Category: International Zine Month

Hello once more, zine friends! It’s time for another International Zine Month activity!

Today’s prompt:

Today’s prompt turned out to be a lovely surprise for me as I’d forgotten how long it’s been since I just looked up zines on Etsy. As in a general search. There are so many new distros that I haven’t seen before, and it was great to check them out. I ended up checking out and picking up a couple zines from an Australian shop Localamity.

It’s always great to see new zines and zinemakers out in the wild zineverse, so I definitely recommend zine surfing Etsy.

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Hello, zine friends! Welcome to day 22 of International Zine Month on day 23. Haha. Maybe it’s still the 22nd somewhere? And what a day it is!

Today’s prompt:

ZineTube! I looooove ZineTube and I love that zinemakers are expanding what they do to creating and sharing videos on YouTube. From videos to podcasts to art installations, I think that zines have always had and will continue to have this amazing potential to grow as we grow and provide us with ways to connect. The sky is the limit, as they say.

Here’s a short list of ZineTube goodness for your viewing pleasure (including the channel for yours truly):

Feral Publication
Ryan Pocket Thoughts
Sea Green Zines
Warglitter Zines
Zine Cuisine

If you know of any other zine YouTube channels, please let me know! I’d love to get the resources page all freshened up!

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Hello, zine friends! I hope this IZM catch-up post finds you well! I almost wrote mid-week catch up, but I just checked, and I’m ahead of myself. Hello, Tuesday! I didn’t mean to neglect you. Let’s see what IZM has in store…

Today’s prompt:

I wasn’t sure I would have anything to do for this prompt because I’ve had a Sea Green Zines flyer for a long time… but it being a long time meant that it needed some updating! Not only do I prefer to go by Nyx or Silver Nyx these days, I’ve added on some additional contact info. Plus a little freshening up for the look of it, and we end up with…

Voila! I’ve printed some off, and these will be going out in orders and trades. 🙂

Today’s prompt:

Hehe. Would you like to trade zines with me? 🙂 You can email me at seagreenzines(at)gmail.com if you’d like to set up a trade. Just remember that international mail can take a month or more longer than expected.

Today’s prompt:

Distro Day! I was really hoping to have the SGZ distro rebuilt by the time today rolled around, but we have to go with the flow of things, don’t we? Plus, more space for shouting out other distro goodness!

Portland Buttonworks is definitely an old favourite and the distro I have been ordering from the longest. I don’t think it was the very first place I ever ordered from, but it’s definitely amongst those in the early days of my zine newbieness. Haha.

That said, I want to shout out an Aussie favourite: Zine Gang Distro. They have a great assortment of comics and zines (even a charity zine – how awesome is that?!) by a variety of cool creators. I have my cart loaded up already just waiting for when I can place my next order. Definitely, definitely check them out.

Today’s prompt:

I’ve talked about this in the past more than once but…

“I once read in the a zine that…” something I thought was just one of my ‘quirks’ is actually a whole thing with a label and that I’m not alone.

Hello demisexuals! Pieces 13 will always be a zine that sticks out in my mind because it explained to me so much of my teenage days. So many things I didn’t understand about myself and why I was different to my friends.

Knowing you’re not alone in so many different ways will forever be one of the biggest reasons that zines are close to my heart. Connection means so much in life – even with a stranger’s words on paper. It’s a beautiful thing. I didn’t learn that *in* zines, but I’ve learned that *about* zines.

International Zine Month Day 21: Zine Library Day!

Today’s prompt:

Alas, there isn’t a zine library in my area, and, with things as they are, visiting places is a bit precarious anyway. On that note, the Zine Librarian Unconference has been cancelled.

But there is good news! There will be a virtual replacement for the conference.

Until then, does anyone know of any virtual libraries? I’m curious…

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Zines! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Do I make that joke every year? I think I make that joke every year.

Yes, friends, it is another day of luuuurve in the zineverse! Today’s prompt is:

1. They’re affordable. Affordability is in the eye of the beholder in a lot of ways. Generally speaking, though, zines are pretty affordable for the most part. A dollar or two, and you have some reading material and/or art to enjoy. A few more dollars, and you could have an adorable chunk of zineness ready for your enjoyment.

2. You can make them on any topic. My psych is still a bit mystified (in a good way) about the whole ‘zine thing’ and mentioned this yesterday, which is what brought it to mind. “So they can be about anything?” Why yes! Yes, they can! From a love of statistics to ‘How to Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off’, zines are awesome in the amount of variety to be found. I’m sure there’s a zine rule out there somewhere that if you can’t find a zine on a certain topic, it falls upon you to make that zine! (So says the Zine Fairy.)

