Tuesday 29 May 2012

Zine Reviews: May 2012


Your Pretty Face is Going Straight to Hell #16
Tukru, Kent – tukrulovesyouATgmail.com
Inside this long-awaited issue of long-running perzine 'Your Pretty Face...', Tukru spends much of her time focusing on future plans and taking stock of her life on the cusp of her 30th birthday.  The main part of this zine is dedicated to listing things Tukru wants to do before she turns 30 – these include joining a band, organising a zine event in Medway (which she managed to do after this zine was published!), get tattooed, finish writing a big zine about her favourite band The Ark, and doing more craft projects.  Tukru also writes about her long term relationship with Carl, rollerskating, zinefests, her lucky number seven, and letter-writing.  The writing is in Tukru’s signature stream-of-consciousness feel, and the zine looks as gorgeous as ever – lots of fun fonts, negative images, and cut-and-paste collage-style layouts.  Tukru’s best creation yet!

Not Growing Up #1: Surprises & Not Growing Up #2: Write
Jessica P, England - www.notgrowingup.com
'Not Growing Up' is a half-sized zine full of tasks, challenges and inspiring words that aim to encourage the reader into affirmative action!  Issue #1 is all about the element of surprise; inside, Jessica encourages you to surprise yourself by pledging to do 3 things you’ve always wanted to try.  She also lists nice ways of surprising others, e.g. “buy a child a balloon”.  This issue feels more like a workbook than a zine, with a few pages left blank for the reader to fill in with their ideas.  Issue #2 is subtitled “write”, and features writing tips, an introduction to NaNoWriMo, thoughts on poetry and short stories, a piece on the benefits of keeping a journal, and lots of writing prompts (e.g. “think of your least favourite colour. Now imagine you woke up one day and your hair was that colour! What would you do?”).  We also read a poem and a short story written by Jessica, as well as some poetry written by guest contributors (points awarded for including a poem by Tony Harrison!).  Both issues have full colour covers and attractive interior pages that have clearly been well thought out, with imaginative use of fonts and images.  I would even say that some parts of the zine look more like a professional pamphlet than a handmade zine.  While I love the idea behind this zine series, I didn’t find either issue particularly inspiring.  The suggested tasks weren’t particularly creative, and some were just a bit silly - though perhaps some people will enjoy trying some silly tasks!  I also found that much of Jessica’s advice and tips/techniques were obvious - advice such as “always have a pen and paper with you” and “pour your heart into your writing” just seems like old hat to me.  Having said that, perhaps I’m not the right audience for this zine, as someone who writes fairly regularly and reads a lot about the creative process (you won’t go far wrong with ‘The Artist’s Way’, by the way).  It seems that this zine would be enjoyed by someone who hasn’t written or read much about how to write before - my young teenage cousin springs to mind as someone who I think would really enjoy this zine.  

Larry #5
Lee, West Midlands - dis_connectedAThotmail.co.uk
Now that I’m a dab hand at devouring perzines (and have encountered many perzines that feel too similar for my liking), it’s rare that I encounter a real page-turner of a perzine that draws me in from the beginning.  'Larry' is one of these rare zines!  It’s packed full of short reflective columns about recent events in Lee’s life, such as meeting a preachy Christian on the bus, dealing with annoying customers at work, and trying to stop worrying so much.  We read some longer pieces on the perils of smoking, feeling awkward at zine fests (me too!), social networking as the “desire to assert through technology that you exist”, and ethically sourced food and clothing.  There’s also an interesting how-to guide on practicing line drawings.  Each written column/article was just long enough to tell the story in depth, but not so long as to be self-indulgent, or a chore to read.  I identified with so much of Lee’s writing – he seems like a thoughtful, politically-minded chap with a lot of interesting things to say about the world around him.  I also loved the artwork inside the zine – Lee is an illustrator, and every page is decorated with his distinctive scratchy-lined hand-drawings, sometimes as background images and sometimes as illustrations to accompany his written work (an example page can be found here).  Each copy of 'Larry' is hand-tied, numbered, and has a little window cut out of the cartridge paper cover revealing a cute hand-drawn squirrel - I love little personal touches like that. This is one of the best zines I’ve read for ages, I highly recommend it!

Punching Dough #1
Sarah, Newport – iamatomatosardineATgmail.com
A quick fun perzine, 'Punching Dough' touches upon lots of diverse topics, including why the author loves London, her feelings about her home city of Newport and her favourite places in the city, her love for comedian Stewart Lee, thoughts about blogging (written by a guest contributor), and some of her favourite blogs.  We also read typical perzine staple pieces – a recipe for caramel croissant pudding (yum!), lists, and some zine recommendations.  Very scruffy and personal, full of stickers and cut-and-paste text laid on magazine clippings, which I like; I only wish it was longer!

My Zine #4 & #8
Written by the daughter of Mr T, owner of Lights Go Out zine distro, 'My Zine' features Elyssa’s colourful and creative hand drawings.  I’m not even sure what most of the drawings are, but maybe deciphering them is part of the fun!  #8 was my favourite of the two, as it included a cute self-portrait, and a frankly scary drawing of three bears who loom menacingly over Goldilocks sleeping in their bed, baring their pointy fangs!  I showed these zines to my mum when they first arrived in the mail, and we both spent a good few minutes cooing over them.  So cute!  

Sunday 20 May 2012

Zine News Round-Up: 20.05.12




It’s been a bit of a quiet fortnight, folks!  Here’s the dribs and drabs we found on the interwebs this weekend.  Keep sending us the news, and let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed in this blog post. 


