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Zine Review: Self Help #1

Self Help #1
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selfhelpzine@gmail.com

This zine is an exercise in self-therapy. It’s not about wallowing in self-pity, or blaming anyone, or trying to dwell unnecessarily on the past… it is necessary. I want to write this zine to help me figure out where I am now.

With a first page like that, you know where you’re going with a zine.

Self Help #1 is not only an exercise in self-therapy but also self-examination. The author examines their teenage years through their adult eyes. You might read that and think that it sounds cliche, but I found it really engaging. I think there’s something validations about looking back and realiseing that it’s not always “just teenage angst”. It’s ‘what we’ve learned’ without the sticky sweet high-horsing morals of an after-school special. These are real things learned by a real person.

I say ‘the author’ because I don’t think a name is mentioned at any point. It’s entirely possible that I missed it, but it also didn’t distract me as much as I thought it would.

I was surprised to see the articles that were included in the zine, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I feel like it might be a ‘meh’ point for people who read perzines purely for the personal stories. On the other hand, it could be the best of both worlds for other people with most of the articles credited so you could check out more info if you wanted.

The author touches a lot on the subject of perfectionism and how it can drive anxiety. While I’m very familiar with anxiety and perfectionist thinking, perfectionism as its own entity to deal with was new to me and interesting to read about.

The combination of subjects makes it into a zine that I think would hit the mark well with teens as well as those struggling with perfectionism.

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Happy Mail Monday – Overwhelmed by Generosity Edition

This week has been a happy week for happy mail indeed! Cute envelopes, shiny envelopes, letters, zines, and even an interesting heart sketch have made my post box and my life a better place!

Kendy P aka MissMuffcake sent me copies of The Stay at Home Girlfriend and her latest mini-zine! I feel so bad because the postage is so atrocious, but I am so, so thankful for zines in a zine series I love!

I had to take a picture of the envelope alone because it’s so cute! There’s even a kitty sketched on the front!

Happy mail from Germany in a shiny green envelope! I know, I know. Plenty of jokes to be made about Nyx loving shiny things. ^_^ Now a more spread out pic of the zines:

Queer Marshmallow of Queer Trash Distro saw my bullet journal zine on Instagram, and we set up a trade! We’ve both been rather short of spoons lately, so it took a little while, but it happened. Haha.

I am so thrilled. QM did not tell me that I would be receiving so many zines. What a wonderful surprise!

This was a great surprise in my post box today. A completely unexpected envie of happy mail all the way from the UK! Chloe Henderson sent art, zines, postcards, and a flier as well. I like seeing all the different ways people get the word out about their zines, art, and work.

And yes, that heart is exactly what you think it is. Hehehehe. I get to colour it in, too!

Chris has become one if the most prolific penpals I have ever had! There’s something lovely about settling into a cosy chair and reading a nice long letter.

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That’s all the mail for this week. Heaps! Seeing all the fun mail art, the colours, and all of that stuff makes me want to start making happy mail videos so I can better show everything off. If you think that would be fun, please let me know!

As always, I hope you are all having a wonderful week.

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Mail Note:

It’s a bit early, but I figure I should start getting the word out sooner rather than later… I’m moving later this year (late August or September). I will be setting up a new post box as soon as I can in the new location, but as we get closer (starting beginning of August-ish?), you may want to hold off on sending mail. I will get a redirect and everything set up, but I’m a smidge anxious about the whole thing.

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Call for Submissions: In Praise Zine

Fandom zine now accepting submissions!

What is fandom?

There are many different ideas about what fandom ‘is’, but according to my own experience, fandom is a group or community of fans who engage in discourse about a subject of common interest. The fan experience is what comprises a fandom, and what drives fan work and celebration.

What are you looking for?

Articles on any subject related to fandom, including fandom meta discussions. (e.g. the ‘right’ way to tag on AO3, your opinion on how creators and fans interact, an analysis of racism in a certain fandom)

Narrative Stories! I want to know how fandom has impacted you, personally. Did you meet your SO through fandom? Your best friend? Did you meet a creator at a con that changed your life? Why do you write fanfiction?

Interviews, reviews, and critiques. Have you spoken with an author about fandom? Or a fanfiction author about fandom? Do you have something to say about the way that a piece of media has treated its fans? Maybe you’ve reviewed all the cons in your area and have an opinion on the best ones?

