10 Reasons I Love Zines – International Zine Month 2015
Yes, of course this was really posted on July 1st Australia time. I don’t backpost because it irritates me when something doesn’t go up on time…
Enough about that. Happy zine time!
10 Reasons I Love Zines
- It’s not about the money. No one (well, no one I’ve ever heard of) make zines to make money, so there is love, passion and desire there that you don’t find in a lot of other areas.
- It’s a means to connect. Most of the time, I am a happy little hermit living most of my life in the place I call home. But that doesn’t mean I don’t crave connection, and zines are a beautiful way to do that. Whatever your ‘thing’, you’ll find a zine for it.
- Zine people are awesome. They get it. Whatever ‘it’ is, they understand. From dramas with your long-armed stapler to offerings at the shrine of the COPY MACHINE, they’re with you.
- If variety is the spice of live, then the land of zines has the best curry in town. (Not sure if that really works, but go with me.) This is kind of like #2 from a different angle. I’ve found zines about natural ways to keep your lady parts healthy, graphs on day-to-day life, thoughts on the sex industry, wordless art, nutella recipes and so much more!
- People want to share. This is another angle for #2. I’m a voyeur at heart (head out of the gutter, thanks), and zines let me get into other people’s heads without being weird or stalkerish. It’s in the natures of a good chunk of the population to tell their stories, and that’s like an Easter chocolate sale, birthday, long-awaited holiday, birthday, fireworks Christmas to someone like me. No, I don’t like all the stories I read, but I do like filling a ball pit with zines and – …I mean, there are always stories out there waiting to be read.
- No pressure. In another life path, I write books. There is always pressure there. Some of it’s good/fun – “When is the next book coming out?” – and some of it is completely ridiculous self-abuse – “How did someone like me manage to even finish a book?! My writing is awful!” – but it’s always there. People sometimes do ask about the next Dear Anonymous, but the conversation is something more like: “When is the next Dear Anonymous coming out?” “No idea.” “Cool. Looking forward to it.” No pressure, loves.
- Affordable. Because most zine makers are not in it to make money, zines are affordable! I can feel like an absolute zine hoarder with no guilt at all because it cost me what one or two books (f*cking GST) would cost me in a shop. That’s Australian-ish in that books are f*cking expensive here, but that’s another rant for another day. I will have ALL THE ZINES. <3
- Free to be me. I have Bipolar Disorder amongst a few other alphabet soup labels that I don’t pay much attention to. That sometimes mean I run around the house laughing while trying to tickle Wanderer. (Wanderer is not and has never been ticklish.) Other times, I go on lockdown, set my phasers to stun, and use my super doona for protection from the world. The zine world is probably the only world I inhabit where I feel totally comfortable not only admitting that but being that. I’ve never received judgment from a fellow zine maker. Never.
- Arts and crafts for the win. One of the reasons zines have so much variety is because you can do anything with them. Draw, colour, cut, paste, write, type, spray paint… Zines that aren’t specifically art zines are still art
- Voice of the people. Now, I don’t want to get political because that is not my area. But I do recognise that things are pretty shitty in many ways (and beautiful in others), and there isn’t a lot of trust in government or media. People need zines and other forms of underground/alternative expression to share ideas and feel like they are being heard. I hate to think about what the world would be like today without it.
Woooooo. There’s my list. If you’ve shared yours, let me know. Let the zine love flow!
International Zine Month (July!) 2015!
It’s that time again!
I say again, but this is really my first IZM insofar as actually participating and such. I have no idea what my participation is going to look like, as I’d really like to wrap up the first draft of my fourth novel by the end of the month. Ah, well. I’m a seat-of-my-pants kind of woman anyway. If you’re like me and want some ideas, Stolen Sharpie Revolution has something for you to do every day of the month! Whee!
Happy Mail!
Woo! Plenty of happy mail to be happy about. I ordered a few bits and pieces for myself that have been sitting on my wishlist for ages (I’m talking years for a couple things).
(If I’ve already talked about any of these – oops! It’s been pretty crazy this month.)
I have some awesome masking stickers, adorable cloud sticky notes as well as little rabbit sticky notes (including a ninja!) from My Paper Shoppe on Etsy. I also received a couple of envelopes from the ol’ USA. One was a card to say hello and one had four mini-zines in it! Zines A Go Go on Facebook recently got a mailing list of sorts going. It was great to receive something so soon!
In the back is a large box that looks like it should have cling wrap in it. It actually contains Tim Holtz tissue paper. I’ve been after this stuff for ages for my mixed media canvases. Yay! Last up comes The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I sampled it on Amazon and found it on Wordery. It’s a strange book in some ways, but it’s certainly a kick in the balls if you’ve been letting self-pity keep you from accomplishing [insert your creative endeavour].
