A Students Guide on What a Zine is and tips on how to make one Version 2.0

What is a zine? (Pronounced like Magazine without the maga) A zine is an independently created publication. It is often created by any means necessary and/or available more often done out of passion for a subject rather than for commercial success. Currently, they are typically photocopied using word processors but there are many out there that utilize offset printing or are hand made with content made using collage, digital photography, silkscreen, litho, hand written creative writing, etc. A zine can be about whatever subject its creator decides upon and done in any style imaginable. Some typical subjects for content are creative writing, comics, personal writings, fan-based writings, science fiction, literature, anthology/art, review publications, however it is completely open.

The person with access to a photo copier can be writer, publisher, and printer.

Nothing is easy, everything is possible. The quickest method for idea to print is to self-publish. The most control one could have over the content and appearance of a publication is to self-publish.

Brief History of Publishing: The oldest known woodblock printing in the world is Darani Sutra found inside Seokga Pagoda of Bulguksa Temple, Korea printed before 751 A.D. This sutra predated Japanese Million Pagoda Darani Sutra dated to 770 A.D. Chinese printers used wood blocks with characters carved into them which were then inked and transferred to paper in the 8th century. In the 11th century Pi Sheng created a form of moveable type allowing for letters to be rearranged. Movable metal type was a development associated with woodblock printing, such as time-consuming engraving. There is a record that Sangjeong-gogeum-yemun (Prescribed Ritual Texts of the Past and Present) had been printed with movable type around 1234 A.D. 1454 Johann Gutenberg invents the printing press revolutionizing the transmission of information using metal moveable type and an ink made from turpentine, lampblack and linseed oil. Within 50 years over 500,000 texts had been printed (almost exclusively religious works). In addition to the Bible one of the first important uses of the Gutenberg press was to print a handbook for the Church called "Malleus Malefactorum," which was essentially the primer on how to find and expose "witches." It allowed the Church to quickly distribute a kind of uniform code throughout Europe, and is the reason that inquisition questions and procedures across the continent were so quickly disseminated and so similar. Gutenberg's invention coincided with the Reformation. The Europe that had been unified as "Christendom" for a millennium was suddenly ripping apart, and one of the main reasons was that viewpoints opposed to the Vatican could actually be printed and distributed. Luther's 95 theses, the document that started the conflict, was more or less a zine--it never would have ignited the war if it hadn't been published and passed around. After 200 years of struggle in England, printers win the right to publish in the 1700’s. 1760 Began the Industrial Age creating a need for a higher educated worker bringing about the creation soon after of public schools and wider spread literacy. Self-publishing was often too expensive for most at this point. However, the amount of books and pamphlets being made increased. Ben Franklin self-published as a youth. Samuel Adams, Thomas Payne and other Americans printed works to help bring about the American Revolution (The Pamphleteers). William Blake in England self-published using etched copper plate engraving. Mid-1800s: Inexpensive small table-top printing-presses (more than toys, but not much) introduced and "Amateur Journalism" became a popular hobby, especially among boys -- Todd Lincoln published on one from the White House, and Lloyd Osbourne did a "zine" with contributions from his step-father Robert Louis Stevenson. The Mimeograph introduced by Edison c.1875 and soon became standard office (& church basement) equipment. Dadaists begin self-publishing writings and book art in the early 1900’s. 1929: Readers of science-fiction magazines started communicating by way of mimeographed or spirit-duplicated "fanzines", and still publish them, though most now use photocopy or go online. The Comet began publishing in 1930 and was basically a science fiction zine composed mostly of articles on science. Other science fiction zines soon followed, including Time Traveler and Science Fiction, which was edited by Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster, who later created Superman. Mimeograph technology in the 1950’s is used for self-publishing of literature, chap books and manifestos by the beats. In 1938 Chester F. Calrson (born in 1906 in Seattle, WA) obtained the first patents for the photocopier. In 1937 he developed the process of xerography or "Dry copy", a copying process based on electrostatic electricity. Xerography comes from the Greek term "Dry Writing". He was turned down by over 20 companies to produce the machine to do this process and it took 6 years of demonstrating it until the Battelle Development Company took interest and was able to produce his invention in 1944. The Haloid Company negotiated commercial rights for the process. Haloid later became Xerox and introduced the first office photocopier in 1958. Calrson himself was a self-publisher in High School using mimeograph. Underground Comix artists used the photocopier for self-publishing almost immediately following. Rolling Stone Magazine started as a zine. Sergei Kovalev, Tatyana Khodorovich and Tatyana M. Velikanova with others self-published “The Chronicle of Current Events” in Russia. Many self publishers there attempted to create a "close circle of like-minded people who spoke their own language, inconceivable to others." They did so under lethal persecution. While dissent was not the primary object of many there, self-publishing Velikanova was arrested for printing her views, spent four years in a prison camp and five years in exile. In contrast, a number of others in the USSR self-published purely for dissent spreading their views against nuclear arms and the oppression of their government. While normally not as severe, American’s in the 1960’s faced lesser persecution for publishing such as Allen Ginzburg who was subjected to long court trail where poets and professors were brought it to “prove” that his City Lights published book “Howl” was not obscene. American and British punks in the 1970’s created the form closest to today’s zines using clip art, creating their own media, using zines to promote independent music and clubs using a photocopier to print. The zine explosion in the 1980’s was documented by Factsheet Five (a now defunct zine that reviewed zines-there are often times when it seems FS5 will be back but probably not with the original creators). The original editor of it, a pillar in the Science Fiction Fan-Zine Community, Mike Gunderloy, originated or popularized the word "zine" and established most of today's "Zine Ethos" (non-profit, trading, DIY, importance of feedback from readers, &cet), based on his background in the science fiction fanzine tradition. Technological advances in the 1990’s made professional editing and publishing tools accessible to the general public. Mainstream media becomes interested in zines which had for the most part remained in obscurity for years. The interest is more as a novelty rather than as an art form or legitimate publication. Retail stores began to carry zines as part of their books or comics or music. Towards the end of the 90’s, many people who had published popular zines for years stop publishing or move into more mainstream creative positions or begin to devote their time and creativity towards web sites sometimes called e-zines. The 2000’s-The zine explosion of the past two decades made many people aware of zines but an often lack of quality jaded many would-be retailers and readers. The absence of many of the publications that were staples of zinedom and lack of mainstream attention created a fresh, new, open environment. While a number of sub-par zines are still being created, the awareness of what has come before has helped motivate individuals to create book-art with zines. Many zine publishers have returned to many almost forgotten printing methods such as silk-screening, letter pressing, linoleum cuts, and hand stitched bindings. The use of the web has created farther stretching networks of people working within the same medium as well as providing publishers a virtual retail area, increasing reader access to remote locations and allowing more people to see content than the self-publisher could afford to non-virtually print. Annual conventions have also aided to regenerate public awareness while strengthening relations among self-publishers.

