Ephemera Festival in Chicago Ephemera Festival
- Brooklyn Zine Fest in Brooklyn, New York
- Chicago Zine Fest in Chicago
- ZAPP Zine Archive and Publishing Project in Seattle
- Twin Cities Zine Fest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Zine Fest Houston in Houston, Texas.
alt.zines
The UsenetUsenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
alt.zines was created in 1992 by Jerod Pore and Edward Vielmetti for the discussion of zines and zine-related topics. Since that time, alt.zines has seen more than 26,000 postings.
From the original alt.zines charter: "alt.zines is a place for reviews of zines, announcements of new zines, tips on how to make zines, discussions of the culture of zines, news about zines, specific zines and related stuff."
"Related stuff" has included almost everything under the sun. Throughout the 1990s alt.zines was really the only forum for zinesters to promote, talk, and discuss small publishing issues and tips. And of course argue. It was a place where a zine reader or first time publisher could rub elbows with infamous zinesters. Some of the more infamous alt.zines personalities have included R. Seth Friedman, Rev. Randall Tin-Ear, Doug Holland
Doug Holland
Doug Holland played guitar for hardcore punk bands Kraut and the Cro-Mags.He was also a bartender at the A7 in New York City in the early 1980s.-References:*Blush, Steven . American Hardcore. Los Angeles: Feral House. ISBN 0-9229-15-717-7....
, Jeff Kay, "Ninjalicious" (AKA Jeff Chapman), Sky Ryan, Tim Brown, Josh Saitz, Dan Halligan, Heath Row, Jeff Koyen
Jeff Koyen
Jeff Koyen, born in 1969 in suburban New Jersey, is an American journalist living in Venice Beach, CA. He is a graduate of Rutgers University. He has worked as a freelance travel and culture writer, filing with Travel and Leisure, The New York Times, New York magazine, Radar, New York Post, New...
, Bob Conrad, Jen Angel, Seth Robson, Karl Wenclas
Karl Wenclas
Karl "King" Wenclas is a founder and the former Publicity Director and front man of the Underground Literary Alliance...
, Asha Anderson, Emerson Dameron, Jerod Pore, Jim Goad
Jim Goad
Jim Goad is an American author and publisher. Goad co-authored and published the cult zine ANSWER Me! and The Redneck Manifesto. Known for his controversial political and socially charged viewpoints, Goad's work has been described as "compelling", "brutally honest" and "original" by author Chuck...
, Cullen Carter, Steen Sigmund, Darby Romeo, Jim Hogshire
Jim Hogshire
James Frederick Hogshire is a counterculture author of magazine articles, short stories, and a number of books...
, Debbie Goad
Debbie Goad
Debra "Debbie" Goad was assistant editor of the magazine ANSWER Me!.-Biodata:She was born as Debra Susan Rosalie in Brooklyn, New York. Her husband, Jim Goad, was the magazine's primary writer and editor...
, Cali Macvayia, Don Fitch, Jeff Potter, Joel McClemore, Kris Kane
Kris Kane
Kris Kane is a Scottish field hockey player, who was a member of the national squad that finished 8th in the 2003 European Nations Cup in Barcelona. The goalkeeper plays for Western Wildcats, and has won five Scottish National League titles and four Scottish Cups...
, Marc Parker, Paul T. Olson, Robert W. Howington, Sean Guillory, Ruel Gaviola, Jeff Somers
Jeff Somers
-Literary career:Since 1995, Somers has published his zine The Inner Swine and has been a prolific contributor to alt.zines. The 21st century has seen Somers's transformation from an observational essayist into a science fiction writer of no small talent, "a gifted craftsman" with a "funky wit." ...
, Tom Hendricks
Tom Hendricks
Tom Hendricks is an American eccentric Dallas-based musician, painter, writer, and creator of a zine called Musea.-Musea:The Musea zine has been published since 1992 and currently has 175 issues. It includes reviews, art discussions, and often, articles about the problems with music and other...
, Chip Rowe, Brent Ritzel and Shaun Richman.
While today there are many other online forums for zinesters and traffic on alt.zines has slowed down dramatically since the zinester flame wars of yesteryear, alt.zines remains one of the most influential places on the web for zine publishers and readers alike. Many long-time alt.zines participants now contribute to ZineWiki
ZineWiki
ZineWiki is an open-source online wiki devoted to zines, fanzines, small press publications, chapbooks, and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.-History:...
.
Zines in fiction
The main character of a Canadian television show produced by the CBC called Our HeroOur Hero
Our Hero is a critically acclaimed television show on the CBC from 2000 to 2002. It ran for 26 episodes over two seasons, and was syndicated in the U.S. and U.K....
, Kale Stiglic (Cara Pifko
Cara Pifko
Cara Pifko is a Canadian actress known primarily for her work on television shows produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation....
) created her own zine.
Damien Broderick
Damien Broderick
Damien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer. His science fiction novel The Judas Mandala is sometimes credited with the first appearance of the term "virtual reality," and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the...
's novel Transmitters follows a small group of Australian science fiction fans through their lives over several decades. Pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
s of fanzine writing (from fictitious fanzines) form some of the text of the novel.
Set in the 80s and 90s zine heyday, Walking Man by Tim W. Brown is a comic novel written in the form of a scandalous tell-all biography that portrays the life and times of Brian Walker, publisher of the zine Walking Man, who rises from humble origins to become the most famous zinester in America.
In the novel Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger, the main character John begins writing a zine called Bananafish after reading other people's zines he found at Tower Records. One of these zines is written by a girl named Marisol who writes a zine called Escape Velocity. After reading her zine, John decides to meet her and their friendship grows from there.