I do love all the bits and bobs, but I find myself craving a fun international swap with lots of stationery, sweets and strange (just to keep with the alliteration) things. Posting to/from Australia is a beast, though, so that’ll have to be something I save up for.
CALL FOR ZINE SUBMISSIONS: Gay Marriage, Now What?
“Now What” is a forward-thinking zine that celebrates the recent triumph in gaining marriage equality by asking the question, “now that marriage is legal, what’s next?” Consider the following questions:
Will the gays queer marriage, or will marriage straighten the gays?
Is this the end of GLB civil rights?
What is next for you after marriage?
How has marriage changed (or NOT changed) your relationship?
Who is being forgotten, left behind, or ignored?
Who is not served by marriage?
Who is marriage actually serving?
What kinds of new discrimination will be faced by queer people despite marriage equality?
Will there be “Queer Crow” laws?
How is marriage not equitable for all?
What will be the next big civil rights fight? What should it be?
Does gay marriage make this a “post-gay” society? What does that even mean?
Do gays still need allies?
What does responses to marriage equality reveal about our society?
Now what?
If you have a rant, essay, poem, story, personal narrative, blurb, academic paper, fiction of any genre, or piece of visual art work that address the “now what” of a post marriage equality world, any of the questions above, or anything I have left out, SEND IT IN! Chosen submission get 2 free copies of the zine. In the unlikely event profit is made off this zine (HA!) it will be donated to a LGBTQ charity.
Submission should be sent to wabisabizinez@gmail.com. And that is zineZ with a Z.
There is no limit on length (long or short), although 2000 words or less is best for most attention spans. Visual art should be scaled to fit in a 5.5 inch wide by 8.5 inch tall page (approx A5 size). The zine will be black and white, possibly with a color cover – so do keep that in mind as you submit visual art. You may submit in any file format. Again, chosen submission get 2 free copies of the zine. In the unlikely event profit is made, it will be donated to a LGBTQ charity.
Please share!
Call for Submissions: Found Photography Zine
Open call for submissions for a new found photography zine (title coming soon) based in Houston, Texas! “Found photos are generally acquired at flea markets, thrift and other secondhand stores, yard sales, estate and tag sales, in dumpsters and trash cans, between the pages of books, or literally just ‘found’ anywhere.”
Please send in a scanned image (JPEG or TIFF preferred, at least 300 dpi) of your found photograph along with 2-3 sentences of where you found it (or if you are feeling inspired, send in a story!) and basic contact info to foundphotozinetx@gmail.com. If you don’t need the original photograph, you may send it to the following address to be included in the zine:
Found Photography Zine
PO Box 920740
Houston, TX 77292
There is no submission deadline. Release date for zine TBD, but hopefully in time for this year’s Zine Fest Houston in October. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about submitting. Thank you!
My Head Hurts
I knew this week was going to be hard thanks to our dogs being kicked off the property for two days (while a new back fence was installed), a rental inspection, and a to-do list long enough to rival super-big toilet paper rolls.
Yet my expectations weren’t quite large enough, and I’m sitting here on a Friday night feeling sorry for myself and grumpy because I didn’t get any reviews up this week. Sigh.
So here’s something funny. It simply won’t do to be self-pitying for long.
Adam Hills on Australian Accents
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBYnL5fAXE&w=560&h=315]
I Hate Renting
Back to regular programming tomorrow.
Continue reading “I Hate Renting”
Zine Call for Submissions: Moss Piglet
Call for Submissions: Bullying Zine
Looking for stories/essays (up to 500 words), poems (250-300 words) and artwork on the subject of ‘Bullying’.
Subject matter may include:
-confronting bullies & the outcome
-friends/peers/teachers who don’t intervene(bystanders)
-dealing with trauma/triggers (coping strategies)
-mental health (depression, anxiety, etc)
-thoughts of self-harm/suicide/revenge
-reaching out for help
-being ostracized (feelings of isolation, worthlessness, shame, grief, guilt, anger)
-what you would like to say to your bullies
-has bullying changed the ways you view peer groups today
-understanding bullies
-forgiveness (making peace)
Did the bullying take place in:
-elementary school
-high school
-college/university
-workplace
-community
*Please let us know if you would like to use your real name, an alias or if you wish to remain anonymous (or if you are writing/sending it on behalf of someone you know).
No fictionalized work, please.
Am accepting submissions until August 31st, 2015.
Email submissions to: sandra_reiki_@hotmail.com
Each contributor will receive a free copy of the zine.
Thank you.*