Spill The Zines!

Zine News Round Up: 04.03.12

2012-03-04T21:23:00.002Z

via http://bit.ly/x0Si08

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Girls Get Busy #11 is out now! Buy your copy here: http://girlsgetbusyzine.bigcartel.com/product/girls-get-busy-11
- Financially Hard Times #10 is out now (we'll be reviewing it this month, by the way)! Take a look here: http://tomcassonillustration.blogspot.com/2012/02/financially-hard-times-february-10.html

- Have you released a new zine this month? Let us know so we can share the news with our readers!

2. Upcoming Events
- Loosely Bound’s Zine Extravaganza: Saturday 24th March at 1 Tyrell Street, Bradford. The collective are looking for stallholders for the event - Please email your expression of interest and a link to your website tolooselybound@hotmail.com by Monday 12th March.

- Ladyfest East London: Sunday 1^st April in Hoxton Square. A day of zines, music, workshops, and cake! The organisers are looking for people to get involved – email ladyfesteastlondon@gmail.com for more info.

- Victoria Baths Fanzine Convention: Saturday 19^th March at Victoria Baths, Manchester. There are plenty of spaces for stallholders left –more info on applying for a table can be found here.

3. Submission Calls
- I’m putting together a blog post on what people like to read/see in a zine (e.g. lists, collages, rants, future plans, handwritten text), and I need you guys to send me a few words about your favourite things in zines! Either tweet @SpilltheZines, write on our Facebook wall, or email us (spillthezinesukATgmail.com). I’ll be putting the post together at the end of the month.

- Zineage Kicks (awesome name, huh?) are looking for images of the zines you made in your teenage years! More info can be found at the website.

- A compzine about arrest experiences are calling for people to submit their stories of being arrested by the police. Submission deadline is March 31st. Please send all submissions and questions to arreststoriesprojectATriseup.net.

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars is off hiatus, with lots of new zines in stock, and an exciting new feature: the Marching Stars loyalty card! Every zine you buy that costs £1 + earns you a stamp. Earn 15 stamps and you get a free zine! Check out all the goodness at www.marchingstars.co.uk

- Vampire Sushi Distro is closed for a little while for a post-zinefest stock check. There will be new zines in stock when they re-open! www.vampiresushi.co.uk

- Some new stuff has been added to Pushpin Publishing’s catalogue! http://www.pushpinzines.co.uk/collections/new

5. AOB
- Spill the Zines’ Facebook page has had a makeover! Take a look and “like” us!

- check out this cool video taken at Tooting Zine Fair last weekend:

Zine Reviews: Feb '12 - vlog special!

2012-02-26T17:45:00.000Z

I decided to do something different this month, and put February's zine reviews as a vlog! It's a bit rough, but then it is only my first vlog. Let me know what you think! :)

Zine News Round Up: 12.02.12

2012-02-12T17:34:00.000Z

photo by Hello Amber (http://fight-boredom.com)

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- The first issue of Now In Lemon is out, featuring illustration, art, and a bit of writing. More info at http://nowinlemon.com/.

- Toastycats #6, a comic by Magda Boreysza published out of Scotland, is out now! Buy your copy here.

- A new perzine, Any Old Iron, is out now, featuring musings on nude modelling, colouring for grown ups, comics, a lino print, and other lovely stuff. Get in touch with Hannah to buy or trade.

2. Upcoming Events
- Cardiff Book Arts Fayre: Saturday 25^th February at Turner House, Cardiff, 11am til 5pm. http://ffotogallerybookartsfayre.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/six/

- Tooting Zine Fair: Saturday 25th February at Construction Gallery, Tooting, 12pm til 6pm. There are still free stalls and workshop spaces available! For more info on the event, visit http://tootingzines.tumblr.com/ (and check out their cute flyer!)

- Loosely Bound’s Zine Extravaganza: Saturday 24th March at 1 Tyrell Street, Bradford. The collective are looking for stallholders for the event - Please email your expression of interest and a link to your website tolooselybound@hotmail.com by Monday 12th March.

- Victoria Baths Fanzine Convention: Saturday 19^th March at Victoria Baths, Manchester. There are plenty of spaces for stallholders left –more info on applying for a table can be found here.

3. Submission Calls
- Pandora Press, a feminist comp-zine created by the Swansea Feminist Network, has extended its deadline for submissions until 20^th February! For writing prompts and detailed info on how to submit something, check out the SFN website.

- A new UK film zine called Human Batteries is looking for submissions for its first issue. More info can be found on their comprehensive flyer.

- Most of last week’s submission calls are still open too!

4. Distro News

- Vampire Sushi Distro is closed for a few days for a post-zinefest stock check. There will be new zines in stock when they re-open! www.vampiresushi.co.uk

- Over at Pushpin Publishing, the 'Answers on a Postcard' series of crafty business zines are now half price, just £1 each. They also have a new artist bookmark by illustrator Chris Summerlin, which is free with all orders over £6. www.pushpinzines.co.uk

5. AOB
- Instead of including zine reviews in the fortnightly zine news posts, I’ve added a list of UK zine review blogs to the sidebar. Check them out! If you write a UK zine review blog and want to be added to the list, email me!

- Not really UK-related, but just to let you know that Alex Wrekk has launched an awesome Stolen Sharpie Revolution website, which features lists of zine events, distros, and resources from the international zine community. Also, we’ve been mentioned a few times there! Check it out - http://www.stolensharpierevolution.org/.

Feature: Working With Distros

2012-02-05T11:03:00.000Z

This is a guest post by Lizzy Goddard, who has been running Marching Stars Distro since July 2007. These opinions are all Lizzy's own. Every distro is different; probably because every distro is run by an actual, gloriously unique person/collective.

Marching Stars at London Zine Symposium 2011

Distros. You’ve heard of them. You’ve seen them around. You might have even ordered from one. Why then are so many zinesters so nervous about working with us?! We want to stock your zines! I’ve run marching stars zine distro (www.marchingstars.co.uk ) for 4 ½ years and this little guide is based on a “Working with Distros” Workshop that I ran at Camden Zine Fest 2011. I hope to run it again at future zine events, because I love talking about distros and my experiences of running one. But more importantly, I want zinesters to feel more comfortable working with us, because we only exist because of YOU and YOUR ZINES.

What is a Distro?

Distro, short for distribution or distributor, quite simply, distributes zines on behalf of zinesters. Lots of zines, in one place. Distro is both a noun and a verb. I run a distro and I distro zines. I truly believe that distros are very much part of the zine community, and here’s why:

Role of a Distro

From a zinester point of view

- get your zine out to a wider audience

- get your zine to a different country

- promotion of your zine

- get your zine in with similar zines

- get your zine sold with other zines you respect and love

- money/shifting your stock

- getting your zine out there without giving your address/etc

From the zine reader point of view

- get lots of different zines in one order

- save on postage

- pick up zines you might night ave otherwise heard about

- lots of similarly themed zines in one place

- might trust the distro owner’s opinion

From the distro owner point of view

- there aren’t other distros selling what you want to buy

- help make lots of zines available in one place

- promote zines in non-zine places (e.g. gigs)

- collect together zines on a certain theme in one place

- help make international zines more accessible here

- not competitive

3 main ways distros work

Quotes taken from ‘Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2’ by Alex Wrekk.

1. Buy zines outright at wholesale prices. “This is when a distro pays you wholesale price for the zines upfront, before they sell any copies or sometimes before they receive them.”

- Wholesale price: “The discounted price you would offer a distro for buying multiple copies. You can specify a minimum quantity if you like. Most wholesale prices are around 50-70% of the retail price.”

- Retail price: “The price that you sell a single issue of your zine for and the price you would like other distros to sell you zine for. A high price can detract distros and potential buyers from your zine."

2. Consignment. “When a distro pays you the wholesale price after all or a portion of the zines have sold. Some distros work on a regular time frame like quarterly or monthly. This can vary from distro to distro”

3. Flat copies. You send the flat pages of your zine to the distro

3 main ways distros sell

1. Online (usually through a website with integrated paypal or online checkout)

2. At shows and events (both zine-specific and non-zine specific)

3. Paper catalogue (good old snail-mail)

Do’s and Don’ts

- reply to emails

- only send zines for consideration that you can make lots of and intend to for quite a while (i.e. not a limited print run)

- include a note with important info on (email address, wholesale/retail price, etc)

- email when you have new issues out

- package zines well when you send them

- keep accurate records

- ask questions if you don’t understand

- send personalised emails

- maybe look up the distro owners name?

- tell them how you heard about them? Why you chose to submit to them?

Don’t

- not look at what the distro normally stocks and offer something totally different

- send a zine for consideration and then never reply to emails

- have a ridiculously high wholesale price

- not send zines (either before or after payment), the ultimate ‘not cool’.

- expect to make money out of it

Things you can expect from the distro

Distros are run on love alone. I cannot stress this enough. But now I’ve put that out there, the following things you can expect from a distro (in due time – life does get in the way sometimes!):

- replies to emails

- accurate records

- zines promptly added to the website

- updated website

- your zines being promoted

- their choosing ‘good’ zines and maintain a certain standard

Distros aren’t for everyone

Sadly selling your zine through a distro isn’t for everyone, but a lot of the problems with distros applying to selling your zine in general.

- No control over who reads your zines/where they end up

- Might work out that you lose money

- Might not like the description of your zine

- Some distros wholesale zines to other distros (they’ll say, but just heads up)

- Producing in the quantities they want if it’s a limited print run

- Zines can stay in distros for months/years after you’ve stopped printing them

- Zero contact with the reader

Rejection

- You might not get a reply. This is probably because it’s really hard for distro owners to reject zines (no-one likes to say no to what people have lovingly created).

- Try not to be too disheartened and consider submitting elsewhere.

- Definitely submit future issues (or ask if it’s ok to submit future issues)

- There are lots of reasons why a distro might reject a zine including space/money and it not ‘fitting’ with other zines stocked. Reasons I’ve, sadly, had to reject zines include: poor spelling/grammar; hard to read; poorly photocopied/put together and too expensive.

- If your zine is rejected, or you just don’t hear from them, feel free to ask why they rejected it and hopefully you’ll get some constructive criticism (or hear it was rejected for some reason out of your control).

- Remember, distros are run on love, so at the end of the day it is the prerogative of the distro owner to decide what they do and don’t want to stock, and that can be a little irrational.

Where to find distros

- The links over there -->

- Google

- Zine fairs/events

- ‘Links’ section on most distro websites

So, I know that’s quite a lot of information, but it’s really not that scary. You haven’t got much to lose in submitting to a distro, and stand to gain a huge amount – so go for it!

Zine News Round Up: 28.01.12

2012-01-28T17:08:00.001Z

http://thesebodiesareengines.tumblr.com/post/14306352378/d

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Fanzine Ynfytyn #18 is out now! Buy a copy at Emma Jane Falconer’s website. (Read my review of Fanzine Ynfytyn #17 here)

- Journeyman #4, a zine featuring photographs taken with a selection of toy cameras. Sold at Lulu.com.

- Perzine Cat’s Teeth #10: Mother of Otherness is out now. More info can be found on the author’s We Make Zines page.

2. Upcoming Events
- Girls Get Busy 1^st Birthday Party: 31^st January, 9pm onwards at The Alibi, London. Riot Grrrl karaoke, with a free party bag for everyone who participates! More info here.

- Bristol Radical Zine Fest: 12^th February, 12 til 6pm at Kebele Community, Co-Op. The first stalls have now been confirmed, and there are very limited places left, so apply now! http://bristolradicalzinefest.wordpress.com/
- Loosely Bound Zine Extravaganza: 24th March at 1 Tyrell Street, Bradford. The collective are looking for stallholders for the event - Please email your expression of interest and a link to your website to looselybound@hotmail.com by Monday 12th March.

3. Submission Calls
- The Swansea Women’s Centre, a women’s refuge and campaign group in Wales, are holding a workshop day for International Women’s Day. One of the rooms at the centre will be turned into a feminist art gallery for the day, and we’re looking for all kinds of artwork to feature in our gallery! More details can be found at the Swansea Feminist Network website.
- Zinester Sophie Sherwood is looking for love letters for a project she’s working on. All submissions will be anonymous. Email her for more info on We Make Zines.

- London-based artzine Playerist is looking for “all styles of words and images on the theme of artifice”. Email slidelAThotmail.co.uk for more info.

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars is on hiatus for a few weeks. Lizzy is looking for new zines to stock in the distro – if you have any zines that you’d like Marching Stars to stock, or if you want her to stock your zine, get in touch at distroATmarchingstars.co.uk.

