Nyx – Page 256

September 17, 2016

Call for Submissions: Training Wheels

Training Wheels Zine Call for Subs

September 16, 2016

Call for Submissions: BFFL.

BFFL Zine

BFFL.
Izzy Leslie
@badplantmom

BFFL is a zine by Izzy Leslie all about her friendship with her friends Sam and Annie.

BFFL made me miss the closeness I had with my female friends when I was younger. Izzy talks about how their friendship came to be as well as the facets of that friendship such as secrecy and intimacy. I was surprised and a little sad about how much I had forgotten, and it was lovely to read about it when written by someone who seems to hold nothing back.

Aesthetically, this zine is very impressive. It’s 16 (front and back, covers included) glossy, full-colour pages. I feel like those choices really suited the topic and energy of this zine.

I think you’ll have a fair idea of your interest in this zine from the first sentence of review. I’m glad this zine exists because I think it’s a great example of how a zine doesn’t necessarily need to be shouting at the world. It can be about that something special for you. It can be about your friends, for your friends.

One more beautiful thing about zines.

September 15, 2016

Zine Review: Functionally Ill 19: Fully Favorable

functionally-ill-19-fully-favorable

Functionally Ill 19: Fully Favorable
Laura-Marie
www.etsy.com/shop/robotmad
dangerouscompassions.blogspot.com

Functionally Ill: Fully Favorable is the 19th is a nine-years-running (at the time this zine was made – it’s not dated) zine about Laura-Marie’s journey from the first diagnosis of bipolar disorder. In this issue, Laura-Marie shares some snippets from letters she’s written as well as touches on Social Security hearings, leaving a therapist behind, new psychiatrists, and more.

Functionally Ill doesn’t go into a lot of background or history beyond the brief introduction. Usually I would find that distracting from the content right in front of me, but something about Laura-Marie’s writing put me right into the moment where I didn’t need more information. I want it – I want to read more zines in this series – but it wasn’t distracting.

Laura-Marie’s experiences with Dr R made me angry about heavy-handed psychiatrists, and, thought this zine, I got a glimpse into what it’s like to try to get Social Security payments in the US. I liked that excerpts of letters to others were in the mix, showing the subtle differences in writing voice but almost getting a different perspective on events.

There’s a lot to be said for using zines as therapy, especially when you have a mental illness. However, there is also a lot to be said for using zines as a way to get past stereotypes and gain perspective. Though this was a brief look, it was an interesting one.

September 14, 2016

Posting Possibilities

There’s something so utterly right about alliteration. For me, anyway.

Ahem.

Calls for submissions! They go up on Saturdays and Sundays here on the blog, and it’s usually only one or two per day.

September seems to be the time of year when people are really getting going with making zines. A bunch of new calls for submissions have come in, and I’m loving it. It is leaving me wondering, though…

How many posts per day is too many?

I want to feature all calls regularly, but I’m aware that some people are subscribed here via email. The more calls that go up on a given day, the more emails that email subscribers have to deal with.

Granted, this is only a potential ‘problem’ for a while. Many calls end at the end of this month, and others end at the end of October. I’m thinking that having a big weekend this weekend for calls for subs will be okay, and then I’ll try to spread them out as evenly as possible while still getting everyone posted regularly.

Still, I’m wondering if I should cap it at three per day. Four? Six? I’m not sure.

Thoughts? Preferences?

September 13, 2016

Done, Doing, Dreaming

Rain

Done

*My interview with Zine Nation is up right here! Just in case you missed it.
*The Zine Review Index is now up to date.
*The Calls for Submissions category has and will have a lot of new calls coming out, so be sure to check it out. Calls go up on Saturdays and Sundays (Oz time).
*I am so done with winter. Is it possible for me to just say that, and spring will magically begin in Australia? That would be lovely.

Doing

*Dear Anonymous 5, DCMC 5, and DAFUQ aren’t listed on Etsy yet, but they will be soon.
*I’m still working on a post series all about the basics of becoming a zinemaker. If you have any questions, let me know!
*Don’t forget the Zine Videos page. I am adding to it whenever I find new zine videos, so be sure to call out if you find any.
*If you hadn’t already heard, We Make Zines – the place for all things zine – is closing down at the end of this month due to a dramatic rise in cost. I’m not able to do much, but if you know about coding and site migration, be sure to stop by this thread and let Quasifesto know that you’re willing to help out.

Dreaming

*I’m still dreaming of the same things. At this point, I feel mostly stuck, but I do have my handy dandy notebook for things that I want to make into reality.
*I have my little can for coins and notes in the effort to save up for my badge machine. I’m getting nervous that it’s not a good investment… but sometimes one must leap, yes?
*I’m also dreaming of the possibilities of videos, podcasts, so on and so forth. If you have a preference for a specific kind of media (YouTube, Vimeo, podcasting on the wide variety of sites, Snapchatting, something) feel free to start up a chat about it. Tell me who/where your favourites are.
*I’ve started dreaming about typewriters, but I’m not sure if the reality will be as awesome as the dream due to upkeep…

September 11, 2016