Why publish a zine? To see your work in print. To share what you can create. To encourage others to be creative. To find and connect others with similar interests. To get mail. To make new friends. To publish the creative voices of others. To create the publication you always wished existed. To teach yourself something new. The individual reasons to create are zine are as diverse and unique as the individuals who create zines. Often someone wants to see their work in print by any means necessarily. It's a way in which people communicate on a very passionate, free and sometimes intensely personal level as it is a medium which isn't bound by censorship. it allows people of all interests and agendas to voice their opinions, art and rants to a wide audience in a relatively cheap and fun way.

Getting Started: Once you decide that you would like to make a publication, the work begins. The most important thing that you can have is determination and the ability to see things through to completion. Next is the ability to make the time to dedicate to it. There will always be other things to focus on, but it takes active sacrifice to make a publication go from idea to reality. The next step is to come up with the content. Nothing written here should tell you what content to create. That is up to you. Decide on the format you want. Put it together. Edit it and put it back together and print then distribute. Easier said than done, but by all means possible.

Supplies you need to access to: All supplies are available at most photocopy shops and offices. The more that you own yourself, the more you can do at anytime. However, it isn’t recommended that you purchase many of the supplies until you have put out your first publication and see if it is something that you would like to do.

Supplies that can help: Type writer or computer with a word processing program and printer, Scissors, glue stick, and Stapler. Past that, a Cutting Board, Exacto Knife, Sharpie Markers, Blue Pencils, Cutter, Scanner, Ruler, Paper Trimmer, and of course a Copier. Often you can find materials to use/borrow.

Things that should be within just about every publication: A Cover, A back cover, Contact information, Table of Contents and page numbers (once you have a collating fiasco, you will learn the importance of page numbers).

Protecting your identity: The world can be a dangerous place. It is recommended that you get a Post Office box for correspondence and a separate email address for your online correspondence. A Pen Name can help but if you are looking to make money off your publication and will be accepting checks, that can get tricky. You will have to make your own policy on who you will and won’t deal with.

