For the love of zines
I’m sure I’m probably breaking the internet in some way by putting up a birthday meme for myself, but what can I say? I actually like birthdays!
I have recorded the Happy Mail Monday video, but friends have convinced me that I shouldn’t be working too hard on my birthday, so the editing will wait until tomorrow.
As always, thank you all for your kindness and understanding. I’m feeling truly positive for the first time in a long time, and it’s due in such a large part to all of you.
Applications are now open for Coin-Operated Press’s Festivals Zine!
We were so gutted to learn that the Edinburgh Festivals were cancelled this year – and so many other wonderful festivals throughout the world – due to Covid-19! This is a massive blow to the art community, so we wanted to celebrate our love for festivals, music, and the performing arts by spreading the festival love with this zine!
Send us your show posters! Tell us all about the shows you were looking forward to! Regale us with stories about past events you have visited! Share with us your cancelled show! Let us know if there are any virtual festival events that you are a part of that we can broadcast in this zine! Write tips and tricks for festival-goers for the future!
We are looking for: articles, illustrations, short stories, photography, poetry, artwork of any medium, adverts, posters, flyers, short essays, recipes, comic-strips, reviews, collage, and anything else you can put your imagination to.
Please only submit work that will fit on 1-2 A4 pages. If you have work that is longer/larger than this, please send us an inquiry email, as we would like to be open to including longer formats.
Be sure to send us the following details along with your submission please:
*The name/credit you would like printed in the zine.
*Your pronouns.
*The city and/or country that you live in.
*Any contact details that you would like printed in the zine.
*A short one-sentence bio.
*A profile photo or image for your bio.
*Title of your work.
*A short description of your work and how it fits with the theme.
If you wish to remain anonymous, that is absolutely fine – just be sure to let us know when you submit your piece.
The deadline is midnight BST on Tuesday 15th August 2020.
Please send submissions to coinoperatedpress@gmail.com
For more information on the submission process, please visit our FAQs at https://coinoperatedpress.com/call-for-submissions/
Hello, friends! After the last video, I wanted to give you all a short update on how things are going since letting you know about my mental health difficulties. Thank you all for being amazing.
Checking in. 💜
I wasn’t sure about making the video, let alone posting it to YouTube. What’s too much information? What’s going too far? Is this what radical vulnerability is? What am I leaving myself open to by talking about my mental health issues?
But I’ve always been one who says you are not alone. I’ve always been about being open about my own issues because if it helped even just one person talk and reach out when they are struggling, then it’s always worth it.
So yesterday I posted the video about what’s been happening. Why I’ve been falling behind. Why I get teary pretty easily and have been trying to thank you all so much in previous videos but keep feeling like it’s not enough.
I reached out.
And you have been reaching back. 💜
I still don’t have the words to express everything… but perhaps ‘thank you’ will be enough for now.
I got out of bed. I made myself a cup of tea.
Upward and onward.
Hello, zine friends. This was a hard video to make, but… it’s one I’ve been saying I’d make for a long time.
I debated making this video, then debated posting it. What’s too much information, what do people want or need to know… In the end, I decided to go ahead and post because I feel as strongly as I ever have that we should be able to express ourselves about our mental health. Reach out when we need to. Talk about what we feel comfortable talking about.
This is a chat about what’s been happening, what I’m dealing with, and why I’ve fallen so far behind in pretty much everything.
Please note the warning at the start of the video.
Hello, zine friends! We ended up with a pretty big video, so it only uploaded today instead of yesterday. All the zine goodness is hard to handle sometimes. Hahaha. Check out some lovely goodness from all around the world.
Thank you so much for watching.
***
Awesome People/Places/Spaces Mentioned:
*Izalixe Straightheart – https://www.youtube.com/user/izalixe
*Billy – https://www.patreon.com/iknowbilly
*Anna Gecko –
*Alternative Incite – https://butter-lamb.com/
*Fire as a Metaphor –
*True Zine Marin – https://www.instagram.com/truezinemarin/
*Stoner Zines – https://www.jacksonstoner.org/
*Brushfire Press – https://www.instagram.com/brushfirepress/
*Sugar Skull – https://www.instagram.com/overmydeadcopy/
*Word Tonic – https://www.instagram.com/word.tonic.press/
***
My PO Box:
Nyx
PO Box 378
Murray Bridge, SA 5253
Australia
***
You Can Find Me At:
seagreenzines@gmail.com
Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/seagreenzines
goodbye 2019, hello 2020
Bree
https://www.instagram.com/starlyart/
https://dczinefest.wordpress.com/2020/07/06/starly-arts-zine-table/
goodbye 2019, hello 2020 is an A5 black-on-lilac zine about saying goodbye to 2019 and what Bree is (/was at the time of making) looking forward to in 2020.
Amongst hand-drawn swirls, shapes, and other fun art goodbye 2019, hello 2020 launches right into things on the front inside cover with an introduction to the zine. Bree writes about reflecting and focusing on the important reflections rather than comparisons on the achievements of others (that can often lead to feeling bad). From there, Bree launches to a 2019 year in review that includes fun/cool things they did in 2019, favourite songs, and more. The second half is about 2020: what Bree was/is looking forward to for the year as well as goals for the year.
Each page has text in an easy-to-read font accompanied by art that adds that adds to the fun feel given by the font. The aesthetic mixes a zine feel with a scrapbook/diary feel that makes me wish I’d thought to make a zine like this at the start of the year.
I really like that Bree kept to the thoughts they expressed in the introduction, filling the 2019 reflections with great experiences and memories. I was so excited to see that Bree made their first zine in 2019. (A belated welcome to the zineverse!) And favourite songs! Music is a great way to express yourself, of course, but it’s also like a YouTube music hunt when I see a play list in a zine. Bree also lists out projects they worked on (mostly zines) so that is also a fun way to get to know their interests and creations.
Given we’re already more than halfway through 2020 and the way this year has gone, I was very curious about how it would feel. Would Bree’s goals and things they were/are looking forward to have changed dramatically because of what’s happened in the world? There are things that must have changed, certainly, but there were a lot of things I’m sure Bree was able to still do. One fun note is that Bree was looking forward to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and it turned out to be such an incredible hit.
I enjoyed this zine for the aesthetic as well as the feelings of optimism that came from it. I’d really love to see a ‘goodbye 2020, hello 2021’ zine from Bree next year about how they adjusted things and accomplished things given the unique challenges of the year.
Plus, I really like lists.
I think this is a nice, pleasant zine that you’ll enjoy if the things I’ve mentioned appeal to you. I’m also very curious about Bree’s other zines now, so even better!
Hello and Happy Friday, zine friends! It’s time again for a daily activity from the International Zine Month 2020 prompts list!
Today’s prompt:
This prompt! This prompt… Every year I have the same idea for this prompt, and every year I haven’t taught myself yet. I’m going to postpone this one and hope that I can make the time to do it because I think it’s a pretty cool idea…
My apologies for the boring post for today. The universe isn’t really letting up on the world just yet, is it? All we can really do is hold on tight, appreciate what we have, and try to 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 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.