- All orders made at Vampire Sushi distro before the end of January will get a free poster! Only a few days left!

- Princesa Pirata’s Kissing Behind the Barricades 2012 calendars are now half price! Buy yours before they sell out: http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com/postcards-etc/

- Loads of new zines have been added to Pushpin Publishing’s catalogue! Take a look here: http://www.pushpinzines.co.uk/collections/new

5. AOB
- Someone made a Shit Zinesters Say video (e.g. “Hey do you take trades? I made this 6 hours before the zine fest, it kinda sucks”)! Although not all the statements are universally relatable, it’s quite funny on the whole:

Zine Reviews: January '12

2012-01-22T15:31:00.001Z

Split Peaches #1: The Zine

Split Peaches (feminist collective) – lola-roseATriseup.net

Split Peaches is a “women’s and trans people health collective” based in Leeds, and their first zine features writings that represent what the collective is all about. The zine opens with a description of what Split Peaches is, and why they chose to only remain open to women and trans people. The rest of the zine focuses mostly on health, with articles on self-examination, eating disorders, “chub rub”, the mental health benefits of being child-free, how to get pregnant, effective methods of contraception, and a map of the cervix. There are also some feministy articles that avoid the subject of health, including a discussion of the relationship between women and bicycles, a passionate rant against the gender binary, and growing old disgracefully. Each article is detailed and lucid, and the layouts vary from plain and functional, to messy cut-and-paste, to pretty and dainty. This zine reminded me a little of Reassess Your Weapons (the zine created by feminist group Manifesta), as it looks and feels very similar. A very good read!

Kerb Crawled: Reacting to Street Harassment

Various, Bradford - femreadATnorthern-indymedia.org

This zine, as explained on the cover, was created at Bradford Zine Fayre 2010 and the Brighton Zine Festival 2011, following workshops on experiences of sexual harassment. I found this zine funny and entertaining, handling the difficult subject matter with humour and sharp mockery of the curb crawlers and their enablers. The zine is almost entirely hand-drawn and hand-written, with each contributor focusing on a different aspect of street harassment. We read definitions of curb crawling, personal stories of harassment, critiques of victim-blaming adverts that tell women how to avoid harassment, examples of the obscene language curb crawlers use, and some ideas they have heard on how to avoid getting hassled by someone (including picking your nose)! Read it for free here.

Black Ski Mask #1
Max Mallender, Yorkshire - blackskimaskATliveDOTcom
Described as “the visual ramblings of a university drop-out”, Black Ski Mask consists of full-colour photographs, some of which are captioned, of the author’s life. Such things photographed include picking locks, smoking weed, climbing trees, partying, exploring, and vandalising; combined, they tell an interesting story about the author's life. There’s also a nice poem inside. As someone who enjoys something to read in a zine, I have to be honest and admit that I didn’t get much from Black Ski Mask. However, I will say that it’s among the better photo zines I’ve read, mostly due to the high quality and interesting subject matter of the photographs. Some of them are very good indeed, both in terms of quality and concept. A very well-designed zine, if you’re a fan of photography and art.

Fanzine Ynfytyn #17

Emma Jane Falconer, Kent – www.emmajanefalconer.com

Fanzine Ynfytyn is a short and sweet perzine filled with lists, pretty backgrounds, and heart-warming stories. In the 17^th issue, we read about Emma’s mother’s cats, and Emma’s quest to get hold of a working Mr. Frosty. This issue is packed FULL of lists – these include things Emma is bad at, things that annoy her, and small pleasures. At 22 pages, it’s a quick, cheerful read.

Inc. magazine #4
Edited by Will Coldwell and Anya Pearson – www.inc-zine.blogspot.com

This isn’t the kind of zine I usually go for, but I was tempted by the awesome cover and the concept. The zine features two chains, each one alternating between poets and illustrators, “charting an unpredictable journey as ideas get reused, recycled, and downright corrupted”. I would have to say that this is one of only three poetry zines I’ve ever enjoyed – usually zine poetry is poorly-written (from an outsider’s perspective, at least), but the poetry in Inc was great. The illustrations were excellent too. It has quite a personal touch, for a comp-zine – each copy is hand-numbered, stamped, and sealed. I would recommend this zine to those of you who enjoy poetry, illustrations, and conceptual art.

Financially Hard Times #8: December ‘11

Tom Casson, London - http://tomcassonillustration.blogspot.com/

A short, monthly zine which takes a scathing look at pop culture. Filled with Tom’s awesome illustrations, this issue features Greg Wallace from Masterchef, Clegg & Cameron, David Miliband, and an imagining of the House of Commons Christmas party. A quick read, FHT is irreverent and funny – I only wish it was longer and wordier! Subcribe for a discounted rate here.

(Next Sunday is International Internet Free Day, so Spill the Zines will be posting its fortnightly news round-up a day early, on Saturday 28th!)

Zine News Round Up: 15.01.12

2012-01-15T17:30:00.000Z

via GirlsGetBusyZine.tumblr.com

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- We Heart Lisa Simpson is now available! A zine dedicated to a “feminist icon”. More info here!
- Disregarded London, a zine filled with photographic mixed media images of forgotten spaces in London. More info on etsy.

- Sky Nash has released two new zines this month: My Phone Hates Me #2, and The Mallades. More info about both can be found at Sky’s etsy shop.
- Miles Better: A Guide To Glasgow, is a guide to Marceline’s favourite places in Glasgow. Buy a copy on etsy.
- Black Sunday #2, a metal/horror zine, is out now! Get your copy here.
- Theodore Knuckle #1, a comic zine about a lonely midnight DJ! For more info, or to buy a copy, visit Hannah’s Folksy store.

2. Upcoming Events
- Girls Get Busy 1^st Birthday Party: 31^st January 2012, 9pm onwards at The Alibi, London. Riot Grrrl karaoke, with a free party bag for everyone who participates! More info here.

- Bristol Radical Zine Fest: 12^th February 2012, 12 til 6pm at Kebele Community, Co-Op. Want to apply for a table? Email bristolradicalzinefestATgmail.com with a bit about who you are and what you’ll be selling before 8^th January 2012.

3. Submission Calls
- Tiny Doodles zine is looking for people to submit a page of doodles for its second issue. Any topic is welcome. More info can be found here.
- Brown Paper Bundles is a website dedicated to distributing 2D art for free to the general public. Submit your art work by sending an email to thechickencoopATlive.co.uk.

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars has had a big update, with new zines in stock! If you order over 12 zines in January, get 20% off your entire order! www.marchingstars.co.uk

- Princesa Pirata has nine new zines in the distro! http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com/about-2/

- Vampire Sushi has a nice new layout, and every order in the month of January gets a free vampire sushi poster! www.vampiresushi.co.uk

5. AOB
- Sarah Tea Rex has turned her zine, I Am Not The Rain (a zine about life after childhood sexual abuse) into a video story that can be viewed online for free. I highly recommend giving it a watch, though some may find it upsetting or triggering.

Zine Reviews: December '11

2011-12-23T23:04:00.001Z

Exploding the Myth #5

Kira Swales, Chester – kiraswales.blogspot.com

The fifth issue of Kira’s feminist perzine is a little different from previous issues – this one is more text-heavy, and comes in quarter-size, my favourite zine size! Kira explains in the introduction that these changes to the zine reflect the changes she has experienced in her life since writing ETM #4 – such changes include studying at university, living away from home and feeling like a visitor when returning to her home in Hull, growing older, and her changing attitude towards her appearance. We also read a queer take on The Famous Five character George, diary entries from her visit to Brighton in February, and a list of interesting things Kira has found on her travels. The layouts are mostly blocks of typewritten text laid over pretty backgrounds, with some handwritten sections, and some illustrations. Definitely my favourite issue of Exploding the Myth!

Silence, Cupcake

Amelia Jane, Bristol – thathippyameliaATgmail.com

Silence Cupcake is a typical mental health perzine – inside, we read introspective pieces discussing her struggle with depression and social anxiety and attempts to medicate, trying to pass as “normal”, a lack of emotional support, touching reflections on the death of her grandfather, and her future. The style is unusual, however – Amelia writes on graph paper, which is hard to read in places. The Spanish comic book imagery used throughout doesn’t quite fit –though perhaps it was used deliberately. The zine opens with a mouth-watering page on cookery, which is well-written, but feels rather out of place. Having said that, there are many lovely bits in the zine – a 2-page spread on “the game” of “acting normal” for one (“Smile when you’re not happy – we don’t like sad people, they make us uncomfortable”), and the way Amelia emphasises certain aspects of the text by spelling them out in large letters. While it was very well-written, the style was a bit too messy and not cohesive enough for my liking. For only 50p from Marching Stars, it’s definitely worth a flick through. The author has a great feminist blog called That Fucking Hippy that you should check out too.

Cube: Issue 12 (autumn 2007)

www.cubeweb.org.uk

Love love love this zine! I picked it up at the freebies table at Sheffield Zine Fest 2011, and I’m so glad I did! A quarterly Sheffield-based publication written by young people, Cube is somewhere between a zine and a magazine; the (mostly) professional look of a magazine, combined with the content and feel of a zine. Inside this issue, there’s a nice mixture of articles, most of which carry a young, feel-good feel – among many other things, we read about how to overcome shyness, the development of the movie soundtrack, flash mobs, the silent suffering of clinical depression, the rise of Wiccanism, and women in rock and indie. Sheffield-specific pieces include a feature on the best parks in the city, and the story of the infamous Henderson’s Relish. There are also interviews (one interview is with cover stars “Grrrls Next Door”, a three-piece riot grrrl band), reviews, a fashion page, inspiring quotes, and random facts (for example, did you know that Donald Duck is banned in Finland because he doesn’t wear pants?). Cube is fun and diverse – it kinda feels like the magazine that most university publications aspire to be. Highly recommended, even more so if you’re from Sheffield.

A Basic Introduction to Basic Self-Care

No contact information

I picked this zine up on a freebie table at one of autumn’s zine fairs. It’s a smart idea – an 8-page quarter-sized zine on self-care that opens up into an A3 poster which illustrates what to do when you find an unconscious person. Written by health care students and anarchists, the zine aims to “break down the hierarchy that exists between health care professionals and patients” by teaching its readers how to self-examine, and which symptoms require urgent medical attention. The information in this zine is useful, though very thin on the ground – I would’ve liked to have read more about how to recognise what is “normal” for yourself, other places to self-examine (the zine only covers breast and testicle exams), or self-care via a good lifestyle/diet. Considering it was written by health care students, there are no insights in this zine that I hadn’t already picked up from the internet or from a TV doctor. A great idea, but not entirely well executed.

This Is Water #2: Seven Days of Trying to Pay Attention

Jean McEwan, Sheffield - jeanmariemcewanATgmailDOTcom

This zine was such a joy to read. I feel as if recently I’ve been bogged down by too many samey perzines (often focused on a twee/cutesy style), but this restored my faith in that oft-used zine genre. Inspired by the speech of the same name by writer David Foster Wallace, the zine documents a week of Jean’s life during which she pays attention to the little beautiful moments. These include receiving a postcard from a good friend, taking a walk through the autumnal park and observing the colours changing in the trees, and working her way through Wallace’s epic posthumous novel, “Infinite Jest”. The zine is illustrated beautifully with handwriting, doodles, ticket stubs, typewritten pages, postcards, and cut and paste collages. A particularly nice touch is where she includes a photocopy of 2 pages of Wallace’s novel, which, upon reading, I instantly added to my amazon wish list! I love the concept, the visual style, and the content. Can’t recommend enough!

Spill the Zines will be back in the new year. Happy holidays everyone!

Zine News Round-Up: 11.12.11

2011-12-11T14:19:00.001Z

image via tumblr

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

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1. Zine Releases
- Feminist compzine Pandora Press #2: The Sex Issue is out now! Get your copy at any Swansea Feminist Network event, view online at issuu.com/pandorapress, or at Marching Stars distro (from next week onwards).

- Angry Violist (author of Angry Violist zine) has a new perzine out – Hedgehog in the Fog #1! The zine includes writing about feminism, veganism, and debt. To buy or trade, get in touch here.

2. Upcoming Events
- Bristol Radical Zine Fest: 12^th February 2012, 12 til 6pm at Kebele Community, Co-Op. Want to apply for a table? Email bristolradicalzinefestATgmail.com with a bit about who you are and what you’ll be selling before 8^th January 2012.

3. Submission Calls
- We Make Zines have added a permanent thread on their forum dedicated to submission calls. Take a look!

- Awkward Sex Zine #2 is looking for submissions “that center around physically, emotionally, psychologically or otherwise awkward sexual experiences from people of ALL gender and sexual identities”. The guidelines can be found here.