Lay out While creating your publication, if you are planning of making it out of folded pages, you need to think in four page segments. (For Example, if you create a 23 page piece that you are planning on copying on paper you are folding in half and stapling, it will take 6 pieces of paper for 24 pages, but that will have the piece either beginning or ending on the front or back cover. If you include a cover, back cover, contact information, and table of contents, you will need to create one more page of content to go up to 7 pieces of paper and 28 pages. Sounds more complicated that it is)

When you are ready to print, it can help to make a blank paper mock up of what you would like to create. Pick your pages and decide on the flow of your lay out and then it’s off to the photocopier. Identical machines will have different levels of quality. Search around and find the best quality for your time and money. Once you have your layout decided and all of your pages filled, copy and paste your work onto pages the same size as you are going to print (unless you did your lay out on computer). You can use the “2 pages to 1 double-sided page” feature to transfer your cut and pasted pages to create a master copy. With your master copy, you can feed the machine and use the feature “2 sided to 2 sided”. Some machines can collate and separate and some can even fold and staple for you. It depends on the machine. After making your copies, you can fold and staple and then distribute!

Helpful tips:

· Give yourself a half inch margin on your content on each side of a page to give the photo copier space for variance.

· Color pictures and shading often get slaughtered by a photocopier. When using other’s work, this can become a problem. Black and white originals with bold lines often turn out closer to the original on a photocopier. To semi-gauge how a picture will turn out, squint at it until it become blurry. Blue’s will often disappear or appear light while red’s will often copy as black.

· Layout, especially the first time, will take much longer than one would expect. Don’t run everything the second the master copy is ready. Make a copy that you can read through and edit. Then re-edit. Once you are really satisfied, print your run. Don’t be afraid to step back from your zine for a little bit. Give it room to breath so that it is right when it is finished. Once it is finished and you send it off, it is on it’s own.

· The more you do yourself, the cheaper things can get. Your time is worth something. Shop around and explore options.

·Never underestimate the value of a great relationship with your printer.

· A zine can be a great place to explore and express your feelings and to say things you have always wanted to say, but once something is printed and distributed, there is no way to recall it, and there is always the chance that every single person you know could see what you have printed. The chance of that with a zine is slim, but you should believe and be able to stand up for what you print.

· The one who creates the publication is ultimately responsible for everything printed.

· If you are going to use a computer, make sure that everything you worked on is backed up in more than one place. Save your work to disc and have a hard copy somewhere and it is recommended that you store your work somewhere online as well. Consider going to Yahoo or Hotmail and creating an email account specifically for storing your work. Email your work to this account to save it there and don’t email from that address to avoid getting your account full of spam.

· While there are a limited few who have started with making their own publication who have gone on to turn it into an occupation in some form, you shouldn’t start a zine with the idea of rewards such as fiscal gain, popularity, respect or anything beyond getting a publication printed. More often than not a zine is a money losing venture and there could be a number of people who won’t understand why one would devote the energy to it. It is the notion of getting something in print that should motivate. If you look past that, you might be disappointed. Don’t let that stop you from having aspirations and dreams. The process is tedious and has hidden steps. The process itself however is part of the joy. If your goal is to make money, there are other ventures that could require less devotion and time.

· Address’s can become outdated rather quickly. All the information in this guide could be outdated by the time you see this. When doing a mass mailing, test addresses with postcards and emails first to save on postage.
It is recommended that you keep and maintain a mailing list. If you are organized enough, you can update it periodically. The list should be kept in multiple places in multiple forms to avoid losing it.
Food and other items can be used as bribes to get friends and family to help with the labor intensive parts like stapling and folding. Invite people over for a zine assembling/envelope stuffing party.

Asking for Submissions:

You may wish to create an anthology style publication and seek submissions. This can be great way to meet new people and to see other works. The tough part about doing this is that people are wary to help something in the beginning until they see that the publisher is serious. Something to consider when doing this is rights to the work. It is highly recommended that one allows artists to retain the rights to their own works. To negotiate rights to work, contact a lawyer for a proper contract and compensate your contributors appropriately. You should decide why you would need rights to other peoples work.

Using computers for layout:

If you already own layout software, such as Quark, Pagemaker or InDesign, you can do the layout on your computer, which allows for exact placement and many special layout effects. However, as previously stated, don’t invest in expensive software until you have published your first issue and are sure this is something you want to do.

Advertising online:

A simple Web site is a great way to spread the word about your zine, because it means that anyone can quickly and easily find information about ordering, submissions, etc. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider – the company that provides your email/Internet service) may have an option for free Web space. Or you can build a free Web page at Yahoo! Geocities (http://geocities.yahoo.com/home/index.html)

Accepting payments for orders:

If you are accepting payments primary through the mail, you can specify which of the following you will or will not accept: checks, money orders, or well-disguised cash. If you are accepting orders online, the easiest way to process credit card payments is to use Paypal (www.paypal.com). There is no setup fee, but if you select a “Business” account (which means you will accept credit cards, in addition to eChecks), Paypal deducts 2.9%. Still, this is a very convenient way for people to pay you, so it may help increase your orders. Paypal even has a free “shopping cart” feature where you can set up an online shopping cart for your Web site. Paypal generates all the HTML code…you just copy and paste it in your Web page.