Lunch Money, a children's book by Andrew Clements, has sixth-grader Greg Kenton creating and selling mini comic books, as a way to make money, which leads to one of his classmates making her own publication.
In the Nickelodeon cartoon show Rocket Power
Rocket Power
Rocket Power is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon.-Premise:Rocket Power involves the daily situations of a group of best friends named Oswald "Otto" Rocket, Regina "Reggie" Rocket, Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez, and Sam "Squid" Dullard, as they live in the fictional...
, one of main cast characters, Reggie, publishes her own zine about action sports.
Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing is a semi-fictional depiction of the anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
and riot grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
scene in early 90s Washington, DC.
See also
- Amateur press associationAmateur press associationAn amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
- Artist's book
- ChapbookChapbookA chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
- Cometbus
- ComicsComicsComics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
- Ezine
- FanzineFanzineA fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
- Hugo Award for Best FanzineHugo Award for Best FanzineThe Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
- Information activistInformation activistAn information activist is someone who works to make information available to the general population. Library and Information Scientist Anthony Molaro coined the term in 2009: "An information activist is a vigorous advocate of knowledge gained through study, communication, research or instruction."...
- List of minicomics creators
- MinicomicMinicomicA minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term "small press comic" is equivalent with minicomic reserved for those publications measuring A6 or less...
- PerzinePerzinePerzines are a genre of zines; the "per" meaning "personal". Although most zines could be considered personal in that they represent the opinionated work of one person, this term describes zines that are written about one's own personal experiences, opinions and observations...
- Punk zinePunk zineA punk zine is a zine devoted to punk culture, most often punk rock music, bands, or the DIY punk ethic. Punk zines are the most likely place to find punk literature....
- SamizdatSamizdatSamizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
- Underground comixUnderground comixUnderground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
- United Fanzine Organization
- Webzine
- ZineWikiZineWikiZineWiki is an open-source online wiki devoted to zines, fanzines, small press publications, chapbooks, and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.-History:...
Books and films about zines
- Bartel, Julie. From A to Zine: Building a Winning Zine Collection in Your Library. American Library Association, 2004.
- Biel, Joe $100 & a T-shirt: A Documentary About Zines in the Northwest. Microcosm Publishing, 2004, 2005, 2008 (Video)
- Block, Francesca LiaFrancesca Lia BlockFrancesca Lia Block is the author of adult and young adult fiction, short stories, screenplays and poetry, most famously the Weetzie Bat series. Block wrote her first book, Weetzie Bat, while a student at UC Berkeley; it was published in 1989 by Harper Collins. She is known for her use of imagery,...
and Hillary CarlipHillary CarlipHillary Carlip is an American author, screenwriter, performance artist, and singer.-Career:Carlip's first book Girl Power: Young Women Speak Out was published in 1995. Her second book, Zine Scene, which she designed herself and co-wrote with Francesca Lia Block, won an American Library Association...
. Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines. Girl Press, 1998. - Brent, Bill. Make a Zine!. Black Books, 1997 (1st edn.), ISBN 0-9637401-4-8. Microcosm PublishingMicrocosm PublishingMicrocosm Publishing is an independent publisher and distributor based in Portland, Oregon and Leavenworth, Kansas. They distribute ideas through zines, books, pamphlets, stickers, buttons, patches, t-shirts, posters, videos, and more. They publish zine and book works by others in the hopes that it...
, with Biel, Joe, 2008 (2nd edn.), ISBN 978-1934620069. - Brown, Tim W. Walking Man, A Novel. Bronx River Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9789847-0-0.
- Duncombe, Stephen. Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture. Microcosm Publishing, 1997, 2008. ISBN 1-85984-158-9.
- Kennedy, Pagan. Zine: How I Spent Six Years of My Life in the Underground and Finally...Found Myself...I Think (1995) ISBN 0-312-13628-5.
- Piepmeier, Alison . Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism. NYU Press. (2009) ISBN 978-0814767528
- Spencer, Amy. DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture. Marion Boyars Publishers, Ltd., 2005.
- Watson, Esther and Todd, Mark. "Watcha Mean, What's a Zine?" Graphia, 2006. ISBN 978-0618563159.
- Vale, V. Zines! Volume 1 (RE/SearchRE/SearchRE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded and edited by Andrea Juno and V. Vale in 1980. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy , and was started with $100 from Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
, 1996) ISBN 0-9650469-0-7. - Vale, V. Zines! Volume 2 (RE/SearchRE/SearchRE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded and edited by Andrea Juno and V. Vale in 1980. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy , and was started with $100 from Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
, 1996) ISBN 0-9650469-2-3. - Wrekk, AlexAlex WrekkAlex Wrekk is the pen-name for a Portland, Oregon, DIY, feminist, zinester and author. The self-published writer is most commonly known for her book, Stolen Sharpie Revolution, and her ongoing zine, Brainscan....
. Stolen Sharpie Revolution. Portland: Microcosm PublishingMicrocosm PublishingMicrocosm Publishing is an independent publisher and distributor based in Portland, Oregon and Leavenworth, Kansas. They distribute ideas through zines, books, pamphlets, stickers, buttons, patches, t-shirts, posters, videos, and more. They publish zine and book works by others in the hopes that it...
, 2003. ISBN 0-9726967-2-5.
External links
- Alt.zines newsgroup via Google GroupsGoogle GroupsGoogle Groups is a service from Google Inc. that supports discussion groups, including many Usenet newsgroups, based on common interests. The service was started in 1995 as Deja News, and was transitioned to Google Groups after a February 2001 buyout....
- Zine (zeen) listing
- Zine World (review zine)
- DIYSearch (search engine and community for the DIY underground with numerous zine listings)