- Feminist compzine Pandora Press #3 is looking for submissions on the topic of age/time! Deadline: 30^th January 2012. More detailed info and ideas can be found at the Swansea Feminist Network website.

- Most of last week’s submission calls are still open too!

4. Distro News

- Caribou, a travelling zine shop currently residing in Hopkinson’s Gallery, Nottingham, is looking to add music zines to its stock! Get in touch if interested in submitting your zine.

Zine News Round-Up: 27.11.11

2011-11-27T14:25:00.000Z

photo by Catherine Elms

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- RAGE, a counter-zine for freshers published out of London, is now available to view online for free! Definitely worth a flick-through. http://rageofmaidens.wordpress.com/rage-zine/

- London art zine “Naked Victorian Babes in Space” was released last week, and according to the author, “it does exactly what it says on the tin”. Contact the author for your copy here (she also has a free zine out called “Screw Your Zine”, so ask for that one too!).

- “Snow Black’s Dresses: Paper Doll Adventures” is out now! Each copy comes with 7 paper dolls for you to dress yourself! http://www.etsy.com/shop/SnowBlacksShop

- Rum Lad #5 is out now, featuring stories and drawings detailing the Moloch/Thou tour of the West Coast of USA. Buy a copy at Steve’s website or at Vampire Sushi distro.

- Welsh zine “Sadwrn” (welsh for both “Saturday” and the planet Saturn) was released this week. The zine features poetry in Welsh and English, and a Wales-inspired dream. Read it online here.

2. Upcoming Events
- ShadowPlay’s fanzine evening: 30^th November. 7pm til 10pm at Drink, Shop & Do in Kings Cross, London on the 30th November from 7pm-10pm. More information can be found on their blog.

- Charity art groups Egaku and Smile have teamed up to organise a Christmas Charity Art fair on 1^st December. 4 til 9.30pm at Designersblock, London. To donate artwork to be sold, get in touch asap at EgakuSmileATgmailDOTcom.

- Girls Get Busy Zines & Art Exhibition: 3^rd – 4^th December at The Shaklewell Arms, London. 12 til 5pm. More info here.

3. Submission Calls
- R is collecting submissions for a zine written about and for people who hear voices. Any kind of submissions are welcome - personal and technical/academic writing is welcome in any format from prose to poetry and beyond. Artwork is welcome. Any submissions or questions about the project can be emailed to gadfi_um AT yahoo dot co dot uk.

- Dirty Grrrl zine is looking for personal pieces about exploring one’s sexuality. Writing, poetry, and artwork welcome. Questions and submissions can be sent to dirtygrrrlcollectiveATgmail.com.

- Katy B is starting a new project called “Three Days In…”, and is looking for submissions on travels you’ve been on, your home town, or a place you’ve researched that you’ve always wanted to visit. Photos and mementos can be submitted too. For more info, email katyATgirlindustries.com.

- AK from Princesa Pirata Distro is calling for submissions on the topic of consent. She is looking for pieces about one’s own experiences, but also welcome are helpful tips, text you might have seen in other zines, useful resources, good books to read etc. Deadline: end of January 2012. Contact princesapirataATwildmail.com for more info.

- Make It Work is “a DIY fat radical craft zine, focusing on strategies for resistance, tutorials and craft projects for fellow awesome fats”. They’re looking for submissions for their next issue. More info can be found at their tumblr.

- Want to contribute artwork or writing to the tenth issue of the Girls Get Busy zine, a nonprofit feminist collective? Email girlsgetbusyzineATgmail.com by 16^th December!

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars was updated last Tuesday with more zines and oodles of new descriptions! www.marchingstars.co.uk

- There are new zines, bookmarks, and crafty bits available at Pushpin Zines!

5. A.O.B.
- Emma Jane Falconer (of Fanzine Ynfytyn) is giving away zine grab bags and Fanzine Ynfytyn mixpacks. Grab yours at her etsy store before she runs out!

Zine Reviews: November '11

2011-11-21T23:18:00.002Z

*trigger warning re: sexual assault and violence against women*

Brash #2

Alana, London - http://alanasartwork.blogspot.com

Brash reminds me exactly of what zines are all about – a messy cut-and-paste zine all about Alana’s passion for skateboarding and art. Inside, we read about Alana getting involved in a skating competition and meeting other awesome female skateboarders, and reviews of CDs and books she enjoys. She interviews female skater Georgie Winter, one of the first lady skaters Alana ever met, and illustrator Bunny Bissoux (the lady behind this year’s BZF design). The zine closes with a list of things Alana recommends to the reader, including Horse Zine and Rogue, the UK’s first girls only skate team. Throughout there are lots of amazing drawings and skater photo collages by Alana which are probably the highlight of the zine. While there’s not as much personal text as I’d usually like to read in a zine (e.g. some more writing about Alana’s experiences of being a female skater), it's still a lovely read, with some quirky layouts. I love the messy charm of Brash!

Rape Escape: Handy Pointers for Heavy Situations

No contact information

I picked up this zine from Princesa Pirata Distro at one of the summer’s zinefests. It’s a fairly short half-sized zine detailing a few self-defence tips for women who find themselves in situations that may result in sexual assault. Advice includes what to say when confronted with verbal sexual harassment, how to fight if someone grabs you, which parts of the body to protect in an attack (always the jaw), and how to be assertive when creeps invade your personal space. The general tone of the zine is very much one of self-preservation and looking out for other women, and there are lots of genuinely useful tips, for example, “keep a [physical] barrier between you and the attacker” and “do not smile and try to act friendly when saying no”. I found the section on the “warning signs” of a person who might be a rapist or abuser particularly interesting. Some tips, however, hover a little too closely to victim-blaming attitudes so often found in “rape prevention” guides, e.g. the oft-repeated “never leave your drink unattended”. There’s no acknowledgement that some tips just may not work, e.g. “communicate your wants and refusals clearly” - sometimes you just can’t “deter sexual assault”, no matter how well you handle the situation. I think some sort of disclaimer should’ve been included in this zine, explaining that it’s easy to forget what you’re ‘supposed’ to do when you’re frightened for your life (e.g. if someone threatens you with a weapon), and that it’s never the victim’s fault for doing the wrong thing – the attacker is the only one responsible for the attack. I’m sure that the writer(s) of this zine agree, but it’s important to reiterate nonetheless. Recommended with caution.

Girls Who Fight

Various - magazineATtheydid.org.uk

A quarter-sized feminist compzine, Girls Who Fight is quite a mixed bag – we read light-hearted stories, drawings, reviews, and cartoons, all focusing on strong, inspiring women, but in other places the zine reminds me of a teen magazine, with its focus on fashion, advice, and whimsy – though the content is of course far more DIY and female-friendly. There’s a cool 5-page spread filled with lots of sweet questions and answers, including “What did your mother always tell you?” (“to never walk barefoot on a kitchen floor”) and “What is your most embarrassing moment?” (“being caught stealing from a library”). The “Rad or Bad” feature is another little gem, where the writers list their likes and dislikes; also included is a fashion page of the writers modelling “clothes we didn’t pay for”. In true zine style, there are some tasty recipes at the back. It’s a bit mish-mash – not quite a fashion/pop magazine, and not quite a DIY feminist zine. But for 50p, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Tragic Boffin #2

Donna, Edinburgh – tragicboffinATgmail.com

Another lovely little zine by Donna. This issue of Tragic Boffin is very similar to the first in terms of themes and visuals (read my review of the first issue here). We read about what Donna has been up to since the last zine, how she manages her depression with good food and plenty of sleep, and riding her bike Polly. She also discusses the world overpopulation argument against human reproduction in a lengthy piece, considering how people tend to rush into having children without thinking about the responsibilities involved (something I completely agree with – I’m one of the few women from my class in school who hasn’t had a baby!). There are also little random thoughts dotted between each longer piece, such as Donna’s wish to be able to talk to animals, or the lack of positive role models for girls. A thoughtful, whimsical zine, but a little too short!

Moments of Struggle: An Illustrated Introduction to some Anarchist History

Isy Morgan, Brighton - www.morgenmuffel.co.uk

This is a short quarter-sized zine written by Isy (of Morgenmuffel zine), all about anarchism through the ages. She takes us through a number of key moments in history, including the anarchist-esque human origins, the heretics of the Middle Age church, the French Revolution, 17^th century Piracy, and the Russian Revolution. At the back, Isy includes some further reading. The zine is presented as a comic strip, all drawn in Isy’s signature style, with a little humour thrown in. Very well-designed and informative, you can tell that Isy has done some good research on this. And it’s only 50p! Brilliant!

Zine News Round-Up: 13.11.11

2011-11-13T22:23:00.000Z

image by Catherine Elms

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Snow Black's first zine has just been released, called Paper Doll Adventures Chapter One. It includes 6 stories from paper doll hoarder, Snow Black, and also includes one exclusive paper doll drawn for the zine. Each zine is signed and stitched by Snow Black, and can be found at her Etsy shop.

- Girls Get Busy zine will be having their first ever exhibition next month, including lots of amazing live music as well as some great artists and zines. It takes place at the Shacklewell Arms in London from the 3rd to the 4th of December. RSVP on Facebook.

3. Submission Calls
- Creature Mag are calling for people to create a Movember Moustache character for a project in aid of Movember. The best ones will receive prizes! Deadline: 30th November. Lots more info can be found on their website.

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars distro is off hiatus! The distro has also added 12 new zines to the site, as well as having lots of zines come back into stock. www.marchingstars.co.uk

5. A.O.B.
- The Brighton Zine Fest Collective have disbanded, which means there will be no more Brighton Zinefests in the near future. This is very sad news, as BZF is one of the biggest annual UK zine events. If anyone would like to offer words of support, or offer to hold their own zine event in Brighton, you can join the conversation on BZF's facebook page.

Written by Caitlin and Cath

Zine News Round-Up: 30.10.11

2011-10-30T14:16:00.000Z

photo via http://waronxmas.tumblr.com

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews

5. Distro News

6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Welsh feminist zine “Pandora Press #1: Our Feminist Heroes” is now available to view online for free on issuu.com!

- “Kerb Crawled: Reacting to Street Harassment” was published on Northern Indymedia this week.

- The September issue of LHOOQ (pronounced “Look”), an art and culture zine, is now available to view online on the LHOOQ website.

- Vampire Sushi #2 will be released tomorrow, and Miss Tukru will be doing a special giveaway with it. All will be revealed on Vampire Sushi’s tumblr and Tukru’s blog tomorrow!

- Financially Hard Times #6, a monthly pop culture zine, is out now! Buy the zine, or buy a year’s subscription for £10, here.

- A new perzine, Each and Every Day, has just been released. Buy or trade your copy here.

2. Upcoming Events
- South East London Zine Fest: 12^th November at Amersham Arms, New Cross. More info here: http://selondonzines.wordpress.com/

- LaDIYfest Sheffield: 12^th – 13^th November. An inclusive, DIY, anti-capitalist, community-based feminist festival. http://ladiyfestsheff.noblogs.org/

- ShadowPlay’s fanzine evening: 30^th November. 7pm til 10pm at Drink, Shop & Do in Kings Cross, London on the 30th November from 7pm-10pm. More information can be found on their blog.

3. Submission Calls
- A zine dedicated to Lisa Simpson and feminism is looking for submissions before the 6^th November. Both writing and artwork are welcome. Send your submissions to bsiveyerATgmail.com.

- Issue 2 of horror zine Black Sunday is looking for fiction and poetry submissions. More info can be found at http://www.dirgepress.co.uk/.

4. Zine Reviews

- More zine recommendations have been posted on Oh My Clumsy Heart this month – read them all here.

5. Distro News

- Bettie Walker (author of “Anatomical Heart” and “Buy Her Candy”) is starting up a new distro called “Backpack Distro”. It’s a small distro based out of her backpack and used primarily for tabling at events. If you want to send something for consideration, email bettieriotATgmail.com.

- We’ve added lots of UK distros to our sidebar! Have we missed any distros? Let us know!

6. A.O.B.
- Someone’s thinking of setting up a Norfolk zine fest. Are you from that area, or would travel to a zine fest there? Join the conversation on We Make Zines.

- Chella Quint turned her latest comedy zine (“It’s Not You, I Just Need Space”) into a podcast which you can listen to here: http://bit.ly/p1ut0

- Ingrid (Mythologising Me zine) has written a review of the Salford Zine Library exhibition at Salford Art Gallery – check it out!