Creating an e-zine:

An alternative to publishing a print zine is to create a fully electronic zine. This costs you no overhead, and you can either distribute it for free, or for a low price. An e-zine can be distributed as an email, a Word document attachment, on an actual Web page, or as a PDF document. A PDF document gives you the most artistic control, especially when used with a layout program, such as Pagemaker or InDesign. Publishing an e-zine is a great way to distribute content in full color, without having to pay for color printing.

For an example of a e-zine, you can request a free copy of e-Artella, a zine which is published in both print and electronic formats, at visit http://www.artellawordsandart.com/free-issue.html.

Or go to http://www.cherrybleeds.com or www.freespeech.org/sic to see another example of an e-zine

Spreading the word:

The best place to start is with your friends and family. Ask them to spread the word about your zine, preferably with sample copies of your first issue in hand. People are much more likely to order future copies once they have actually seen one in person. You can also create an online newsletter to build a mailing list with special announcements related to your zine. Below is information about different stores and libraries where you can display and/or sell your zine.

Zine Subscriptions:

After you put out your first four issues, if you feel certain that you want to continue to publish your zine, you could start taking orders for subscriptions. Be sure that you know, realistically, how often you can publish your zine, because subscribers who pay ahead of time for their issues will except to receive them in a timely manner. Subscription orders are a great way to bring in some extra cash, but remember, if a person pays for a 4-issue subscription, you won’t be receiving any more money from them until their subscription expires. Be sure to budget carefully so that you don’t spend all of your subscription money, with nothing left over for future printings. If you do have subscriptions to your zine, be sure to keep good records as to when each person’s subscription begins and ends.

Libraries that accept and display zines:

To send your publication, send a free copy and a letter with your contact information requesting that they consider adding your zine to their collection. Include your email address and a S.A.S.E. Be patient. Some libraries pay a portion or full cover but most only accept donated copies.

Archiv der Jugendkulturen / Fidicinstr. 3 / 10965 Berlin / Germany http://www.jugendkulturen.de

Alternative Media Library PO Box 204902 New Haven CT 06520

Barnard College c/o Jenna Freedman MLIS Coordinator of Reference Services 3009 Broadway New York, NY 10027

Bread and Roses Library PO Box 63132 St Louis MO 63163

Civic Media Center Library PO Box 13077 Gainesville FL 32604-1077

Denver Zine Library 111 W Archer Pl, Denver CO 80223 http://www.geocities.com/denverzinelibrary/index.html

Independent Publishing Resource Center 917 SW Oak #304 Portland OR 97205

Jane Doe Books 93 Montrose Brooklyn, NY 11206-2007 917-664-5141

Junto Local Ninety-One, 2D-91 Albert St., Winnipeg MB R3B 1G5

Long Haul Infoshop 3124 Shattuck Ave Berkeley CA 94705

Misfit Theater Zine Library PO Box 68939, Newton, Auckland, New Zealand

NY Zine Library c/o Alisa Richter Mailbox #1333 735 Anderson Hill Road Purchase, NY 10577

On Ramp Library 5307 N Minnesota Ave Portland OR 97217

Ontario Zine Library c/o Jen /11 ascot ct /Welland Ont /L3C 6K7/ Canada

Pennsylvania Zine Library c/o April Freyer P.O. Box 209 Wilcox, PA 15870

Salt Lake City Public Library c/o Brooke Young 209 E 500 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Seattle Zine Public Library 1254 10th Ave E Seattle WA 98102

Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Ste 110, Urbana IL 61801
Zine Library c/o Alli P.O. Box 761 Mountain View, CA 94042

Places to submit your publication for Review:

(Guidelines for submissions: The dollar amount at the end of each listing is the cover price for each publication. It is recommended that one sends the money with some stamps and include a legible name and address to see if it is the type of thing you would want to be reviewed in. To have your publication reviewed, send your zine and take a piece of paper and put your name, your publication name, your address and your email address and your website if you have one and attach it to the back cover if it isn’t clear within the publication. Some reviews can be brutal. Don’t take them too seriously.)

