Call for Submissions: Fat Ass
FAT ASS is an intersectional queer/feminist zine that centers on the experiences of queer fat folks and celebrates the artistry, activism, and work of fat activists. For issue #1 of FAT ASS, we’re looking for submissions related to food and fat bodies.
We’re looking for submissions that address the following topics/themes (and more!):
-Fat bodies and food consumption practices;
-Queerly challenging fat-shaming and diet culture;
-The social context(s) of fat bodies eating, producing, buying food;
-Fat folks in food-production/consumption spaces;
-Racialization/gendering/sizing/disabling of food (i.e.: the connection between meat consumption of misogyny; demonization of foods that are deemed “unhealthy”);
-Fat perspectives on food for healing, self-care, spiritual practice, and/or holistic well-being; (NOTE: we do not condone the empty promises of diet culture so please do not send us diet regimens, “weight loss stories,” before/after pics or other fat-shaming bullshit!);
-Queer/feminist/fat community-building through sharing/producing food;
-Representations of fat bodies and food in the media;
-Fat trans and gender non-conforming perspectives on food and eating;
-Impact of fat and food stigma on queer folks’ livelihood;
-Have an idea that’s not listed above? Send it anyway!It is a myth that you must be a “good writer” or “good artist” to submit to a zine. We welcome many kinds of writing and artwork: essays, poetry, short stories, photography, doodles, rants, drawings, cartoons/comics, collage…and more!
Send your submissions to FATASSZINE@gmail.com before February 29th, 2016. For written submissions, please use Microsoft Word and submit your writing in .doc or .docx format. (Please try to limit submissions to 2500 words. We are flexible. Let us know if you need a little extra space.) For artwork, please attach high resolution .jpg images to your email. Please include a title for your artwork and any information you think would be pertinent for readers to know about your piece (i.e.: medium, location, tools used). Contributors have the option of sharing a short bio or publishing their work anonymously.
All contributors will receive a free copy!
Zine Review: By the Skin of My Teeth 3 + 4
By the Skin of My Teeth Issue Three and Four
Sarah
http://thislunaticexpress.blogspot.com.au/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MoosZineCorner
Check out my reviews of all previous issues of By the Skin of My Teeth in the Zine Review Index
I went back and forth on whether I should review two zines in one review. I want to state that I don’t mean any disrespect nor do I want to come off dismissive of either zine by putting them together. I made the decision because the zines were made in rapid succession, and even the zine maker calls issue 4 a part two of sorts.
By the Skin of My Teeth issues three and four follow Sarah’s journey through depression and mania within a private health care facility. I was curious on two fronts with these zines because I’d never used inpatient mental health facilities (I’ve always been too scared to), and I definitely haven’t done so in the private sector. I liked that she talked a bit about the differences between private and public.
I identified a lot with some of the depressive aspects Sarah went through but moreso the mania. The lack of being able to concentrate. I hate that, too! Three and four were like two sides of a coin with three being about moving past depression and four focusing more on managing the mania that followed.
While I did identify a lot with things, these are definitely zines that are more on the diary side of things. She does talk to you, the reader, but there are more rambling thoughts, repetitive mentions, and fewer breaks that can make for slightly jolting reading when the next paragraph happens hours later. That being said, it’s still a slower read than most zines. The fact that both of these are 64 page zines make these things stand out all the more.
If you like ‘stories from the ward’ then it might be right for you. Otherwise, you might find it lacking the variety that would otherwise keep you reading.
Zine Review: ‘Bots Is ‘Bots 4
‘Bots is ‘Bots: Issue Four
Gregg
http://botsisbots.blogspot.com.au/
Check out my reviews of the other ‘Bots Is ‘Bots issues in the Zine Review Index.
I’m getting a little nervous about the prospect of repeating myself when I review these zines. I suppose that’s the risk when you review a series? Despite that risk, I figure it’s about time to say that I’m still loving the quality of the paper, the bright covers, and, of course, the content!
I feel like this issue is the first one to dig into deeper story (as deep as a sarcastically humorous zine about robots gets) and the characters. While there was nothing wrong with what he has been doing, I like the switch up. Gregg seems to be focused on keeping things fresh.
I was a little sad that the funny ‘sandwich’/beginning and end comic was nixed, but I can’t think of a better way to replace it: with the origin story! Woohoo! Now we find out how the bots all came into being. Not only that, it’s a part one without a conclusion within the zine. Unless I haven’t been paying attention, this is the first time Gregg has made something so clearly continued on in a future issue.
Happy Zine Mail
Happy mail for yours truly! Have I mentioned in the past five minutes how much I love mail? No? Shame on me. Haha.
I had a bit of beautiful local zine mail come in this week all the way from New South Wales. With extras! I don’t need extras to be happy, but they certainly don’t hurt. Wink, wink. Haha.