Review: Turnstile Comix #1 (Comic Book/7'')

2011-10-23T23:48:00.006+01:00

When I finished university and was faced with the possibility of having to move abroad to get a job, I lost interest in buying and owning physical albums. After all, what’s the point in investing in a large collection of music that will be such a hassle to take with you, or alternatively, to sell at short notice? Due to this, my interest in vinyl has taken a bit of a nosedive. It really takes something special to convince me to indulge.

When I heard about the release of Turnstile Comix #1, a 40-page 7’’ black and white comic book and marble blue 7’’ record package, I pre-ordered it instantly. I was curious why this hadn’t really been attempted before. When I finally received the package, held together by a simple resealable plastic sleeve, I wasn’t too sure which part I wanted to check out first.

The Slow Death are a relatively new punk band made up of members of bands like Pretty Boy Thorson, Rest of Us and The Ergs! From the opening riff of “Poor Little Fool” that really reminded me of the song “Rosa” by Dear Landlord, the band establish the sound for the whole record. Simply put, it’s palm-muted, power-chord pop punk. Musically, it’s not rocket science, but the throaty lead vocals help to give it a bit of an edge, and the well-placed backing vocals inject what would be best described as a ‘drunken singalong vibe’, particularly on the track “Punchlines”. It’s a great 7'', and fans of bands like Iron Chic, Rumspringer and Latterman will really feel at home here. Thankfully, a free download code is included. Now, onto the comic book!

The comic is lovingly drawn by punk rock cartoonist to the stars Mitch Clem, the creator of Nothing Nice To Say. The book starts with a story related to how Mitch first discovered the band. It’s typically self-deprecating and very funny, although, much like his long-running comic strip, the humour may be restricted somewhat to the fans of the genre. What makes the package worth buying for fans of the band though, is that the members of The Slow Death have told two of their best stories from the road that Mitch has drawn as two separate comic strips. This is the ultimate substitute for liner notes. Without spoiling the stories for you, I guess I can say that the first story is a great depiction of life on the road for a band of that level, and the second is an extremely funny story about one of their members, Dave Strait, being drunk. Also included is a bonus comic on the very last page by the fantastic Liz Prince, the writer of Alone Forever.

With my initial excitement over the concept alone, I easily set myself up to be disappointed by the finished product. I’m happy to say that I was wrong on this occasion, and the split comic book and coloured 7’’ package has, in my eyes, been a huge success! It really got me thinking on how physical music should be presented, and of the effort that little known bands go to in order to convince people to buy their products. One of the really positive developments in an increasingly digital-orientated world is that artists in every sense of the word are being pushed to create something special. It really goes to show that in the sale of any physical product, going over and above the expectations of buyers and trying to offer something made out of love is always likely to win people over, even those that swore to stop buying these things. If there was ever a message I'd like to convey to the writers of zines, it would be to follow this logic religiously.

Zine News Round-Up: 16.10.11

2011-10-16T12:10:00.008+01:00

Just a short one today, as there doesn't seem to be much going on right now! Don't forget, if you have any zine news you'd like us to include in our fortnightly news round ups, email us at spillthezinesukATgmailDOTcom.

Emma x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events
3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases

- Rum Lad #5 has just been released, featuring Steve's account of when his band flew to America for a month long tour and their adventures there. Available on Steve's website, and at Vampire Sushi.

- The new issue of Coldspot is out now. Coldspot #2 is an Irish photography zine featuring photos from many different contributors. Available at Coldspot's BigCartel store, and also available for trades.
- Tragic Boffin #2 has been released this week! For a copy, contact Donna at tragicboffinATgmailDOTcom.
- A new compzine called "An Unguide to Leeds city Centre" is out now - buy a copy from the Exposure Leeds website: http://exposureleeds.org/?p=3142
- Issue #5 of Angry Violist, the zine for disgruntled classical musicians, has just been released (http://angryviolist.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/issue-five-out-now/). This issue has articles about different kinds of noise and sports psychology for musicians, amongst other things.

2. Upcoming Events
- Girls Get Busy (or Ghouls Get Busy) are holding their very own Halloween themed club night at The Alibi, Dalston. They'll projecting spooky film The Craft, giving out spooky treat bags and Halloween themed zines. Visit the Facebook event for more information.

- South East London Zine Fest: 12^th November. Applications for tables are still open! More info here: http://selondonzines.wordpress.com/

- LaDIYfest Sheffield: 12^th – 13^th November. an inclusive, DIY, anti-capitalist, community-based feminist festival. http://ladiyfestsheff.noblogs.org/

- ShadowPlay is going to be hosting a fanzine evening at Drink, Shop & Do in Kings Cross, London on the 30th November from 7pm-10pm. During the evening you can read their favourite zines, and contribute to a compilation zine, with zine making materials provided. More information can be found on their blog.

3. Submission Calls

- Jon Glanville is currently looking for submissions for a zine titled Why We Love Pop Music, a zine about what makes pop music so great. He's looking for articles, artwork, mini essays, graphic pieces - basically anything on the subject of pop. Email pepstreebeckAThotmailDOTcoDOTuk for more details and to submit work. Deadline is November 18th.
- Vampire Sushi is still looking for submissions for its second issue! The main theme is vampires but other monsters & horror themes are welcome too. The deadline has been extended to 23rd October - detailed info can be found here.

4. Distro News

- Vampire Sushi distro now have badges available to order! You can buy their awesome zinester-themed badges on their website here.

4. AOB

- If you create zines but don't own a typewriter (and wish you did), you can now download replicas of amazing typwriter fonts for your computer at http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-fonts.html!

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(originally written by Emma, edited a teeny bit by Cath)

Zine Reviews: October '11

2011-10-11T16:12:00.001+01:00

Dancing Barefoot #2

Hayley, Essex – moonlight.phoenixATgmailDOTcom

The second issue of Hayley’s perzine, this one focuses on the loose theme of independence and a DIY attitude. We read about Hayley’s experiences of making friends from her childhood to present-day, her difficulties with holding onto her local friends when they’ve moved away, started families, or drifted apart, undertaking projects and making things happen despite not having anyone to help her, and whether it’s necessarily a bad thing to be a “loner”. As somewhat of a loner myself, I really identified with this piece, and was inspired to read about how she has taken charge of her life despite her bad luck with friends. The second half of the zine details Hayley’s experience organising the first Ladyfest Essex all by herself this year – the difficulties she faced (and unfortunately there were many difficulties!), the excellent bands that she got to play, and some advice for others thinking of putting on a similar event themselves. The text is black on a plain white background, with some photos illustrating the articles. This zine is full-sized A4, so it’s pretty unwieldy, but Hayley explains in the introduction that this was the cheapest and easiest way she could get her zine printed in her area, so that’s fair enough.

Anatomical Heart #10 & Buy Her Candy #1

Bettie Walker, Carlisle - bettieriotATgmailDOTcom

Anatomical Heart #10 is the final issue of this mental health zine series, published in late 2010. Bettie explains in Buy Her Candy #1 that she decided to stop writing Anatomical Heart because she didn’t want or need to write about mental health anymore – Bettie is currently training to be a mental health nurse, and so “my life still revolves around mental illness, just not mine”. Anatomical Heart #10 feels like a nice transition from mental health to perzine, a kind of preparation for Buy Her Candy, as there is more perzine content in here than in previous issues - we read about what Bettie has been up to and what she’d like to get up to instead, her visit to Birmingham Zine Festival 2010, the regret she feels after giving away most of her zine collection, and an open letter to a mental health nurse that changed her life. Bettie also briefly discusses making progress with her mental health and being able to reason her way through mental breakdowns, something she could never have done in the past. Buy Her Candy #1 is about half the size of Anatomical Heart #10, and has more eye-catching layouts. After explaining why she has started a new series, Bettie writes about being diagnosed with PCOS, and how she feels alienated by feminists who argue that women should grow out their natural hair, as these feminists tend to have light, sparse hair (this issue has also been discussed in zines Femme a Barbe and Cooking Hearts Up At The Stove). Bettie also writes about same sex marriage and civil partnerships, and the politics of both, and moving in with her girlfriend. Also included are things she likes doing, and a playlist. Both zines are very sweet, very personal, and lovely to read, with lovely cut and paste layouts, and colour covers.

Exploding the Myth #4
Kira Swales, Chester – www.kiraswales.co.uk

Exploding the Myth is a packed half-sized perzine; this issue covers tattoos, having a widespread family, her trans partner’s journey through transitioning, ways of coping with bouts of depression, gardening, Marmalade Atkins, her relationship with feminism, reasons why feminism is still needed, and the idea of “preaching to the converted” when writing about feminism in zines. I loved this piece in particular, as it’s something I’ve struggled with in my zines – Kira argues that it’s closed-minded to assume that all readers will be well acquainted with feminism, and that not everyone is lucky enough to have liberal or open-minded people around them. That really made me think, and helped me relax about whether my zine writing is too “feminism 101” – so what? As Kira notes, one can always pass on a zine to someone who may appreciate it more if they’re already fully aware of the issues raised inside. There are also some lovely little things scattered about, including a mix tape tracklist, an eulogy for her DR Martens boots, how to make a pleated apron, and a rocky road recipe. It’s a fun and friendly zine, packed with hand drawings, cool cut-and-paste layouts, stencilled lettering, handwriting, and typewritten bits. Just lovely.

Gardener’s Delight #1

Fliss, London - flisscATgmailDOTcom

A very cool zine by Fliss, the lady behind “Mix Zine”! It’s a “personal but practical guide” to growing your own food for the first time. It opens with a lovely piece on why gardening is so important – to get back to the true nature of things, to connect with the earth, and to watch something you’ve planted grow and develop is one of the most satisfying expeiences one can have, according to Fliss. She also argues that home-grown food tastes so much better than mass-produced supermarket foods. Then, Fliss gives us some handy tips on allotment gardening, indoor growing, outdoor growing (either in your own garden, or a green space in your local community), and how to do all of this on the cheap. These guides include what equipment you need, how to weed and prepare the soil, where to find cheap or free seeds, and what time of the year to start planting. Fliss lists some common plants that are easy to grow with tips on how to take care of them (e.g. chives, courgettes, onions); she also recommends a number of books and websites for more info on home growing. It’s 4” by 11.5”, with lots of hand-written sections, drawings of vegetables and gardening tools, and cut-and-paste typed text. Unusual, and very informative.

Review: Sheffield Zine Fair '11

2011-10-06T22:14:00.000+01:00

photo by Bettie Walker (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettieriot)

This is a guest post by Louise Viner, who writes "Tempest in a Tea Cup" zine.

On Sunday 25th September, the first ever Sheffield Zine Fair was held at Brezza’s Cafe on Wellington Street in the city and I was lucky enough to go along. Having been to only two other fests before, I was a little nervous but extremely excited.

I was staying in Sheffield with Jess from "Rough Draft" zine so finding the venue was pretty easy; a small, dark and cosy coffee house with ridiculously comfy sofas that ate you up when you sat down, hidden behind a department store, that was not much of a walk from the train station. We were welcomed by a busy and bustling venue, with people all over. There were tables full of all different types of zines and we were welcomed in by smiley people as we came through the door (which in my other two zine fest experiences, isn’t the norm!) which made both Jess and I much less anxious.

image by Spin Lix

Jess and I wandered around Brezza which was a small but not cramped space, picking up zines and having a browse. The first thing that caught my eye, after the overflowing freebies table, was that most people were selling zines for only £1-£2, with maybe a pound or two more for ‘art zines’, which made me very happy; previously, I have come across hand sewn booklets of 4 or 5 pages with wonderful drawings for up to £10, which is a price I don’t associate with zines!

After having a little look around in the first room, we went into the next and headed to see Bettie ("Anatomical Heart"/"Buy Her Candy") and get her newest issue. While in the 2nd, much larger room, I found plenty of lovely people to talk to, again a welcome change, including the Sugar Paper gang, Chella Quint ("Adventures in Menstruating"), Cath ("Here. In My Head.") and other awesome people whose names I didn’t catch.

The fest was on from 11am til 6pm, but we arrived just after 12 and stayed till 5. The venue was buzzing with people the whole time. There was an array of different people there, from the typical arty alternative types, to punks, families with children and older people having a nose at what was going on. Throughout the day there were workshops on topics such as kerb crawling, crafts, and zine readings, featuring Cath, Chella, and other brave zinesters.

The people at the Sheffield Zine Fair were much more welcoming and warm than those at other fests I have attended. There also seemed to be much less elitism going on, with people chatting away from both behind and in front of the tables. There was an eclectic mix of music playing and the atmosphere was great. While table sitting for Cath, people spoke to me much more, even mistaking me for her, while talking about Here. In My Head (sorry Cath!). I also found that people were less pushy and uptight about their zines as I have experienced at other fests, which made the whole experience much better for me, personally.