3. No-pressure learning. I’ve mentioned a few times in the past how much I have learned from certain zines – not just about myself as a person but also in things I would learn in a classroom environment as well. I like learning with zines in any form because I can sit with the zine as long as I like. Research more if I want. Let things settle in my mind. Plus, there’s almost always the personal experiences written into what’s being taught, with makes it all the more pleasurable (for me) to learn. Plus, no homework. Haha.

4. New perspectives. Whether or not you agree with certain perspectives, I think there’s always value in being open enough to explore them. (Nuance in everything, of course.) With most things in life, there’s almost always at least one other way of looking at a person, place, event, etc. It’s good on a critical thinking skills level to remember that, but I think it’s also good to remember in the continuing to grow as a person side of things as well. Zines are an excellent way to open yourself to new perspectives in a way that’s more comfortable than other ways.

5. You are not alone. This has been the biggest, warmest hug of a lesson I have learned about making zines, reading zines, and connecting with other zinemakers. You are not alone. There were things about myself that I thought were just me things, things I didn’t even know were actual things that had labels(!), and so much more I have come to see and learn about myself thanks to the shared experiences of others.

On top of that, people have been so incredibly, incredibly supportive to each other in the zineverse on a number of different levels. It’s truly heartwarming and is a huge part of why I’m such a fluffy cloud of glitter enthusiasm for the zineverse.

And on that beautiful note… Until tomorrow… spread a little sunshine.

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Hello, zine friends, and happy mid-week to you all! And best wishes for improvement if the mid-week is less than happy for you. Today we have a lovely zine prompt that I really adore….

Today’s prompt:

Free zine day! Sharing is caring and some other lovely rhymes about spreading the zine love! Usually I offer to send a few physical copies of my zines out. Postage and mail delays being what they are, I’ve decided to try to give something new a chance… Let’s hope this works!

This link I’m about to put should make it easy (and free!) to get a digital copy of… drumroll…

Dear Anonymous 1

It *should* also be printable, so if you can print in A5, have fun!

I’ve had some problems in the past when it comes to digital versions of my zines and other people’s behaviour. But it has been a long time, and I like giving way too must to let the past keep me down for long! I hope the link works. I haven’t shared a digital download (outside of distro items) like this on the blog before. If you do have any troubles with it, let me know. You can always email me at seagreenzines@gmail.com

That’s me for today, dear zine friends! Until next time… spread a little sunshine.

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Here we are! The prompt for the 14th actually put up on the 14th haha. And what a day for it, too, given the prompt…

Zine love means a lot of different things to me… from taking the day to make a zine or a quiet cosy time to read a zine or five. Tonight, my Valenzines time for myself will be spent in the quiet warmth of a bubble bath with a yet-to-be-picked zine read.

Times continue on as they are, and we need to take the quiet moments as we’re able. I wish you all the best on this Tuesday, zine friends, and hope that the zineverse sends you some love.

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Hello, dear and wonderful zine friends!

No happy mail arrived over the past week, so I’m afraid I took the day for some much needed catching up. The to-do list never ends, my friends. It really never ends.

Today I’m going to do some catching up with the lovely zine prompts we have from the activity list!

Today’s prompt: Cook with a recipe you found in a zine! Post photos!

Darn me and my lack of taking photos!

Believe it or not, I’ve actually taken to cooking a lot more recently. I’m afraid they aren’t zine recipes as such, but a friend did get me Hello Fresh to try out (absolutely not sponsored, but I wish!). I’ve been having a lot of fun even when I’m tired at the end of the day. I’d forgotten how relatively quick and easy some roast veggies are. Sweet potatoes for the win. Yum!

I’ll never forget one of the first zines I ever bought because it was full of recipes that involved using Nutella! So sugar. So yum. Haha.

I don’t actually have many zines that include recipes (though Kendy’s Stay At Home Girlfriend has included some awesome vegan goodness!

If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

Today’s prompt:

Check out the new mini comic and zine specific shopping platform Mini Mart at https://poopsheetshop.com

It has finally happened, zine friends! So many of us have been talking about a zine-specific online platform for selling our zines, and the amazing Rick Bradford has gone and built one! Definitely head over, check out the shop, set up a shop as a seller if that is your wish, and spread the word! Zinemakers supporting zinemakers! We can do it as well as bring new people into the world of zines.

Today’s prompt: Write a letter or a message to a zinemaker.

Mail, glorious mail! (Yes, I’m singing that in my head as I type it.) You have to send it to receive it, and today is a wonderful reason to get some mail into the mail!

I have a big ol’ stack of mail to send out not to mention a long-overdue missive. So this prompt is partially done (on the day, in fact) thanks to emails with my amazing friend Fishspit but also not done because I think sending actual, physical mail is the kind of real deal completion of this activity that I’d like to do.

So if you are expecting mail from me – it’ll arrive… possibly next month due to mail delays. Hehe.

Today’s prompt: International Zine Day! Buy, share, or read zines from a country different than your own.