Almost Normal Comics Attn: Wee PO Box 12822 Ft Huachuca AZ 85670 (Online)

http://almostnormalcomics.tripod.com/index.htm (Zines and Comics)

Artella Magazine, PO Box 78, Johnson, NY 10933 http://www.ArtellaWordsAndArt.com (Zines)

Beating Hears of the World Unite c/o Jyoti PO Box 444 Wollongong NSW 2520 Australia ($8) (Political)

Broken Pencil PO Box 203, Stn P, Toronto ON M5S 2S7 Canada ($6) http://www.brokenpencil.com/ (Literary Zines)

Comixville PO Box 697 Portland OR 97207-0697 ($1) (Comics)

FrictionMagazine PO Box 4358Whitefish, MT 59937 http://www.frictionmagazine.com/index.asp (Zines and Comics)

Maximum Rocknroll PO Box 460760 San Francisco CA 94146 ($4) http://www.maximumrocknroll.com/ (Music, Zines, Comics-Punk)

Poopsheet c/o Ricko Bradford, PO Box 2235 Fredricksburg TX 78624 http://poopsheet.blogspot.com (Comics and Zines)

ProperGander (Josh Rios) PO Box 434 San Marcos TX 78667 ($5) propergander@sanmarcos.net (Zines and Comics)

Punk Planet PO Box 6014 East Lansing MI 48826 ($6) http://www.punkplanet.com/ (Music, Zines and Comics-Punk)

Razorcake PO Box 42129 LA CA 90042 ($5) http://www.razorcake.com/ (Music and Zines)

Slug (Zineland) 2225 S 500 E #206 SLC UT 84106 (Available for free in Utah) http://www.slugmag.com/ (Zines and Comics)

Slug and Lettuce attn: Chris PO Box 26632 Richmond VA 23261-6632 ($1)

http://www.zinethug.com/ (Zines and Comics-Punk)

Ten Page News attn: Owen, PO Box 9651 Columbus OH 43209 ($1) http://members.aol.com/vlorbik/ (Zines)

The Deathship c/o Violet Jones PO Box 55336 Hayward CA 94545 ($5) (Independent Publications)

The trouble with normal Attn: Boone PO Box 329 Columbia MO 65205-0329 ($3) (Zines)

Thrasher Magazine Zine Thing PO Box 419 Tempe AZ 85280-0419 ($6) http://www.thrashermagazine.com/ (Zines and Comics-Skateboarding)

UGZ attn: Jay c/o PMB 419 1442 A Walunt St Berkeley CA 94709 ($2) http://www.wethepunx.com/ (Zines and Comics-Punk)

Utne Reader Associate 1634 Harmon Place Minneapolis MN 55403 ($5) http://www.utne.com/ (Literary)

Vice 122 W 27th St 11th Floor NY NY 10001 ($6) http://www.viceland.com/ (Who knows)

Xerography Debt c/o Davida Gypsy Brier PO Box 963 Havre De Grace MD 21078 ($3) http://www.leekinginc.com/xeroxdebt/ (Zines and Comics)

Zine Guide PO Box 5467 Evanston IL 60204 ($5) (Zines)

Zine World (Attn: Jerianne) Press PO Box 330156 Murfreesboro TN 37133-0156 ($5) http://www.undergroundpress.org/ (Zines and Comics)

Publications to submit your work for publication:

Guidelines for submissions: You might want to check out the publication first before you submit to it to see if it something you would like to work with. When sending for a publication, provide contact information and be patient. When submitting work to a publication, be even more patient. You might not always get in, or worse, your work will get accepted but the publication won’t come out, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying. It isn’t recommended to send originals. Do put cardboard next to your copies in the envelope when mailing if you don’t want it folded so badly. Or email and ask for disc specifications.

A Multitude of Voices c/o Matt Holdaway 1945 B Berryman St Berkeley CA 94709-1955 www.altgeek.net/voices (Art, Writing, Music)

Artella c/o Artella, PO Box 78, Johnson, NY 10933 www.artellawordsandart.com ($5)

Bog Gob c/o Howell, Richard PO Box 4425 Chattanooga TN 37405 ($2) (Adult-Humor) http://members.aol.com/boggob/

http://www.cherrybleeds.com/ (Online E-Zine)

http://www.crashzineonline.net/crash/id20.html
ELEVEN ELEVEN-California College of The Arts Graduate Writing Program 1111 8th St. San Francisco, CA 94107 ccajournal@yahoo.com

Eyeball c/o Chris Sharpe PO Box 211411 OKC OK 73156 (Underground reporting $4) http://www.firstciv.com/eyeball.htm (Art and Writing)

Glue c/o Chrissy 45 Clifton Heights Lane Marblehead, MA 01945 (DIY crafts, $2)