How gorgeous, right? I can’t wait to dig into that zine. I was actually afraid that this had been lost to the mail demons, but I’m so glad it wasn’t! Lurve it!
No, YOU’RE sweet. Hehe.
A day I receive happy mail is always a lovely day.
This lovely package came all the way from LogPoes in Amsterdam! I’ll need to suss out a big ol’ swap because I want to know all about Amsterdam and its goodies. For now, I’m so excited about these zines! Especially the list zine. Lists! And the little badge is so cute. Very awesome stuff.
Alas, today has been all about trying to make a house move happen, but I did manage to design business cards and send off a zine, so it’s all going well.
Festival of the Photocopier 2016: I Did It!
Woohoo! Is it weird to say that I’m proud of myself? Because I’m totally proud of myself.
Despite anxiety, a sleepless night (after about a fortnight of bad sleep), more anxiety, an early wakeup to get down to Melbourne, crying multiple times, and going into a completely new situation, I made it! I have conquered it all and gone to my first zine fest. (And tabled there, too!)
I didn’t take a stack of pictures (I wish I had), but there are plenty to be seen online.
I packed up nearly everything in my green picnic basket. Zines sure do get heavy in a hurry. We were running a smidge late from the start, which didn’t help anything. Haha. Wanderer was brilliant at distracting me along the two-hour drive.
People who had tables had an hour to set up before it was open to the public. Fantastic! Most of us had our table set up within the first half hour, so we had an opportunity to wander, buy, trade, etc. I got some trades in pretty quickly and had fun meeting a few Instagram friends in person to boot. It was a bit strange to talk face-to-face, but I think mutually acknowledged awkwardness is a little bit easier to deal with. Hehe.
Flair! I have flair! Bloomurder had some badges for sale, and I couldn’t resist. Especially because I love her Shakespeare’s Lovers zine series.
The table! My ‘sea green’ butterfly material wasn’t nearly big enough, so blue octopuses went for the win.
Even Zine Ninja made an appearance at the table! I ended up switching things around two or three times because a.) zine people like to stack rather than fan out their stuff and b.) I was feeling quite paranoid about taking up too much space. No one commented or even looked at us funny, though, so it was all good.
Memorable moments included a softly-spoken but incredibly intense man who didn’t know anything about zines or Melbourne. Another was woman who, when told about Dear Anonymous, proceeded to lecture me and Wanderer about how people should put their name on things. (We later caught her giving a lecture to another zine tabler.)
One great set of moments was when a woman walked over and bought one zine… then came back and bought one more… and then came back a third time! Fun, fun.
The whole thing was such an excellent experience – especially for someone who was freaked out by the whole prospect. I didn’t have to be a salesperson (though some people were, and that’s okay), and a lot of people seemed to appreciate being left to browse. Everyone was quite polite, I felt as safe as I possibly could at a public event, and I even found the courage to wander amongst the tables. At one point, I had a panic and froze, but no one minded or even stared. It was lovely.
If only I’d had money for more zines!
We left early so we could get some food (sushi love!) and get on the road to get back at a decent hour. Of course, we pulled out of the car park to discover we had a flat tyre. Something about Melbourne…
We made it home safe and sound – me with this awesome zine haul and a lot of good feels. I wish I’d had more cash as well as more time, but this was – as I said – a fantastic experience. I feel fully confident about going to zine fests in the future and maybe even tabling again.
A huge thank you to Sticky Institute for putting the whole thing on!
*I fully intended on posting this yesterday, but an “ASAP!” journal order meant I spent the entirety of yesterday making a journal.
Call for Submissions: This Isn’t My Community
Squee!
Call for Submissions: Invisible Illnesses & Disabilities
Zine Review: Mild Scribbling #5
Mild Scribbling #5
Rebecca Sheedy
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/rebeccasaurusrex
I had to get my hands on Rebecca’s X-Files zine, and while in her shop, I saw this zine, too and thought I’d take a peek.
Mild Scribbling #5 is a collection of small, colour art set on nice, slightly glossy paper featuring everyday art. Not that the art is ‘everyday’ but that the art isn’t abstract. There is a hotdog. And a sock. And other wonderful, cute little things. She draws things regarding her Easter 2014, Reasons Why Adam Buxton is Fantastic, and a Hot/Not list.
I don’t want to give away anything as such, but I did want to give a tiny little peek inside (apologies for the less than stellar photo):
Mild Scribbling #5 reminds me a little of The Third Biannual Mildly Informative Booklet Depicting Graphical Representations of General Occurrences and Observations and Every Morning in that it takes something people usually take for granted or don’t think about and turns it into something lovely.
In this case, adorable, colourful art.
It does involve some tiny, tiny writing (which adds to the adorableness of it) that might be a problem for some, but it’s not a good day unless I’m getting up close and personal with a zine at some point.
There’s something so fresh and simple to this zine that it easily earns its way into my permanent collection.