Art and Comics: While we are not accepting fanart, we are accepting and encouraging fandom artists to write comics about the fan experience, fanfiction, fanart, talking to your fandom friends vs. non-fandom friends, how reviews make you feel, how characters make you feel, etc.

I want to contribute! What do I do?

You can contact In Praise through ask, or through email, inpraise.zine@gmail.com. Submissions will only be accepted through email. If you have a question or a pitch, you can contact me to chat about it. We’re looking for about 20-30 submissions, but if we receive more we will consider two volumes or a very large book. I cannot offer any payment, but all participants will receive a free digital copy of the zine. If this changes either through the success of a kickstarter or the patronage of a larger organization, we will let you know!

Specifics:

All written pieces should be 200-2000 words long. If you are submitting a larger piece, with references or a deep critical analysis, I will consider pieces up to 4500 words. If this is the case, I would recommend you send a pitch or abstract before spending a significant amount of time on the piece.

The zine will be published in trade size, 6”x9”, so please make sure any art submissions include a .125” bleed around the edges. You can submit up to five pages of comics. This will be a color run, but please use minimal or spot color.

You will be able to determine how you will be credited, by username, full name, alias, etc.

Will this zine be available to purchase?

Yes! We plan on creating a kickstarter to back the publication and gauge interest in additional installments. There will be both digital and physical copies available to purchase.

When’s the deadline?

The deadline for submissions is July 31st!

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Calling Zine Makers, Libraries, Distros, And the Like

I’m at the very beginning stages of working on a new zine project. As part of this, I would like to include A5/A6 spaces (maybe even A7, if that works for you) that feature things like:

*Zines that have a rolling call for submissions (even if your zine changes theme/topic from issue to issue, an overarching ‘flier’ for the whole series would be awesome)
*Zine distros – whether you want to say ‘check out my distro’, are looking for zines to sell in your distro, or both!
*Zine libraries – again, whether it’s a ‘check us out’, ‘looking for zine donations’, or both, I’d love to see it
*Zine people who want to be included in an ‘open to trades’ section. I’m thinking name, preferred contact (or your mailing addy, if that’s the way you roll), and a few likes/dislikes.

The key thing here is that things be ‘undated’ (hence sharing a zine series rather than one specific call for submissions) so things aren’t out of date before I get the chance to create the thing.

Ideally, I’d like things to be images with text on them because of the limited space involved (with the exception of the trades section, which will be text only). But I want to be flexible, too. This project is really in its early days, so I’m still figuring a lot out.

If you want to get involved straight away (please do!) then you can shoot me an email (theauthor at inkyblots.com)

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Call for Submissions: Blunt Talk Zine

In honor of the annual 420 holiday, I’m launching my next project. Blunt Talk. Blunt Talk is a zine dedicated to providing information about recreational and medical marijuana. Please consider participating and sharing! Happy Holidays!

Requirements & Info: All writing must be 1000 words or less, all imagery must be 300dpi, all submissions must be sent in by midnight on May 31st.

All creators are welcome to be published anonymously if they feel more comfortable. All material is subject to editing and or refusal. All accepted creators will be emailed a PDF of the final zine.

Proceeds from this zine will be directly donated to IMPACT for medical marijuana research. You can donate to IMPACT or read more here: http://www.impactcannabis.org/

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Call for Bay Area Zine Reviewers – Review for Maximum Rocknroll

Maximum Rocknroll is looking for zine reviewers!

Since 1982 we’ve been bringing you monthly coverage of punk happening around the world. Our review section is one of the most highly read parts of the magazine and every month dozens of MRR shitworkers listen to music on all formats, plow through books and zines and write down their opinions on all that comes through our PO Box.

Currently we are looking for a couple of people to review zines. You must live in the Bay Area and be able to come by the compound in SF every month to pick up your zines, review them in our designated format, and email off your review in a timely manner (a span of about two weeks). We get zines on a myriad of subjects every month all falling under the punk umbrella. QTPOC to the front; and bonus if you can read a language other than English (most non English submissions are in Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese. Spanish, French and Swedish). We are a not-for-profit volunteer run organization and we cannot compensate you, but you will be able to keep all the zines you review.

If you are interested please email me at ari@maximumrocknroll.com
For more info on the mag and what we do: maximumrocknroll.com

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The Freedom APA

Freedom APA is an alternative press association with one expectation: participate where, when and how you are able.