Kitchen Sink Magazine 5245 College Ave #301 Oakland CA 94618 ($7) www.kitchensinkmag.com

Look Look Magazine Submissions Department 6685 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood CA 90028 http://www.look-lookmagazine.com/frames_contribute.html

Mixed Nutts keepithiphop@hotmail.com www.workshopcrew.com ($3)

Not My Small Diary c/o Delaine Derry Green1204 Cresthill Rd Birmingham AL 35213 ($2) http://www.mysmallwebpage.com/ (Journal style Comics)
Run Panic Bight runpanicbight@hotmail.com

The Hungover Gourmet c/o Dan Taylor PO Box 5531, Lutherville, MD 21094-5531 ($4) http://www.hungovergourmet.com/ (Food oriented writing)

San Francisco Reader c/o Jeff Troiano 503 2nd St Petaluma CA 94952 http://www.sanfranciscoreader.com/ (Bay Area Writing)

Urban Guerrilla Zine c/o Jay Unidos PMB #419 1442 A Walnut St Berkeley CA 94709 www.wethepunx.com (Music and Writing)

How to Copyright your material: To copyright your material send a copy of your zine with your contact information and a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (S.A.S.E.) to:

Library of Congress, Copyright Office, Washington DC 20559.

They will send you a form, fill it out and send it back with the proper fees and two copies of your zine. The proper form to fill out for a zine is Form SE (reserved for serials). Go to http://www.loc.gov/copyright/ for more information.

Highly Recommended Reading:

Stolen Sharpie Revolution PO Box 14332, Portland OR 97293 ($3) http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/

Whizzbanger Guide to Zine Distribution c/o Shannon PO Box 5591 Portland OR 97228 ($4)
DIY Comix PO Box 14185 Portland OR 97293-0185 (1 Stamp)
Other Reading on the subject:

Re-Search Guide to Zines Volume I ISBN 0965046907

Re-Search Guide to Zines Volume II ISBN 0965046923

Start Your Zine by Veronika Kalmar ISBN 0786882174

Make A Zine by Bill Brent ISBN 0963740148

Starting & Running a Successful Newsletter ISBN 0-87337-847-4

or Magazine by Cheryl Woodard

Conventions: A zine convention is a usually a place where people who produce zines will be setting up their publications on tables for sell and/or trade. Often this is a place where people who are interested in zines will come to purchase zines and to meet people who produce them. More often than not people will travel for a convention. There will often be other activities during and after the convention like workshops and informal gatherings.

A list of Conventions:

AERO-ZED 6: THE INTERGALACTIC EGGPLANT MISSION Australia www.octapod.com

Allied Media Conference, Bowling Green, Ohio www.clamormagazine.org/amc2003/

Alternative Press Expo (APE) San Francisco, California Area www.comic-con.org
Bazarre Bizarre DIY craft Fair – Los Angeles, California http://www.bazaarbizarrewest.org

CanZine Toronto, Ontario PO Box 203 Station P Toronto ON M5S 2S7 www.brokenpencil.com

LA Zinefiesta Los Angeles, California http://www.geocities.com/LAZineFiesta/

Mid-west zine fest, Detroit Michigan http://www.geocities.com/xeroxthis/

MOCCA Arts Festival, New York City www.moccany.org

Montreal Anarchist Bookfair Montreal, Quebec http://tao.ca/~lombrenoire

New Jersey Zinefest-New Brunswick, NJ www.njzinefest.com PO Box 5754 Parsippany NJ 07054

New Orleans Book Fair www.nolabookfair.com

Olympia Comics Festival, Olympia Washington http://www.olympiacomicsfestival.org/

Philadelphia Zine Fest- http://www.geocities.com/phillyzinefest/

Portland Zine Symposium Portland Oregon www.pdxzines.com

Pulp n’ Plastic Toronto, Ontario www.hivezine.com/pnp.htm pmp@hivezine.com

Small Press And Comics Expo (SPACE) www.backporchcomics.com/space.htm

SFZine Fest, San Francisco, California http://www.sfzinefest.com/

Toronto Comics Arts Festival www.torontocomics.com

SPX, Bethesda Maryland www.spxpo.com

St. Louis Comic Art Show http://www.starclipper.com/show/

Xerox This: a Midwest zine fest http://geocities.com/xeroxthis

Distro’s:

A distro is a self-made zine distribution. It is often run by one or two people who will have people mail them their zines and they will sell the zines. Often the zines are sold to the distro on consignment or at half to 60% of cover price. Some distro’s only need a master copy of your zine and can make their own copies and are on the honor system.

