mehret biruk

What is a zine?

A zine (pronounced ZEEN) is a handmade magazine about a specific topic.

“Zines have been around since the early 20th century, and have been an enormous part of underground and non-commercial publication.” *

I learned about zines from Austin Kleon who has a great collection of printables zines and resources on his website. He also has a tutorial to make a “mini zine” from a single sheet of paper.

Having tried both ways I prefer to make zines out of sheets folded in half. Sometimes I use a single page and other times I nest and staple them.

Photo of my desk with TETRIS and Wheel of Time Zines, scraps, ink and blue Aes Sedai mug

“Zines are characteristically cheap to make, often photocopied, and have a distinctly DIY look. Often, they represent the voices of people on the fringes, and their content is hyper local.” *

Zines were bore to share information and amplify voices that weren’t often represented in mainstream media. As a result, zine making has a rich history among marginalized communities, fandoms, and activists.

If you want a deep dive into the history of zines and how to make your own I recommend this free zine by The Public in Canada.

Zinesters (people who make zines) often value the act of sharing information over an potential profit. Zines are made cheaply so they can be easily sold, traded or given away.

Zines fall into the cheap art philosophy which I’m passionate about.

Art is for everyone.

The why cheap art manifesto. People have been thinking too long that art is a privilege of the museums and the rich. Art is not business! It does not belong to banks and fancy investors. Art is food. You can't eat it but it feeds you. Art has to be cheap and available to everybody. It needs to be everywhere because it is inside of the world. Art soothes pain. Art wakes up sleepers. Art fights against war and stupidity. Art sings hallelujah! Art is for kitchens! Art is like good brea! Art is like green trees! Art is like white clouds in the blue sky! Art is cheap! Hurrah! Bread and Puppet Glover, Vermont. 1984.

Purchase this print from Bread & Puppet.

Use What You Have

Zines are an indie solution to sharing information. Use what you have access to.

Paper, markers, stamps, paints, stickers, tape.

Photocopy, scan, or photograph.

Or make your zine digitally.

Share your zine online or print copies to sell, trade, or give away.

Would you like to trade with me? Reach out and let me know!

I also have a monthly subscription if you’d like a new zine each month.

My zine making area with Spectrum and Chaos Gardening zines, paper cutter, and watercolor wash circles.

Artist Publishing

Zine making is just one kind of artist publishing. Any type of independently produced book or publication is a form of artist publishing. This can range from self publishing books, newspapers, zines, or artist books.

Artist books often embrace time intensive methods and archival quality materials. As a result they are often more highly priced.

If you’d like to learn more about artist publishing I’d recommend starting here. Or browsing my artist publishing board on are.na.

I’ve been focused on zine making, but collect both zines and artist books. I may explore creating an artist book when I complete my fine art collection.

My Zine Collection

Here’s a peek at my zine collection and links to the artist’s shops.

Zine collection spread on table. Visible titles include: Offline, Taking Care of Yourself as an Artist Publisher, Practicing Microresistance in Conversations, Tea, Reality Has, Motherlore, etc. Zines are various sizes and colors. Many have black sharpie on white paper appearance. Others are typed. The most visible are a bright neon risograph texture of seaweed (on the artist publisher book) and a composition book style (the microaggressions book.) Links to each zine are listed below.

Free Printable Zines!

Artist Books

Zine Archives

There are lots of places online and “IRL” (in real life) that are dedicated to archiving zines. If you’d like to archive your zine you can check with any of the organizations below, your local library, or upload to archive.org (like this.) Every archive has it’s own mission so be sure to make sure your zine is a good fit before submitting.

More Inspiration

The Offline Rebellion of the Most Online Generation (podcast)
Cortney Cassidy on her Mail Blog project (and her archive.)
My zine board on are.na
My artist publishing board on are.na

Footnotes

* A History of Zines. River H. Kero. bookriot.com/history-of-zines/