Annual Membership: Participation by sending items for the mailing a minimum of once per membership year PLUS $15 for US membership; $25 for rest of world. Items for the mailing bundle may include mail art, printed journals, chapbooks, zines, cds, dvds, cassettes, envelopes, postcards, bookmarks, recipes, stamps, letters, or whatever you choose to create.

Four bundles are mailed per year. The next mailing is scheduled for June 2017. If you send materials for the June bundle, 22 items are needed.

Membership dues may be sent via Paypal: singinggrove@conknet.com

Checks may be made payable to: Frederick Moe 36 West Main Street Warner NH 03278.

$6 postpaid for a sample bundle if you’re curious to check it out before jumping in.

Freedom APA is intended to be fun & embrace the spirit of personal journalism, zine making, letter writing, graphic arts, mail art, DIY printing, poetry, homemade music, creative projects, podcasting & more. Freedom APA is not an organization nor will Freedom APA have officers or by-laws. We have however add volunteer “staff” as Freedom APA grows.

With your support, this will be an enjoyable mailing circle project full of creativity. Freedom APA is a postal activity.

Please share with your friends!

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Zine Review: Getting Over It

Getting Over It… When Other People Are Total Assholes or You’re Just Tired of Your Own Bullshit
Dr Faith G Harper
theintimacydr@gmail.com
microcosmpublishing.com

Getting Over Is a zine about ways to get past the things that are holding you back – whether it’s from other people or from within yourself.

When I picked this up, I did so for the ‘or you’re just tired of your own bullshit’ portion of things, but I like that there is an acknowledgement of both internal and external things we have to get past in our lives.

The zine starts off with the difference between an emotion and a mood. I think this is an important distinction to make for general knowledge but especially for identifying the problems that this zine can possibly help with.

It’s been a while since I’ve read one of Dr Harper’s zines, so I’d forgotten the occasional swearing and the ‘no bubble wrap here’ approach to things. The advice is the right mix of steel and understanding for me, but if you prefer a softer approach (nothing wrong with that), this zine might be a bit full on for you.

There were a few things that were difficult to read, but it’s not always easy admitting how much power we really have in our lives. Much easier to focus on what is out of our hands.

Did I find this zine helpful? Yes. The very first ‘tip’ – What story are you telling yourself about the situation? – was the most helpful in an ‘it’s not about you’ way.

I can see this zine pissing some people off. I felt my anger rise in reaction before I caught myself and realised that I was reacting defensively to what I was thinking rather than to what I was actually reading. If you think this zine will be of use to you, I think it will.

PS. So many things for not saying that blasted phrase I hate so much: “Someone else has it worse”

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Zine Review: Keith Conlon’s Unauthorised Guide to North Adelaide Establishments

Keith Conlon’s Unauthorised Guide to North Adelaide Establishments
Rebecca Sheedy
Facebook.com/mildscribbling
IG: @rebeccasheeeedy @mildscribbling

Keith Conlon’s Unauthorised Guide to North Adelaide Establishments is an illustrated review zine highlighting the pros and cons of some of North Adelaide’s eating establishments.

I must admit to a bit of fangirl glee when I saw this zine because not only do I love Rebecca Sheedy’s art but because (knock on wood) I’ll be moving not too far from Adealide later this year and am quite eager to collect recommendations.

I’ve already mentioned a few times how much I love Rebecca’s art style, so let’s just say when I love something, I really love something.

This zine is everything I want in a review – it lists the good, the neutral, and the bad concisely, and it’s illustrated. (I would absolutely love to see more illustrated review zines. It adds a whole new level to the whole thing.) Rebecca’s use of detail suits this so well – even down to the pro/neutral/con circles being coloured in with green/orange/red.

I literally (and yes, I know how to use that word properly) laughed out loud when I realised that the overall ‘out of five’ rating for each establishment was made up of Keith Conlon heads. I found myself hoping that Keith had or would soon come across this zine and be as delighted with it as I am.

I am also now tempted to rate things ‘out of five zine ninjas’.

The thing I wasn’t expecting and thus appreciated all the more was the humour in the review of the Royal Oak Hotel. I really don’t want to spoil it, though, so I’ll merely say thanks for the smile.

Alas, baked goods are my siren’s call, so I will be trying Bakery on O’Connell when I’m in the area.

If you’re dismissing this zine because you’re not and will likely never be in Adelaide, then definitely check out Rebecca’s other zines.