Whizzbanger Guide to Zine Distribution c/o Shannon PO Box 5591 Portland OR 97228 ($4)

Basement Freaks DIY Distro c/o Ashley PO Box 1417 Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0 CAN www.basementfreaksdistro.cjb.net

Dimestore Productions c/o Ian 6733 Erie Ave, Madison OH 44057 www.dimestoreproductions.com

Dumpling Press Distro c/o Claire Villacorta PO Box 1126, Makati Central Post Office, 1251 Makati City, Phillippines www.jawbreaker.ph

Electrocution Distribution c/o Riva PO Box 716 Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia 4006

http://www.tbns.net/electrocution/index

Flatline-Imperium c/o Infoladen Schellingstr. 6 72072 Tuebingen Germany flatline_imperium@hotmail.com

Gluestick Distro c/o Alli PO Box 761 Mountain View CA 94042 http://www.gluestickdistro.com/

Microcosm PO Box 14332 Portland OR 97293 www.microcosmpublishing.com

Pillowscars c/o Mike Olsson, Albert Lorentssons V. 3, SE-430 80 Aspero, Sweden www.pillowscars.com

PorcaMaDonna c/o Giulia Vallicelli c.p. 17033, 00189 Roma Grottarossa, Italy, Europe www.vidalocarecords.com

Red Letter Zine Distro c/o Kerry Ann Lee, PO Box 14562 Kilbirnie Wellington, New Zealand the_mystery_set@hotmail.com

Smitten Kitten c/o Kristy PO Box 1179 Blackburn North, VIC 3130 Australia http://www.smittenkitten.net/

Stickfigure Distro & Mailorder PO Box 55462 Atlanta GA 30308 http://www.stickfiguredistro.com/

Vox Populis Distro PO Box 253 Roselands NSW 2196 Australia http://www.voxpopulis.org

Stores to sell your publication:

To sell your zine through a store, send them a single copy for free with a SASE and request that they consider selling your publication. At this point it is up to the store. Be patient. If they decide to pick up your publication, typically they will pay 40%-50% of cover price or will sell it on consignment. It is up to the store how many copies they want and if they want to sell your publication at all, so be considerate. Once they get your copies, often they put a low priority on your invoices, so be patient, but don’t be afraid to remind them. Give them 6 to 8 weeks at first and then contact them every 3 weeks if they haven’t responded. Keep copies of your invoices, just in case. To generate an invoice, include all of your contact information and a break down of materials sent and the cost. Make things easy for those who write your checks. Have your information clearly stated.

Arise! Bookstore 2441 Lyndale Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55405
Artifacts: Good Books, Bad Art 202 Cascade Ave, Hood River, OR 97031
Atomic Books1100 W. 36th St. Baltimore, MD 21211 www.atomicbooks.com
Autonomous Zone 1573 N. Milwaukee PMB 420 Chicago, IL 60622
Axis Records & Comics 1431 A Park St Alameda, CA 94501 /510-864-8682 axisrecordsandcomics.com

Big Idea Infoshop 724 Wood St. Wilkinsburg, PA 15221

Black Planet Radical & Anarchist Books1621 Fleet St. Baltimore MD 21231
Bluestockings Books 172 Allen St. New York, NY 10002 www.bluestockings.com
Bound Together Books1369 Haight St San Francisco, CA 94117

Boxcar Books 310A S. Washington St. Bloomington, IN 47401 www.boxcarbooks.org
The Brian MacKenzie Infoshop 1426 9th St. NW Washington, DC 20001
Chop Suey Books 1317 West Cary St. Richmond, VA 23220
City Lights Books 261 Columbus Ave. San Francisco, CA 94133 www.citylights.com
Clovis Press Bookstore 229 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11211
Cody's Books2454 Telegraph Avenue; Berkeley, CA 94704
Comic Relief 2138 University Ave., Berkeley, CA. www.comicrelief.net
Criminal Records 466 Euclid Avenue Atlanta, GA 30307
Double Entendre 120 S. Broadway Denver, CO 80209-1508
Fat Jack’s Comicrypt 2006 Sansom St Philadelphia PA 19103-4417 /215-963-0788

Flor Y Canto 3706 N. Figueroa Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90065 www.florycanto.org
Flyrabbit 155 Harvard Ave. Allston MA 02134

Funny Papers 2025 Guadalupe #132 Austin TX 78705 (512) 478-9718 info@funnypapers.com

Here 108 stokes croft / Bristol /bs1 3ru/ u.k. http://www.slumberparty.co.uk/here/