1. Zine Releases
2. Upcoming Events
3. Submission Calls
4. Distro News
5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- ‘God Save The Zine’ (the Jubilee edition) is the second collaborative zine from Bradford-based zine collective Loosely Bound.  Buy your copy here.
- ‘Sad Songs About Failed Relationships’,
a pictorial perzine about a succession of relationships going wrong, was published this week.  Contact the author Kirsten at kirsten.tamblingATgooglemail.com for a copy.

2. Upcoming Events
- Nottingham Zine Fair: Saturday 26th May at Spanky Van Dykes, Nottingham, 12 til 6pm.  Stalls are still available!  More info can be found at their website, or their twitter.
- Inc Magazine #5 Launch Party: Wednesday 30th May at The Bookclub, Shoreditch, London. With live poetry, music, and free zines!  RSVP and details here.
- Loosely Bound Presents ‘God Save The Zine’: Tuesday 5th June at ‘Handmade in Bradford’, 11am til 3pm.  Organised by Loosely Bound Zine Collective; more info can be found at their website.
- The Great Glasgow Charity Comic Mart: Saturday 9th June at Britannia Panopticon, Glasgow.  More info here.
- ‘Little Zine Party’: Saturday 4th August at Ort Café, Birmingham.  A day of “stalls, screen printing & zine making workshops, zine readings, and making friends”!  To get involved, email the organiser Sarah at elderflower-teaAThotmail.co.uk.
- Leeds Zine Fair: Sunday 4th November.  If you'd like to get involved in organising the zine fair, or hold a stall at the zine fair then get in touch at footprintATfootprinters.co.uk.


3. Submission Calls
- We haven’t found any new submission calls this fortnight, but last week’s submission calls are still open!

4. Distro News
- Vampire Sushi is closed for a few days for a stocktake.  You can still buy zines from our other lovely UK distros listed in the sidebar of this blog à

5. AOB
- London Metropolitan University is seeking a new home for the much-loved Women’s Library as a cost-cutting measure, or reduce opening times to one day a week if a new home or sponsor cannot be found.  The Women’s Library has hosted some wonderful zine fests, and will be sorely missed if these plans go ahead.  Spill the Zines will be writing a full blog post about this soon; in the meantime, you can sign the petition to keep the Women’s Library open here.  Check out this great campaign video for more information:



Monday 7 May 2012

Zine News Round-Up: 06.05.12




1. Zine Releases
2. Upcoming Events
3. Submission Calls
4. Distro News
5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Buy Her Candy #2, a feminist perzine, has been released this week – buy a copy at Bettie’s etsy store.
- The first issue of perzine Bloomurder has just been published!  Buy a copy at
http://www.etsy.com/listing/98939203/bloomurder-a-perzine
- Girls Get Busy #12, a feminist compzine, is out now!  Buy a copy at their Big Cartel store.
- Gayle B has just released a free minizine entitled ‘Everyday Nonsense’.  For a copy, email Gayle at gbugbyAThotmail.co.uk
- Oddments #4: The Book Issue, is a perzine written by Marceline Smith, the person behind Pushpin Publishing!  Buy your copy here.
- Free zine Bread of Life #2, is out now.  Get in touch with the author to arrange swaps or sends!
- Smasha Zine, a music zine published out of Kent, has just released its 4th issue.  Buy or trade by emailing the author at smashazineATlive.co.uk.

2. Upcoming Events
- Medway Zines Zine Reading + Workshop: Saturday 12th May at CoFORWARD.  There is only limited space in the venue, so book early to avoid disappointment!  More info at http://medwayzines.tumblr.com/.
- Victoria Baths Fanzine Convention: Saturday 19th May at Victoria Baths, Manchester.  There are plenty of spaces for stallholders left – more info can be found here.
- Nottingham Zine Fair: Saturday 26th May at Spanky Van Dykes, Nottingham, 12 til 6pm.  Stalls are still available!  More info can be found at their website, or their twitter.
- Inc Magazine #5 Launch Party: Wednesday 30th May at The Bookclub, Shoreditch, London. With live poetry, music, and free zines!  RSVP and details here.
- Loosely Bound Presents God Save The Zine: Tuesday 5th June at ‘Handmade in Bradford’, 11am til 3pm.  Organised by Loosely Bound Zine Collective; more info can be found at their website.
- The Great Glasgow Charity Comic Mart: Saturday 9th June at Britannia Panopticon, Glasgow.  More info here.
- Leeds Zine Fair: Sunday 4th November.  If you'd like to get involved in organising the zine fair, or hold a stall at the zine fair then get in touch at footprintATfootprinters.co.uk
- Anyone interested in a Norfolk zine fest? Join the conversation over at We Make Zines.



3. Submission Calls
- Jean McEwan and Jon Eland invite you to submit your interest or finished pieces celebrating the work of the alternative rock band Flaming Lips. More info here.
- Fatty Unbound has sent out a submission call for Make It Work #2, a fatshion/craft zine.  Lots of writing prompts and details can be found here.
- Pandora Press, a feminist compzine published by Swansea Feminist Network, is still looking for contributions for its 4th issue, the “pink” issue!  More details here: http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com/pandora-press  
- Last week’s submission calls are still open too!

4. Distro News
- Marching Stars is on hiatus for a little while – check back in a week or so!  www.marchingstars.co.uk
- New zines at Pushpin Publishing! http://www.pushpinzines.co.uk/collections/new

5. AOB
- Bettie, author of zine series Anatomical Heart and Buy Her Candy, has started a blog all about stationery!  Us zinesters are the biggest stationery geeks, so you should definitely go and check it out: http://thepocketnotebook.blogspot.co.uk/
- Spill the Zines’ “Ten Tips for First Time Zinesters”, written by Hannah, is doing the rounds on tumblr and getting some great feedback!  Check it out for yourself here (and if you want to reblog, you can find it on tumblr here).