I personally picked up some amazing and interesting zines; "Buy her Candy", "Kerb Crawled", "Get Back", "Pandora Press", and "Be Honourable", as well an awesome zine about feminist child rearing called "Raise Some Hell". I was a little disappointed about the lack of distros at this event, as many couldn't make it on the day. It was a shame because I personally prefer looking through what a distro has to offer rather than an individual stall, as it can be less awkward. I didn’t let this spoil the event however, as talking to individuals about their own zines was a welcome challenge and change for me and everyone I spoke to was more than happy to talk about their wares.

Overall, the zine fair was a great, comfortable experience, which for a first time event, is amazing! I look forward to next year's fair and who knows, maybe I’ll have my own table this time! It was a wonderful experience to meet zinesters who I could only discover through fests as well as finally getting to meet Cath, in all her purple haired glory (her Mum was sweet too!) (aw shucks - ed.). I am full of praise for the organisers of the first Sheffield Zine Fair and can only hope they continue to put on the event every year.

photo by Bettie Walker

Zine News Round-Up: 02.10.11

2011-10-02T17:33:00.003+01:00

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews

5. Distro News

6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Another cool art zine by Sky Nash has been released this week: SICK. Available on etsy.

- Girls Get Busy #8 is out now! Buy a copy of the zine, or a GGB totebag and t-shirt, on their Big Cartel store.

2. Upcoming Events
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. 1pm til 6pm at The Pirate Castle. Includes workshops and zine readings alongside the stalls. More info at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.
- Craftivism Manchester: 9^th October, 11pm til 4pm; 15^th October, 10am til 4pm. Held at the People’s History Museum. www.phm.org.uk

- South East London Zine Fest: 12^th November. Applications for tables are still open! More info here: http://selondonzines.wordpress.com/

- LaDIYfest Sheffield: 12^th – 13^th November. an inclusive, DIY, anti-capitalist, community-based feminist festival. http://ladiyfestsheff.noblogs.org/

3. Submission Calls
- The Anarchist Blog are looking for submissions for Uncivilisation Zine #1! They’re looking for articles on anarchism, vegetarianism, anti-fascism, environmentalism, and feminism. Email them at theanarchistblogATgmailDOTcom for more info.

- Penpal Adventures: A Curated Zine on the Experiences of Girls as Penpals. Helena and Sarah are looking for personal essays, nonfiction prose, comics, letters/excerpts, photos and ephemera from your days of pre-internet correspondence. Deadline: February 1st 2012. Please send submissions to: penpal.zineATgmailDOTcom.
- Tukru is looking for submissions for Vampire Sushi zine #2! The main theme is vampires but other monsters & horror themes are welcome too. The deadline has been extended to 23rd October! Detailed info can be found here.
- The Pandora Press zine deadline has been extended by a week! The theme is sex; the new deadline is 9th October. Submissions must be from the South Wales area. More info here.

4. Zine Reviews

- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.
- Laura-Marie (author of US zine Functionally Ill) has started a new zine review blog up. While it’s not UK-centered, she has reviewed lots of UK zines there recently, including Buy Her Candy #1, Here. In My Head#9, and Three Days Of My Life I Will Never Get Back. Take a look!

5. Distro News

- Marching Stars is on hiatus for a week or so. Keep up to date on MS distro's tumblr.

- Princesa Pirata has added some cool new stuff to her catalogue, including handmade postcards and calendars by A-K herself! http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com/

- Vampire Sushi has been updated, with new zines in stock! http://vampiresushi.co.uk/

6. A.O.B.
- Salford Zine Library have made a film all about zines, which will be screened at Salford Art Gallery this winter. Here’s a preview, featuring a guide on how to make your own zine! Awesome stuff:

Zine News Round-Up: 18.09.11

2011-09-18T14:46:00.002+01:00

Hello again! Did you hear that Spill the Zines is now on Twitter? Follow us for all the latest UK zine news, and tweet us your own zine news!

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Issue 108 of Bi Community News (BCN) is out now! http://bicommunitynews.co.uk/ (don’t forget to check out last week’s review of BCN #107 on STZ).

- The new issue of music compzine Drunken Werewolf is out now: http://drunkenwerewolf.com

- The first issue of gothic/horror zine Black Sunday has been released! http://etsy.me/pvkg5N

2. Upcoming Events
- Bristol Comic & Zine Fair: 25^th September, 12 til 6pm. More info at http://bearpitzines.tumblr.com/BCZF.

- Sheffield Zine Fair: 25^th September. I’m tabling, along with lots of other cool UK zinesters and zine collectives including Bettie (Anatomical Heart), Vampire Sushi distro, and Chella Quint. And it’s free entry! Keep up to date with the latest news on their Twitter.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Stall and workshop applications are now closed! Will has announced the time of the event – 1pm til 6pm. More info at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

- LaDIYfest Sheffield: 12^th – 13^th November. An inclusive, DIY, anti-capitalist, community-based feminist festival. More info here: http://ladiyfestsheffield.wordpress.com/

3. Submission Calls
- LaDIYfest Sheffield is making its own zine that will be distributed on the weekend of the festival. Send your questions or submissions to ladiyfestsheffATgmailDOTcom.

4. Zine Reviews

- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.

- Bettie of Anatomical Heart has set up a new zine blog, where she’s posted a few zine reviews! The reviews can be found here.

5. A.O.B.
- A very interesting project: the owners of Museum's Press in Glasgow are opening up a gallery and book store called Good Press in October 2011 focusing on DIY and self-publishing; their aim is "to showcase individual artists and groups who are independently practising their artforms and projects". They've got an online funding Sponsume going on right now, which you can donate to here: http://www.sponsume.com/project/good-press
- We liked Girls Get Busy’s manifesto, so we thought we’d share it with you:

Zine Reviews: September '11

2011-09-11T12:45:00.000+01:00

Bi Community News #107

edited by Jen Y, Manchester – http://bicommunitynews.co.uk/

A long-running full-sized (maga)zine published out of Manchester, that focuses on the UK bisexual community. Bi Community News (or BCN) claim to be the biggest-selling bisexual magazine in the UK. It has a fairly professional, glossy feel, with each issue featuring readers’ letters, reviews of bi publications, reviews of bi events (such as BiCon 2010), lists of local bi groups and their contact info, bi organisations, LGBT activist groups, upcoming bi events and LGBT Pride dates, and a column on famous bisexuals (this issue’s bisexual is Casanova). Inside this issue, we have features on whether the 4^th season of Torchwood will be bi enough, bisexuality in the TV show Glee, a study on imagining your future as a bisexual, and how to run a large-scale bi event. They also have a fantastic website with lots of resources for bisexuals, including a list of bi bloggers, a list of local bi groups, how to set up your own bi outreach group, and bi’s in the media. I highly recommend both the website and the zine – very useful, informative, and entertaining!

Xyz #3
Will, London – zisforzine.blogspot.com

Another fantastic issue of xyz by Will! This one centers around the concept of femme, and is packed full of intelligent articles, alongside some more personal pieces. This issue includes pieces on femmephobia, the history of the colour pink and its origin as a boy’s colour (“pink was a fainter shade of red: strong, yet tempered enough to dress a child in”), make up, the issues ze has with the campaign “Pink Stinks”, feeling nervous around femme girls, unisex toilets, the poor treatment of femininity under the established medical model (e.g. the exclusively female “condition” called “hysteria”), and attending a protest march with Queer Resistance. The zine is rounded off with a lovely cut-and-paste page on how feminisms are for everyone. Half-sized with a red cover and a pretty little drawing on the front, it’s pretty nice to look at too. I always learn so much when reading Will’s zines, and devour them as soon as they arrive through my front door. If you haven’t read an issue yet, get hold of a copy right away (all are available at Marching Stars distro), you won’t regret it!

Not Lonely #6 & The Malcontent’s Book Club
Hannah, Scotland – not_lonely_zineATyahooDOTco.uk
I’ve decided to review both together, as both were released together! Not Lonely #6 is a little different from previous issues, as it consists of journal entries detailing her eight-day journey to Holland earlier in the year. Some things we read about include the journey there, and Hannah’s nervousness about flying, exploring the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, visiting fairytale-themed amusement part Efteling, and Dutch culture and language. Some photos and mementos from her trip decorate the pages. Despite being lifted directly from her journal, the text is very well-written (unlike my journal, which is embarrassingly unsophisticated in style and content!). There’s an article at the end about Hannah’s favourite books from her childhood, which feels a little out of place in this issue, if I’m honest, though I still enjoyed it. The Malcontents’ Book Club is a new book review zine written by Hannah, in which she writes (sometimes scathing) reviews of ten works, including fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs. Highly recommended if you’re an avid reader. Both are laid out in Hannah’s handmade style, with pretty fonts and images used throughout, and lovely eye-catching covers.

Ellipsis #1
Sarah-Beth, Wolverhampton – kittenesqueATgmailDOTcom

I loved this zine so much! At only 38 pages, it’s a quick read, but very interesting and well-written. There’s lots of lovely perziney goodness inside Sarah-Beth’s first zine, including her current loves, thoughts on why food shouldn’t have a moral value, being brave and doing things alone, things that annoy her, her soundtrack for winter and spring, her friends, and riding her bike. Very pretty, neat layouts, cute drawings, and a fantastic cover! Very well done, Sarah-Beth - I’m looking forward to issue 2!

Culture is Not Your Friend #1
Paul Williams, Stafford – www.macabremagpie.net

British illustrator Paul Williams’ first zine (whose artwork is really fantastic, so do take a look at his website sometime). Surprisingly, this zine doesn’t feature quite as much art as expected; instead, Paul writes on typically perzine-y topics – experiencing a lack of motivation, the importance of art, going through a quarter-life crisis, technology, and being a bit awkward. There are lots of pages throughout titled “quick thoughts”, where Paul relays some small insights, such as: where will technology be in the next decade? And, do ghosts really exist? Dotted throughout the zine are QR codes (these things that you sometimes see on gig posters and the like) that, when scanned, will take you to additional content and music online. Alas, I’m not a technically savvy person so I haven’t tried them out for myself, but it’s a very smart idea! His artwork in the zine is lovely (including the cool cover), but the other pages are fairly plain. A cracking little zine.

Shape and Situate: Posters of Inspirational European Women #2

Edited by Melanie Maddison, Leeds – m_k_maddisonAThotmailDOTcom

A brilliant half-sized comp-zine featuring 23 unique posters, each celebrating an inspiring European woman. The poster subjects are varied, ranging from musicians such as Nana Mouskouri, to activists such as Jayaben Desai; from scientists such as Jocelyn Bell Burnell, to writers such as Angela Carter. I found reading about these inspirational women, many of whom I regret to say I’d never heard of, very enlightening – I think it’s important to learn about the pioneering women that came before us, who worked (and are sometimes still working) to further the feminist cause in Europe. Melanie also lists a number of helpful links to further relevant reading, viewing, and research. My favourite quote from the zine, taken from a page dedicated to Ari Up and Poly Styrene: “To be normal is not a healthy aspiration”.

Zine News Round-Up: 4.09.11

2011-09-04T13:18:00.002+01:00

Hello! Cath is away on holiday this week so I'm in charge of the news. I'm a new contributor to Spill The Zines and I'm really looking forward to writing for the blog, hearing your comments and reading some fabulous zines.

Emma x

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

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1. Zine Releases
- Chella Quint (editor of Adventures in Menstruating) has released a new zine on the topic of space, brilliantly titled " It's Not You, I Just Need Space: Interplanetary Letters of Love and Rejection." To get hold of a copy, you can email Chella at chartyourcycleATgmailDOTcom.
- Sometimes I’m Dreaming #6 is now for sale! Buy your copy at Lisa’s etsy page: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sometimesimdreaming
- The first issue of Cosmoqueer is available to read as a PDF here. Cosmoqueer is for the fabulous and feisty, and the first issue is the femme issue.

2. Upcoming Events
- Sheffield Zine Fair: 25th September. Stall applications now closed!
- Camden Zine Fest: 8th October. Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free! Will is particularly keen to have zinesters and DIY types tabling there, so book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls

- Girls Get Busy are looking for contributors to Girls Get Busy #8. Girls Get Busy is a feminist collective supporting female writers, musicians and artists and they're looking for art, words, photos, drawings, or whatever else you can think of. Deadline is the 20th September.