Idle Kids 3535 Cass Ave. Detroit, MI 48201 www.idlekids.com
Laughing Horse Books 3652 SE Division Portland, Oregon 97202
Left Bank Books 92 Pike St. Seattle, WA 98101 www.leftbankbooks.com
Long Haul infoshop 3124 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA 94705 www.thelonghaul.org
Lucy Parson's Center 549 Columbus Ave. Boston, MA 02118 www.tao.ca/~lucyparsons
Magpie Magazine Gallery Inc.1319 Commercial Dr Vancouver, BC CANADA

May Day Books 155 1st Ave. Manhattan, NY www.maydaybooks.net
Modern Times Bookstore 888 Valencia St. San Francisco, CA 94110
Mother Kali's Books 720 E 13th Ave. Eugene, OR 97401 www.motherkalis.com
Naked Eye 533 Haight St. San Francisco, CA 94117
Needles and Pens 483 14th Ave. San Francisco, CA 94103 www.needles-pens.com
Off the Record 3849 5th Ave. San Diego, CA 92103
Powell's Books 1005 W Burnside St. Portland, OR 97209 www.powells.com
Q is for Choir 2510 SE Clinton St. Portland, OR 97202
Quimby's 1854 W. North Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 www.quimbys.com
Reading Frenzy 921 SW Oak St. Portland, OR 97205 www.readingfrenzy.com
SEE HEAR FANZINES MAGAZINES & BOOKS 59 East 7th Street New York NY 10003 www.zinemart.com

Shake It Records 4156 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45223 www.shakeitrecords.com
Slacker1321 Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Solidarity Books860 Virginia Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46203-1705
Spartacus Books 311 W Hastings St. Vancouver, BC V6B 1H8 Canada

Sticky-Shop 10, Campbell Arcade, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (postal address) Sticky, P.O.Box 310, Flinders Lane Post Office Melbourne,Victoria 8009 Australia.sticky@platform.org.au

Stinkweed Records 1250 E. Apache #109 Tempe, AZ 85281
St. Mark's Bookshop 31 Third Ave. New York, NY 10003 www.stmarksbookshop.com
Star Clipper Comics 379 North Big Bend Blvd St Louis MO 63130 /314-725-9110 http://www.starclipper.org/

Subterranean Books 9 East Gregory Pensacola, FL 32501

33 1/3 Books 1200 N Alvarado Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
The Misfit Theatre 335 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand. the_misfit_theatre@hotmail.com

Whizz Records 20 south 9th St Columbia MO 65201 http://www.menschenfeind.com/consignment.doc

Wooden Shoe Books 508 S. Fifth Street Philadelphia, PA www.woodenshoebooks.com

E-groups- An e-group is an online group involving people with a similar interest. There are a number of e-groups dedicated to zines. On these groups you can often find a number of people who self-publish who might be interested in your publication. The original purpose of these groups was probably for information sharing but often the focus strays far from the original purpose. Enter an e-group at your own risk. On them people can be very rude. However they are often a place where the knowledge of hundreds is a question away. It is recommended to have an email account hosted by whoever the group is hosted by for easier access to data bases and links and archived information. Some e-groups for zines are Zinesters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zinesters/ (US Based, but world wide), Zines & Fun http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zinesandfun/ (Australian Based, but world wide) and

For more information go to http://poopsheetnews.blogspot.com, http://www.moderntales.com/, http://www.javaturtle.com, http://www.geocities.com/echozinedistro/history.html, http://www.pinkpoodlezine.com, http://www.oneinchround.com/, http://www.bazaarbizarrewest.org, http://www.altgeek.net/, http://www.grrrlzines.net/, http://www.factsheet5.org/, http://www.zinesters.net/, http://www.invisibleinkradio.com, http://www.lilycat.com, http://members.cox.net/okiezine/, http://www.mini-comics.com/, http://members.aol.com/vlorbik/zine.html, http://www.zinethug.com/index.html, http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/smallpress/105826561298667.htm, http://worthycomics.com/halloween.htm, http://www.zinebook.com/, http://www.topwebcomics.com/top.php, http://vox.i85.net/, http://www.thesmallpress.com/, http://www.comicbookresources.com/, http://caption.org/2002/minicomics/, http://sushipop.net/zines/, http://www.blambot.com/comics101/greatcomics.html, http://www.cardhouse.com/heath/, http://www.meer.net/~johnl/e-zine-list/index.html, http://www.undergroundpress.org/, http://www.crashzineonline.net/

http://www.artellawordsandart.com/index.html, http://www.xericfoundation.com/, http://www.autonomedia.org/bookmobile/, http://www.juxtapoz.com

http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2003/sites/sakharov/AS/biography/dissent.html,

http://www.violeteyes.net,