Sharing is caring, and supporting artists and creative individuals is caring, too! For today’s prompt, I decided to pick up some zines I’ve been curious about from Reflective Zines – https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ReflectiveZines – who are from the US. They create zines about mental health, which is always a topic I’m interested in, as well as other topics as well.

I’d love to know what others did for this fine zine day of international support!

Today’s prompt: ZineWiki Day! A Wiki just for zines! Add or update listings.

Today’s prompt is a bit of a tricky one. The Zine Wiki of Awesomeness (http://www.zinewiki.com/Main_Page) is still up and running. However… I can’t edit my page or do anything of the like anymore. I recall this from last year, and I don’t think we found out how to sort out the problems. If I recall correctly, some people don’t have a problem with it? It may be worth having a play in different browsers if you use more than one.

So for this day’s prompt, I’m going to poke around, be thankful to the zineverse the page still exists, and knock on wood that it not only stays but we get it fixed.

Today’s prompt: Make up a zine superstition and share it.

It’s a spooky day for the zineverse…

Now I don’t know this for sure, as I haven’t done it myself. I haven’t reached this point in a perzine series… However… I have heard that when you reach the 13th issue of a perzine series, how you write your perzine will influence your life until you write the 14th issue!

If it was a cleansing experience, your life will feel cleansed. If it was an angry experience, things will feel angry until that next issue! If you write from a place of peace and understanding, more peace and understanding will find you…

I’ve only written ten issues of Don’t Call Me Cupcake, so I guess I’ll find out if this one is true…

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Onto day seven!

Today’s prompt:

Distros!

Unfortunately, the SGZ distro disappeared during the site transfer. So… I have to build it up from scratch again starting with the shipping profiles. It’s completely my own fault for not being more careful, but that’s how we live and learn!

The first time I came across the word ‘distro’ was at least ten years ago when I was reading Stolen Sharpie Revolution. I knew then and there that I wanted to run a distro – even though SSR is very clear that there is a lot of work involved (and there certainly is).

I’ve always looked at a distro (short for distribution) as being a shop that primarily sells zines. It’s certainly a fairly simplistic answer, but I think it does the basic job. There are a lot of ins and outs regarding platforms, supporting independent artists and publishing, payment structures, so on and so forth.

Thinking about it, I should probably do an episode of the podcast about it…

On the Alex Wrekk does stuff page, Alex gets into more detail about the specifics regarding distros and how they work.

You can also check out resources page for a list of other distros (please let me know if your distro or a distro you know isn’t on the list). I’ve always found that looking at examples of the real deal (and the variety of different examples out there) is a great way to learn about anything.

That’s all for my catching up today, dear zine friends! I hope this day (or night) finds you well. Until next time…

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

And we’re back for day six in this day of catching up!

Today’s prompt:

Happy Zine Pride Day! Belated, of course, but that’s no reason to not celebrate! There were so many glorious creators to choose from (I wish I could support everyone all the time!), but I decided to pick up a couple of things I have had my eye on created by Zappix Art.

Zappix are are very cool. Along with zines, they make super fun plushies, stickers, and all sorts of awesome things. Not to mention their store is where I got my lovely bright green gummy bear earrings! Definitely check them out.

The second part to today is visit the Queer Zine Archive Project! From their site:

“The Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) was first launched in November 2003 in an effort to preserve queer zines and make them available to other queers, researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing and underground queer communities.”

Please keep in mind that QZAP is run partially on donations from visitors, so support them if you can. It’s super easy to donate and you feel great supporting a great project. ^_^

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

Hello and happy Thursday, zine friends! Let the catching up on IZM commence!

As always, these things are meant to be fun rather than stressful, so it’s always okay to skip a day, join in late, and otherwise do whatever you need to do to make the most of the zine goodness for the month. I am going to try to catch up in my own little ways though. Key phrase being little during super busy times! Hahaha.

Today’s prompt:

Sea Green Zines got rolling years and years back on zine reviews, and here we are today! There are plenty of zine reviews to be found in the Zine Review Index or checking out the zine review category as well because the index isn’t fully up to date.

However! Sharing is caring, glorious friends, and there are many other zine reviewers around! Please allow me to point you to three awesome people who not only review zines, but they do so on YouTube! (They’re also awesome, so…)

*Rich of Feral Publication – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqkHGWfc44M5znpDg5adSog
*Ryan of Pocket Thoughts – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIgwk4qcATCn4pawkuB_cw
*Craig of Five O’Clock Zine – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3FsK3mf3K624FxA1JEnrg

**If you are a zine reviewer! (Or do anything zine-related, really.) Please let me know! I’d love to add you to my resources page.

That’s all for me for the zine five prompt. Usually Thursdays around these parts are zine review days, but I have more catching up to do. The next post to come soon!

You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.