- Sheffield based LaDIYfest are creating their first zine just in time for the Sheffield zine fest, and they're looking for submissions and ideas, emailed to ladiyfestsheffATgmailDOTcom, or if you'd rather post your submissions you can email them for a postal address.
- Year Of The Shorts are looking for submissions to their new zine Two Oh Me Too - on the loose subject of inclusion, being part of something and a sense of belonging - but it could inversely be exclusion, outsiders, or a fear of crowds. The deadline is November 30th and you can find more details here.
- Cosmoqueer are looking for submissions for the second issue of their zine, which will be about Disney. Deadline is at the end of October, and they're looking for fanart, personal stories, critical reviews or anything else Disney-related. You can email cosmoqueerATgmailDOTcom for more information and to submit. More info here.

4. Zine Reviews
- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.
- Hannah posted a bumper blog update last Sunday, with sixteen zine reviews! Take a look here.

5. Distro news
- Marching Stars distro has had a huge update, with 12 new zines and some cool monster temp tattoos in the catalogue! www.marchingstars.co.uk

5. A.O.B.
- Salford Zine Library has an exhibition at Salford Art Gallery running from 15th October 2011 to 29th January 2012. They are looking to show a film at the exhibition made up of short videos (less than 5 minutes) that contributors to the library have made of themselves. The video will explain why you self-publish and talk about the zines you produce. If you’re interested, get in touch at salfordzinelibraryATgooglemailDOTcom.

Ten Tips For First Time Zinesters

2011-08-28T17:21:00.003+01:00

Ten Tips For First Time Zinesters

This is not an exhaustive list, however I’ve tried to bring together some of the strongest themes from the zinester interview series on my blog (which asks, amongst other things, what tips the zinester has for anyone thinking of making a zine) with my own experiences. I am by no means an authority on the topic but hopefully this list will be of some help to newbies or at least trigger debate! Please feel free to use the comments box to add tips of your own whether you are a first-time or established zinester, or even considering making your own zine.

Before you begin…

1. Read. Read as many zines as possible – this will give you an idea of what works well and what doesn’t. Think about what you enjoy in a zine and how you can transfer that to your own creation. Don’t just look at the words either – consider the different sizes and lengths of zines that are out there, and of course pay attention to layouts. Reading plenty of books too will help you hone your writing skills and consider elements such as style and structure.

2. Consider your privacy. It is important to think about this before you even begin writing as once your words are in print and out there you can’t get them back! Personally I choose to keep the name of the city I live in and my surname out of my zines, and these are factors I consider when writing any articles or re-using materials with my full name on in layouts. You might also want to set up a separate email address to use for zine-related communications if your main email address includes your surname. Of course many people do choose to print their full names and even their mailing addresses in zines and that’s fine too, but think before you print!

Writing and layouts…

3. Accept your zine isn’t going to be finished straightaway. Zines aren’t finished in an hour. If you’re really eager to get your zine out there as soon as possible, consider a mini-zine or a 24 hour zine (or even combine the two). Many zinesters perform several edits on each piece before producing their final version - although many good zines are written stream of conciousness style too. As with all things zine-related there is no hard and fast “rule” on this but I would advise that you take your time with writing, and double check your facts if you’re writing about (for example) a band or well-known author. Take the time to proofread your writing, or even better – ask someone else to proofread it for you as they will most probably spot mistakes you hadn’t.

4. Create an eye-catching cover. This is the first thing people will see when they look at your zine, and the image you will use for promoting it once its done, so it's worth investing a decent amount of time and effort in it. I often make several potential covers for each issue of my zine (or at least sketch out several potential ideas) before picking one. If you feel you don’t have the art/design skills to make the cover your zine deserves, consider asking a friend or another zinester if they will design it for you – many will be only too pleased to be asked and to oblige, as long as you give them appropriate credit.

5. Keep it neat and legible. Potential readers will want to flick through your zine at zine events (or see photos/scans of the inner layouts online) before they pay for a copy, and if these are messy and unattractive you may lose out on readers even if your writing is of a very high standard. (Not that having as many readers as possible should be anyone’s goal when making zines, but you probably don’t want to miss out on readers if you can help it.) Personally I find messy layouts are a huge turn-off when it comes to whether or not I will enjoy a zine no matter how good the content is. Call me shallow, but that’s how I roll (and I’m not alone in this – most zine review blogs frequently comment on the layout of zines they feature).

If you’re not visually artistic don’t worry – this is where “keep it neat” comes in. Your layouts don’t have to be particularly ornate or original to be good, just make sure everything is stuck down properly, that your text is neat and not too small (I made a major error in Not Lonely #1 by trying to fit far too much in and consequently using tiny text which copied very badly and almost illegibly) and that there aren’t crossings out everywhere. Two things I often see in zines that don’t look great and can be easily remedied with time and close attention are outlines around text blocks with stray lines coming off where the zinester’s pen has slipped and messy cutting-out of blocks of text/images for layouts (of course the latter can sometimes be a stylistic choice). And finally, keep an eye out on this blog for an upcoming article I’m writing on layouts for beginners!

6. Consider your content: Or, “all killer no filler!”. This is related to point number 3 – a good zine isn’t going to be finished in a matter of minutes. It’s very easy to spot when a zinester has put in content merely to fill up space and whilst a page or two like this may be inevitable once in a while (you miscounted the number of pages a piece would need perhaps, or you need to fill those last two pages so your zine is ready for a zine event the following day) your zine will be a disappointing read if a lot of the content feels like it is there purely for the sake of it. Give some thought also to the overall flow of the zine for the reader – if you want to include some lighter, fun pieces alongside heavier content then that’s great, but intermingling the two throughout the zine can (again, it won’t always) make a zine feel a bit disjointed.

7. Number your pages. It will make your life much easier when it comes to assembling your printed zines!

8. Just do it! This has been quite a long list of “do this” and “don’t do that” so far, but these are merely ideas and tips and as long as you have something to write with and something to write on, you are halfway there to making your zine. It’s easy to agonise over making everything perfect and to become stuck. I feel like this is potentially contradictory to everything else I’ve said here, but if you want to write a zine, just get on with it and write a zine! Do the best you can and get it out there. Once your first zine is out of the way you will learn and grow as a zinester and will have got the hardest part over with.

Once your zine is done…

9. Get it out there! As mentioned earlier, if you’re writing zines with the intention of becoming some kind of celebrity with hordes of readers (or if you think you’ll make any money off zines – most zinesters consider themselves lucky to break even over postage and printing costs) then you’re doing it for the wrong reason, but now you’ve taken the time to create your finished product its only natural you’re going to want to get it out there. Before you start promoting it consider the price you want to charge – copying costs do vary up and down the country but unless your zine is full-colour or in another way particularly expensive to print don’t expect to get more than 50p - £2.50 per issue, depending on its length. If you think you’re going to get back more than it cost to print your zine, you’ll be disappointed. Zines are made out of love, not the desire to generate cash!

Some ways to get your zine into the hands of readers are:
- Give it away! I gave away around 25 copies of each of my first couple of issues to friends, most of whom now order every subsequent issue and some of whom were inspired to make zines themselves.
- Set up trades. Email zinesters (its usually best to stick to those who are writing zines in a similar genre to yours, although again this isn’t a hard and fast rule) or contact them through social networking websites to arrange trades. Keep in mind fairness (for example people may not be keen to swap a 40 page ½ size zine for an 8 page mini-zine) and consider offering part-trades as well as direct swaps (for example your mini-zine in return for 50% off the usual PayPal price of their larger zine). Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back from everyone (or anyone) you attempt to trade with straightaway – sometimes it takes people a while to reply to messages or they just can’t set up trades at the moment (e.g. for financial reasons - I am quite selective with international trades for this reason, although I always email and explain).
- Get it into distros. Ask your zinester friends which distros they’d recommend you submit your zine to, and/or have a look online. It’s usually worth making an order or two from a distro before you submit your zine to them so that you can get a sense of their catalogue and the type of zines they like to carry. Again, try not to feel discouraged if you don’t hear back from a distro/any distro quickly/at all. Remember a distro may say no to the first five issues of your zine but yes to the sixth – just keep trying.
- Send it out for review. If your zine is British, why not send it to Spill The Zines with a request for a review? If not, then there are lots of other blogs out there – have a look around the internet and ask other zinesters for recommendations. But please bear in mind point 10 when doing this!
- Promote and sell! Scan/take photos of your zine (including some examples of the inner layouts) and post them on your blog/facebook/twitter/tumblr/livejournal etc., along with a quick description of your zine, its price and how people can order a copy. Join We Make Zines to connect with other zinesters and to set up trades as well as generally promote your zine (look out for groups relevant to your zine – there are ones for perzines, mental health zines and feminist zines, amongst others). Etsy is a handy website to join for selling your zines - they do charge a small fee per listing but as the site handles the transaction I find its worth it to save a wee bit of potential hassle. Etsy is another way to promote your zine to those who might not have known about it previously, too.

10. Expect/accept compliments and criticism. Finally, once your zine is out there, prepare yourself for the feedback. Most of it will be positive, but don’t expect that everyone will love your zine. Personally I found it quite hard to hear (even constructive) criticism when I first put Not Lonely #1 out – I had poured a lot of myself into the zine, as well as a good deal of time, and felt quite defensive in response to critical comments. But in hindsight I’ve learnt that without people telling you what’s good/not so good about your zine you’ll never improve. And remember, no-one’s first issue is going to be amazing, so take what was best from it with you and leave behind the rest.

Zine News Round-Up: 21.08.11

2011-08-21T18:35:00.003+01:00

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews
5. Distro News

6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Bettie, the lady behind mental health zine Anatomical Heart, has released the first issue of her new perzine series, Buy Her Candy! Get your copy at Bettie’s etsy shop.
- The second issue of DJ Moonlight’s perzine, Dancing Barefoot, is now available! Contact her for a copy at moonlight.phoenixATgmailDOTcom.

2. Upcoming Events
- DIY Summer At Site: 23^rd August – 7^th September. A series of workshops, talks, and events celebrating DIY and creativity. Zines will be exhibited and sold there by Rotheram Zine Library. More info here.

- I’ve Zine You Zine Fair @ Edinburgh: 28^th & 29^th August. Come along to the Book Trust, 55 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR, or to get involved email ivezineyouATgmailDOTcom.
- Cambridge Creative Fair: 3rd September. Hosted by the Whirlygig Collective, 10.30am til 6pm. For more info, email the organisers at infoATwhirlygigDOTme.
- Sheffield Zine Fair: 25^th September. Stall applications now closed!
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free! Will is particularly keen to have zinesters and DIY types tabling there, so book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls- New feminist magazine LIB is looking for articles and artwork for its first issue! Deadline: 1^st September. For more info or to submit something, contact the team at lib.magazineATgmailDOTcom.

- Submissions wanted for a body positive zine, title TBC. 'It has to do with how you feel about your body. It doesn’t really have any other guidelines other than that. ANYONE can submit, you don’t have to be a woman identified person." More info at http://slutrevolution.tumblr.com/submit.
- Shark Dating: An Inspirational and Instructive Manual, aka the Good (femme of colour/ Indigenous femme) zine: http://www.brownstargirl.org/

Tukru is looking for submissions for the second issue of Vampire Sushi. The main theme is vampires but other monsters & horror creatures / themes are welcome too. The deadline is September 18^th. More info at Vampire Sushi’s tumblr.
- Liam is looking for two illustrators to design covers for the next issue of Lost Boy zine. If you’re interested you can email Liam at lostboyzineATgmailDOTcom or leave him an ask on his tumblr.

4. Zine Reviews

- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.

5. Distro news
- Marching Stars is off hiatus! Hurrah! www.marchingstars.co.uk

5. A.O.B.
- Mslexia are running a women’s novel competition! The competition is open to unpublished women novelists writing in any genre for adults (where a novel is defined as a work constituting of at least 50,000 words). The prize is £5000 and a chance to win a publishing contract. Closing date 30^th September. More info here.
- A new zine night is being set up in Cambridge - for zine makers and wannabe zine makers. For more information, you can join the Cambridge Zine Boogaloo mailing list http://eepurl.com/ffmEo
- Evan has buried comics zines in London (and Athens) for people to find! How exciting! More info here.
- Back issues of Adventures in Menstruating are back in stock - hurrah! More info here: http://chartyourcycle.wordpress.com/zines/

Zine Reviews: Aug '11 (Women's Library Zine Fest edition)

2011-08-18T21:56:00.001+01:00

by Caitlin Beth Gwynn

The following reviews are all of zines that I picked up at Zine Fest @ The Women's Library last month. Some of them new, some of them old, but all of them display the great variety of the zine world.

* Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell #15

The 15^th issue of Finnish / Kent based zinester, Tukru, was released just in time for London Zine Fest. The theme of the issue is transition, as Tukru’s main focus is of changes in her personal life, such as her decision to drop out of roller derby, her birthday, and her partner Carl getting a new job. Personally, as interesting as I found the topics Tukru discussed, I did want to hear more about her and Emma Jane Falconer (of Fanzine Ynfytyn) ‘s grrrl club night, Typical Grrrls. However, I did love the account of London SlutWalk, which did make up for me not being there, and Tukru raises some very interesting points of the event. Another slight qualm of mine would be that sometimes the layout did make the content slightly difficult to read, but as usual, it’s another great and interesting issue, worth it for the roast vegetable lasagne recipe by itself!

* I Love Women

This tiny zine is part of the Bradford Zine Collective, whose stall I nearly bought everything from at Zine Fest! It’s written by Jen Claptrap and features personal stories about her friends and what they do that’s totally awesome. It’s a very short read, but an amazing zine in that it shows all of us that by doing the tiniest of things, we can be totally fantastic women.

* Hunkerdown #1

Without a doubt, this was my find of the day. It’s a tiny bright green zine that offers several invaluable moneysaving tips. It also looks at the ethics involved with budgeting too, for example, a discussion on whether you have to be rich in order to craft. Despite being absolutely packed with information, it’s an easy read and inspiring too, full of advice that is actually immensely useful, such as advice for vegetarians and vegans on what to eat to keep up their vitamin intake.

* Pamflet #XI

Some of you may be following the Pamflet girls on Twitter – if not, why not?! This was my first issue of Pamflet, and I’m regretting coming to it so late, as the introduction states that this issue may be the last printed one of Pamflet. It’s the perfect antidote to women’s magazines – funny and intelligent, with a huge dollop of sarcasm. The tongue in cheek critique of fashion, such as citing Tank Girl as a fashion inspiration, is hugely entertaining to read. Pamflet XI is chock full of articles, all of them offering very different food for thought, but always remaining incredibly interesting and entertaining.

* Braditude

Another zine from the Bradford Zine Collective to wrap things up. Braditude was created at a Bradford reading group, with all the members pitching in ideas. Like with Pamflet, the zine is a take on typical women’s magazines, but also mocks them mercilessly. The layout of the zine is unapologetically DIY with loads of hand-written content, and also is an amazing zine in that it has a cut out and keep merkin! As with Pamflet too, the zine is funny and entertaining, and the pop culture emphasises the more serious message about the damaging nature of the world of women’s magazines.

Zine News Round-Up: 07.08.11

2011-08-07T13:33:00.002+01:00

Nothing interesting to say as a preface to the news post today. Enjoy the news! :D

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. Zine Reviews

6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Ingrid has released issue 3 of her perzine Mythologizing Me! More info on the zine, and how to buy a copy, can be found at her blog.
- Hannah has released two new zines this week. Not Lonely #6 is the latest issue of her perzine, concerning a recent trip to Holland and favourite books from her childhood amongst other topics. The Malcontents' Book Club is a book review zine containing reviews of 10 books. You can order them both from her etsy shop here, or get in touch with her to trade at not_lonely_zineATyahoo.co.uk.
- Issue 107 of Bi Community News aka BCN is now out with its usual mix of writing about bi life, bisexuality in wider culture and the UK bi scene itself. More info on ordering and subscriptions at BCN’s website.

2. Upcoming Events
- I’ve Zine You Zine Fair @ Edinburgh: 28^th & 29^th August. Come along to the Book Trust, 55 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR, or to get involved email ivezineyouATgmailDOTcom.
- Cambridge Creative Fair: 3rd September. Hosted by the Whirlygig Collective, 10.30am til 6pm. For more info, email the organisers at infoATwhirlygigDOTme.
- Sheffield Zine Fair: 25^th September. If you want to apply for a free stall, or volunteer to help out, get in touch at sheffieldzinefairAThotmail.co.uk.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free! Will is particularly keen to have zinesters and DIY types tabling there, so book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls
- Pandora Press, the Swansea Feminist Network zine, are looking for submissions for their second issue, the “sex” issue. Deadline: 2^nd October. More info can be found at the SFN website here.

- New feminist magazine LIB is looking for articles and artwork for its first issue! Deadline: 1^st September. For more info or to submit something, contact the team at lib.magazineATgmailDOTcom.

4. Distro News

- Vampire Sushi is back in business! www.vampiresushi.co.uk

5. Zine Reviews

- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine recommendations – take a look.

5. A.O.B.
- Hannah has posted an interview with zinester Emma Jane Falconer on her blog: http://notquiteayes.blogspot.com/2011/07/zinester-interview-emma.html
- Lots of zines and zine resources have made their way onto Zine Wiki since we wrote about the website last week, including Sometimes I’m Dreaming, Not Lonely, Pandora Press, and of course, Spill the Zines!

Zine Resources

2011-07-31T19:57:00.002+01:00

image by Shannon Gerard

As you may have noticed, we’ve added a new set of links in our blog sidebar – Zine Resources. Sadly, we feel that many of these resources are underused, so this blog post is just to draw your attention to them. This is mostly where we get our info from for the biweekly news posts – also via flyers, word of mouth, emails, and tweets that get pinged our way – so they can be very useful! Hope you enjoy spending the evening exploring these sites (if you haven’t done so already)! If you have any more useful zine resources that we've missed, let us know in the comments or email us so we can add to this entry.

Zine Wiki

A Wikimedia-powered site dedicated to zines and independent publishing. It’s a cracking resource, featuring lists of distros, zine events, zine libraries, and much more, from all over the world. There’s a zinester directory, which can be categorised by country, type of zine (e.g. perzine), or theme (e.g. feminism). There are also pages dedicated to zine history, production, and distribution. Sign up for free to become a contributor, where you can create pages about anything zine-related; though what the wiki really needs is pages on individual zine series or zinesters. As you can see by the UK Zinester category page, Zine Wiki is desperately in need of updating. The creators write that they would like Zine Wiki to act as a central catalogue for people interested in zines, where most zines would be instantly searchable from anywhere around the world, with the same quality standards as Wikipedia. Sign up today and help make this aim a reality.
(if you want your zine to be listed, but don’t fancy creating an account for whatever reason, you can always email me with the info you want and I’ll create a page for you!)

Compilation Station

A handy blog that reposts submission calls for zines. It consists of mostly US-centred submission calls, but if that doesn’t bother you too much then it’s a great place to find lots of zines to write for! I’ve been using it for about 4 months, and have been published in 5 comp-zines since, which isn’t too shabby. Go take a look today and see if any submission calls take your fancy!

Syndicated Zine Reviews

A nice blog to pop in your Google Reader if you can’t be bothered to subscribe to many zine blogs. The blog features zine reviews, news, announcements, and calls for submissions that are syndicated from various blogs (including this blog!). It’s more of an RSS feed or forum rather than a blog, as the only original content featured are reviews by the editors, Jack and Dan. It also features lots of useful links in its many sidebars, including lists of zine review sites, zine libraries, zine fairs, distros, and general zine resources. I find it a little tricky to navigate – there’s a bit too much going on, with too many sidebars and adverts – but other than that, it’s good for a browse. They also have a Twitter account syndicated there, which I recommend following (though most of the news they tweet is from the US and Canada).

We Make Zines

Okay, so I’m pretty sure you all know about We Make Zines, but I want to talk about it anyway. WMZ was a huge phenomenon when I first got into zines in 2008, but seems to have fizzled out a little recently. Most people think that the rise of Facebook and Twitter has rendered WMZ a little redundant, which I think is a fair point. Having said that, We Make Zines is still a valuable tool for zinesters to keep in touch with each other, not only due to the fact that it’s tailored specifically to zinesters, but also because many zinesters don’t use Twitter or Facebook! The groups (the biggest ones include Perzines, Over 30 and Still at it, and Let’s Trade Zines), active forum, and event directory are all very useful tools that you can’t get anywhere else. The location-based groups are great for bringing zinesters together - as well as the 200-strong UK & Ireland Zinesters, many subsections of the country have their own groups, including Kent, Wales, Midlands, East Anglia, and Brighton. Members can create your own profile page where people can message you and leave you comments. Zinesters can upload photos of their zines and projects to their profiles, join and contribute to groups, create events, upload videos, and IM each other. Lots of fun!

Zinescene UK

A LiveJournal community dedicated to the UK zine scene, where members can advertise their zine, discuss zine issues, ask for advice, network, and trade with each other. It could be a great resource but, again, is underused. If you’re on LJ, add Zinescene_UK to your friends list and post your news there!

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PS - While we’re here, we’ve got an important announcement to make: Sheffield Zine Fair is now being held on the 25^th September (Sunday) instead of the 24^th as originally advertised. Change the date in your diaries – we hope to see you there!

Zine News Round-Up: 24.07.11

2011-07-24T13:35:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone! Most of the news today revolves around the number of zine fairs coming up this year – how exciting! We’ve linked to all the Facebook events so you can RSVP there. Also a big thank-you to fellow writer Caitlin Gwynn, who trawled through the abyss of tumblr for UK zine news! The things we do for you, dear readers! ;)

Don’t forget we’re still looking for writers, link exchanges, and British zine news from you! Get in touch, we love reading your comments/news!

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- PapA Zine have just released their Summer Camp issue, which comes free with an animation DVD and lots of summer festival information. Available from their Etsy page for the bargain price of £2.
- The "What Happened To Sisterhood?" one page PDF zine is available to download now at http://zinelibrary.info/what-happened-sisterhood
- Lil's Shop has just put up new zines to sell on her Etsy page, with such varied subjects as "Stuff That Should've Happened In The Harry Potter Films" and "Weird Pokemon". Her most recent zines are part of her series of zines made every day in July! She also sells VHS artwork and t-shirts via her Tumblr page.
- David McMillan has just posted about At the Movies zine, featuring illustrated contributions from UWE Illustration students. You can message him for a copy.
- Paul Williams has released his first zine, Culture is Not Your Friend, for £1. Get in touch at paulATmacabremagpieDOTnet to buy or trade a copy.

2. Upcoming Events
- Girls Get Busy Zine Party @ The Alibi, London: 26th July. They'll be selling/trading Girls Get Busy #7, and playing great music to dance to. 9pm til late, free entry.
- Edinburgh Zine Fair: 7^th August. 12 til 5pm at the Forest Up!, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh. They’re still looking for people to table and hold workshops, so if you’re interested, get in touch at sdfgoodallATgmailDOTcom.

- Cambridge Creative Fair: 3rd September. Hosted by the Whirlygig Collective, 10.30am til 6pm. For more info, email the organisers at infoATwhirlygigDOTme.
- Sheffield Zine Fair: 24^th September. The first zine fair in Sheffield, how exciting! If you want to apply for a free stall, or volunteer to help out, get in touch at sheffieldzinefairAThotmail.co.uk.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free! Book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls
- Black Sunday Zine is looking for some submissions from “those who love heavy metal and the darker side of life”. email your stuff to blacksundayzineAThotmail.com
- Mostache Records are looking for submissions for the second issue of their music zine - if you and your band would like to be interviewed, or whether you have any reviews, recipes or comics, get in touch with them!
- Gary Whitworth is looking for submissions for his zine, "Phonetography", comprised of photos taken with mobile phone cameras. If submitting photos, they MUST come with a short (100 words or less) backstory behind them. You can contact Gary on his Tumblr page, http://lamedesign.tumblr.com or at Twitter, @GaryWhitworth.

4. A.O.B.
- There’s only a week left of International Zine Month! However you choose to celebrate it, let us know!

- Interested in reading or contributing to a Dr. Who comp-zine? Join the discussion here: http://wemakezines.ning.com/forum/topics/doctor-who-fanzine

Birmingham Zine Festival 2011: From Behind the Table

2011-07-22T20:34:00.001+01:00

A little over a week ago, I tabled for the first time at a zine fest – the Birmingham Zine Festival. Having only attended three other zine fests before, I was pretty nervous about it all, but also very excited!

