Author: Nyx

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Plague: Day 6

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Day One: It’s a Friday. Who doesn’t love a Friday? I don’t. Wanderer wandered home from the pub with an invisible enemy latched on…

Day Two: What a miserable start to the long weekend. A mere 12 hours after taking hold in Wanderer, The Plague has sunk its claws into me, too.

Day Three: My Plague is not Wanderer’s Plague. We are experiencing very different symptoms. Casa de Nyx is under quarantine.

Day Four: Wanderer is very slightly improved. We’ll take any good news. I am mostly improved, but I must head to the medic for other complications.

Day Five: Wanderer has slept most of the day. I think that’s good. I’m mostly recovered from my Plague, but I’m sneezing a lot… Like Wanderer did at the start of his Plague.

Day Six: Wanderer is almost completely recovered from his Plague. I am now in the middle of his Plague. Two plagues… Complications… I am reduced to watching YouTube videos all day.

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Call for Submissions: Dear Anonymous 4

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Dear Anonymous has a rolling, open submission, so you can submit your letters at any time!

DA4 is on its way, and you still have time to get your letters in. These letters can be confessionals, but they can also be whatever you like them to be. Write to your life, write to your cat, write to your past or your future… Dear Anonymous is about writing the letters of the things you can’t say for whatever reason.

Basically, you’re right in the 1 – 500 words range, but shorter is better. BUT, this zine is about expression, and I don’t want to force anyone to clamp down on their passion just for me. I’m flexible.

Send letters to theauthor at inkyblots.com If I don’t respond to you within a few days, comment here.

All contributors will receive a PDF copy. (Possibly a print copy depending on my financial status at the time of printing.)

*** Do you have a call for submissions for your zine? Let me know!

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Zine Review: Cultural Tease #4

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Cultural Tease #4
Scarlett
A6
http://culturalteasezine.tumblr.com/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/CulturalTease

Zines like Cultural Tease that are a collection of images and words make me a little nervous. Whether I like it or not, I always have this niggle in the back of my mind that I won’t ‘get’ it. I do console myself, though, with the thought that the people who make these zines don’t want me feeling that at all.

Cultural Tease 4 is a combination of quotes, images and a little text bit that I really liked. In fact, I quite liked a lot about this zine. Some of the writing was nearly sucked into the fold, but I could still read everything. I felt a little disappointed about the photos; I get that copiers take away quality, but a touch more clarity would have been good.

The opening quote about a suitcase (I’ll let you read it) got me thinking ‘Schrodinger’s Suitcase’, which was quite amusing. The interior part I mentioned before was about thinking through a ‘teenage’ show of rebellion. While I haven’t thought of that specifically, the thought process was so familiar that I actually laughed out loud. Been there (so many times), done that (so many times).

All up, I’m happy I came across this zine. I’m looking forward to checking out other editions.

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Call for Submissions: Found Photography Zine

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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!

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Call for Submissions: Cemetery Gates 2 – Spirituality

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Cemetery Gates has been doing well. I am ready to announce the next issues theme: spirits. I am not talking about techno-spiritualism: machines that go beep and bloop, garbled messages you think mean something or trying to make a profit off of people’s vulnerability. I will be discussing spirituality, the afterlife, making connections to the ones we love after they are gone.

Would you like to submit? If you have ever gotten a message/sign/something tangible from a dearly departed loved one please share your story. I am looking for short & sweet: 50 – 100 words. If I use your story you will get a copy once the zine is completed. Submissions are due via email by June 15 2015. Email me at: missmuffcake[a]aol.com with submissions or any questions. Thank you!

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Zine Review: The Beginner’s Book of Awesome Affirmations V.3

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The Beginner’s Book of Awesome Affirmations V.3
Jess Freedom
US-size half-fold
http://jessfreedomzine.tumblr.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/jessfreedomzine

The Beginner’s Book of Awesome Affirmations is exactly that – a starting point for anyone who would like to give affirmations a go but doesn’t know where to start (for whatever reason).

I will be honest here: usually these kinds of zines usually piss me off. I’m bipolar, so someone telling me that I can think my way out of something rubs me the wrong way. But I love this zine. There’s a certain energy to it that spells out Jess’ efforts not to tell you what to do but to encourage you to try.

The entire feel of this zine is awesome. It’s a cut and paste extravaganza with photo images mixed in with hand-drawn art. The pages are fun to read and to look at. She does muck around with the font size, but only a little bit and not so much that it becomes any sort of distraction. In a way, it reminds me of Dr Seuss and how half the journey is a visual one.

How much do I love this woman for her contact page? A lot, that’s how much. There are links, an email address, and a snail mail address. They are all easy to read while still being written all over a page of crazy stars and sketches. Well done, Jess Freedom.

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Zine Reviews: YOU, My Learnings, & Mini Moz Fanzine

Last Thursday, a friend contacted me about proofreading his novel – by Monday. It’s hard to say no to a paying job, so I told him I’d have a go. I managed to do it by editing from Friday arvo to Sunday night with breaks only for sleeping. I’m actually proud of getting it done on time, but I had to put everything else aside. I still haven’t caught up.

I have a few smaller zines for you this week, so I figured I would review them in one post. Not to take away from the awesomeness and importance of mini-zines. More that I figure two or three mini-zines adds up to the prattling I do on one bigger zine.

I apologise for the pics being a little dark. First up, a poster edition of YOU.

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I’ll be honest: I can’t resist a free zine – even in poster form. I’m a big fan of YOU in all its incarnations. If you want to know more about that, then check out this post.

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My Learnings
Heard
A7
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My Learnings is a very simple mini-zine filled with simple life truths – most of which are fewer than seven words. It’s not a complex read by any means, but perhaps that is the point. It’s a quick read but a pleasant one.

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Mini Moz Fanzine
Alice Belle
A7… or is it! Surprise when you fold it out to A4

Mini Moz is a passionate tribute to Morrissey. Not quite the traditional mini-zine, you don’t just read it through. There are different bits written in different directions, making it more of an exploration. I quite liked that unexpected treat – even if I’m not all that familiar with Morrissey.

*****

Both mini-zines do prod a pet peeve of mine, which is no contact details, no blog URL, so on and so forth. I don’t begrudge anyone the desire to remain anonymous (Dear Anonymous, anyone?), but I would have liked to check out more. Especially Mini Moz given she’s such a talented artist.

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Call for Submissions: Whiskers on Kittens – Self-Care Zine

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Looking for submissions for a self-care/positivity zine about the little things that make blue days better. This can be things you do, things you wear, sensations, sounds, songs, etc, – anything that makes you feel safer, warmer, stronger, and a little bit better.

I’m looking mostly for things that are short and sweet – art, poems, photos, etc – but feel free to submit short stories or essays if yr feeling loquacious. The final pages will be printed 4×4 in., b&w, so please make sure yr submissions are square (or let me know it’s okay to reformat).

All contributors will receive a free copy of the zine, which has a tentative release date of June 5. Please send submissions to annnamaize@gmail.com by May 25. Let me know if you have any questions!