The festival was located in a shop called We Are Birmingham, a great venue choice due to its location in the city centre, only a few minutes from the Bullring shopping centre. This managed to attract lots of non-zine types, and ensured that the zine fest was fairly busy all day. The audience ranged from young alternative types, to middle-aged shoppers (including my mum and auntie, who came in to have a nose and ended up buying a few zines). There were also a few parents browsing with their children – a particularly sweet moment was when a little blonde girl was running around putting pink stickers on all the zinesters in the vicinity. :)

The tables were all situated on the ground floor, which included many seasoned tablers that I’d seen at other zine fests this year, such as Marching Stars, Green Bean, and Lizz Lizz. There was also a communal table full of free zines, which provided me with lots of reading material for the journey home! It was great to see that us vendors had a decent amount of room for our stalls, and the open layout of the venue made it easy for people to get close enough to the stalls to be able to take a proper look through the stuff on offer. There were a large number of comics and art zines at this fest, which provided some interesting material for me to flick through on my walk through the tables (though I must admit that most art zines I come across are very overpriced). Downstairs, workshops were being run throughout the day, including ones covering badge making, drawing, and t-shirt printing. There was also a film screening by the Brothers McLeod in the late afternoon.

Upon my arrival, I was given a paper bag full of BZF goodies, including pin badges, flyers, stickers, and a fancy name badge:

I sat down at my small table and laid out my zines and little hand-made placards. I wasn’t sure how many zines to bring, so I decided to come prepared with 20 copies of each issue. This was just the right number thankfully, as I sold between four and fifteen copies of every issue – I should imagine that running out of stock is incredibly frustrating halfway through the day. I also brought a few of my EPs along for sale. After having a bit of a catch up with my neighbour, Lizzy from Marching Stars, the doors were opened and the crowds started coming through.

My table!

The first thing that I noticed was that when making a decision on buying a zine or not, most people tended to quickly flick through the whole zine without looking at one page for more than a few seconds. The layout seems to be what sells a zine – mostly, people didn’t even read the contents page or the intro. That’s something I’ll definitely keep in mind when making future issues of my zine.

Another thing that quickly became apparent, which I should’ve anticipated really, was the number of people who tried to buy a single zine for £1 using a ten pound note. If I had been prepared, I would’ve brought lots of pound coins to prepare for being offered a tenner and not being stuck with £7 in change; unfortunately, the only way I could deal with it was to ask them to buy two more zines to make up the difference – I felt too rude to steal Lizzy’s much-needed pound coins. Everyone I asked did so too, which was surprising, as I half-expected people to just put down the zine and walk away. Sir Alan would be proud of my entrepreneurial skills!

I met a few cool zinesters who came up and had a chat, including Alana (who writes an awesome zine about being a girl skateboarder), Sarah Beth (Ellipsis), and AK from Princesa Pirata distro. I was disappointed at how few requests I received for trades though – I only had two trades all day. I was also disappointed by how few people tried to start conversations with me about zines and the process of making them, or even to share their thoughts on the festival itself – some people kindly stopped to introduce themselves and talk, but mostly people flicked through and walked on by. I also had quite a few people come up and get really excited about my EP, but no one bought a copy. Having said that, I understand that some may just have been too shy to know what to say - believe me, I’ve been there.

At around 5.45pm things started winding down and others began to pack up their stalls. I went through my stash and totted up how much I’d managed to sell throughout the day - 33 zines, but no EPs. That was quite disappointing, especially since my CD is reasonably priced compared to some of the zines on offer, but I half-expected it since the festival is all about handmade creations rather than music.

So, in conclusion, not quite as friendly as I expected, but still a very enjoyable day, and from what I hear, a big improvement in terms of numbers and venue from last year’s fest. My favourite way to experience a zine festival is definitely from behind the table!

(all photos in this blog post are by Birmingham Zine Festival, except the photos of my stall and name badge, which were taken by me)

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Zine Reviews: July '11

2011-07-17T13:26:00.002+01:00

xyz #2: kids & babies issue!

Will, London – zisforzineAThotmail.co.uk

xyz is a zine that focuses on sex, gender, and being queer; this issue focuses on those issues in relation to kids and babies. Specifically, Will writes about how genderqueer behaviour is viewed in children (e.g. the Tomboy trope), mermaids, the agendered Swedish child Pop, how childhood is gendered at toy shops, and the development of gender and sex in early childhood. Will also considers the phrase “think of the children!”, paternity leave, and the issues that genderqueer parents have to face, such as who gets called mum and who gets called dad. My personal favourite, however, is a fantastic essay on how Disney villains are presented as queer, and how this attempts to normalise queerphobia for youngsters! I’d never considered the gentlemanly flamboyance of male villains such as Hook and Jafar, and the androgyny of Ursula (with her plus-sized frame and clumsiness) and Cruella de Vil (with her flat chest and big chin) that make them so threatening. An orange cover with pink interior pages, the layout is plain but eye-catching. An entertaining and thoughtful read, xyz is fast becoming one of my favourite British zines.

Spellbook for Reckless Children #1

Ruth, London – driftsong.girlATgmailDOTcom

In this quarter-sized perzine, Ruth writes about some dark material, including living with an abusive partner, feeling trapped in the overbearing fortresses of her schools and mental health wards, and working nights in a dementia unit at a care home. There are plenty of positive stories here too, such as the tale of her imaginary friend Rainbow Girl, her love of collecting objects she finds on the street, her body manifesto (which includes things such as giving herself permission to take up more space), and being creative. The positive content is written in Ruth’s gorgeous handwriting with lots of cute little drawings dotted around the place, some of which have been coloured in. The darker stories she shares in this zine are typed, pasted onto dark backgrounds. The contrast of light and dark is quite jarring, if I’m honest – I found her darker pieces very haunting and moving, particularly the piece on dementia, which was written beautifully; it feels strange to immediately read a piece on climbing trees and drawing ladybirds on her arms afterwards. But that’s just a small complaint. Ruth writes in a beautiful way that draws you in to her world, leaving you wanting to read more, and she coasts from one topic to another effortlessly – the last five pages in particular were some of the best I’d read for a long time. This zine has a lot of potential – I think in another issue or two, it’ll be perfect.

Mix Zine #3
Fliss, - flisscATgmailDOTcom
What a lovely idea for a zine! Basically, it’s a mix CD that comes with a booklet revealing a story behind Fliss’ love for each song. In the introduction, Fliss explains that she wanted to create a zine that was different to what she found at the London Zine Symposium, and how sometimes it feels alienating to be a female music geek in a male-dominated world. The ideal way to experience this zine is to put the CD on, and read each description while the song plays, savouring each song before moving onto the next. The only problem with the zine is that if you’re not into the music Fliss chooses, which all seems to have an indie-pop/rock feel, then you’re probably not going to enjoy listening to the CD. Hence, I’m including the track listing here, so you can make your own minds up before purchasing:

1. See See Rider – She Sings Alone

2. The Ecstacy of St. Teresa – What’s

3. Psychedelic Furs – Heaven

4. My Autumn Empire – Hatchlings

5. Mega City Four – So

6. Pet Shop Boys – King’s Cross

7. The Fall – Rose

8. The Outsiders – Lying all the Time

9. The Slickers – Johnny Too Bad

10. The Moldy Peaches – Jorge Regula

11. The Heart Throbs – Kiss Me When I’m Starving

12. Denim – The Great Pub Rock Revival

13. The Honeycombs – Have I The Right?

14. Robyn Hitchcock – 1974

15. Cat Power – Good Women

16. Cinerama – Comedienne

17. Mo-Ho-Bish-O-P – Drop Jaw

18. Julian Cope – Black Sheep

19. Seafood – We Felt Maroon

20. Television Personalities – The Dream Inspires

21. The Chameleons – Ever After

If you like the sound of the music, then you’ll love this zine. It reads like a letter from a good friend, and the way Fliss writes about each song is really nice. A chaotic cut-and-paste layout filled with stickers and Fliss’ messy handwriting adds a certain charm to it all.

Rum-Muffel

Steve Larder, Nottingham – stevejipwitAThotmailDOTcom / Isy Morgan, England – morganmuffelATyahoo.co.uk

A joint Rum Lad and Morgenmuffel zine, which tracks their adventure to Scotland across Cairngorms National Park, through to Edinburgh. We read about their encounters with the locals, trekking through fields of snow without snowshoes, visiting zinefests and DIY workshops, making new friends, admiring the gothic architecture, and partying at the Forest Café. We also read about Isy’s involvement with volunteer-run vegan kitchens and cafés, and the problems with how we eat today (mostly due to the focus on profits and efficiency instead of public health and demand). Instead of dividing the zine into a separate front and back half, both Steve and Isy tell the story a page each at a time. It’s a really lovely way of sharing their adventures, making the zine feel more like a collaborative effort. Both have an unique illustration style, and write their story in a cozy, intimate way.

The Venns: A quest for the perfect pub quiz team
Quint & Jow, Sheffield - nowandvennATgmailDOTcom

The Venns is a research project about finding the perfect pub quiz, where Quint advances her own Quiz Venn Theory based on research conducted at various pub quizzes in Sheffield. This theory is illustrated with flow charts, pie charts, graphs, equations, and venn diagrams. It’s a lovely zine for pub quiz enthusiasts, which also features articles on why Quint and Jow love pub quizzes, the archetypes within a pub quiz team (e.g. The Ditherer), pub quiz etiquette, sample quiz questions, and rules of pub quiz nature (including “never second-guess your first instinct”). There’s also a list of pub quizzes in and around Sheffield to check out. A fun little read that made me want to check out more pub quizzes (even though I’m terrible at them)! I also highly recommend their blog, http://nowandvenn.blogspot.com, which contains lots of humorous venn diagrams.

Zine News Round-Up!

2011-07-10T20:01:00.001+01:00

Hello again! As you have hopefully noticed, we’ve tidied up the blog a bit today by updating the links section and setting up our own Facebook page! If you’re on Facebook, go over and ‘like’ us; you’ll be notified every time we update the blog, and make us all feel very loved. :) On the topic of links, don’t forget that we’re still looking for people to trade with! Take a look at our link exchange guidelines here. Also, we’re still looking for writers – more info here.

Enjoy the news and we’ll see you soon!

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- I’ve released issue 9 of my feminist perzine Here. In My Head. More info on how to buy a copy can be found at my blog.

- Illustrator Sky Nash has released another one of her art-zines, titled There Are a Few Things I Would Like to Send in the Post. Buy a copy at her etsy shop.
- Melanie Maddison has released issue two of 'Shape & Situate: Posters of Inspirational European Women', a zine of posters made highlighting the history and lives of radical inspirational women and collectives from Europe. Ordering info can be found here.
- The first issue of Gurl Love zine is out now! Temporarily out of stock, so maybe check back in a week or so at their Big Cartel store.

2. Upcoming Events
- July 21^st is Zine Library Day, a worldwide day created to honour zine libraries and their workers. More info at http://mkezluc.wikispaces.com/zine-library-day.
- Edinburgh Zine Fair: 7^th August. Hosted by Zorras, it's being held at the Forest Cafe from 12 til 5pm. More info here. RSVP on Facebook here.
- Cambridge Creative Fair: 3rd September. Hosted by the Whirlygig Collective, 10.30am til 6pm. For more info, email the organisers at infoATwhirlygigDOTme.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Stall and workshop applications are now open, and they’re completely free! Book yours at http://camdenzinefest.blogspot.com/.

3. Submission Calls
- Pandora Press, the Swansea Feminist Network zine, and is looking for submissions for its first issue! The deadline is 17^th July. More info can be found at the SFN blog here.

- Gurl Love zine is looking for submissions for its second issue. The deadline is the end of July. Send photos, drawings, prose, poems or anything else Gurl Love related to gurllovezineATgooglemailDOTcom.
- Sarah Deetz is looking for submissions for a teen zine – she’s looking for things like mini-essays, old MySpace/webcam photos, diary entries, teen bedrooms, love letters, and drawings, all from when we were teenagers. For more info, email Sarah at silencesweetheartAThotmailDOTco.uk.

4. Distro News

- Having existed offline for a few years, Princessa Pirata distro now has a website where you can order some great queer/anarcha-feminist zines! Take a look at www.princesspirata.com.
- Marching Stars is on temporary hiatus. Also, Lizzy is always looking for people to write zine descriptions for her catalogue, so if you’re interested drop her a line.
- Vampire Sushi is on hiatus for two weeks, as Tukru and Carl are on holiday in Finland.

5. A.O.B.- Don't forget that July is International Zine Month! To celebrate, you could make a 24-hour zine, throw a cake-and-zines party, a big zine sale, or just spend this week's earnings entirely on zines (what do you mean, you do that already?)!
- A few people have written about last month's Zine Fest @ The Women’s Library, including Feminist Memory, Miss Tukru, and Ingrid. Ingrid also posted a lovely photo of Caitlin and I looking after Lizzy’s Marching Stars stall:

Write For Us!

2011-07-03T19:05:00.006+01:00

Spill the Zines is looking to expand and feature some articles alongside its reviews and news posts, and we're looking for writers to join our team! If you're a writer that's passionate about zine culture, we want to hear from you!

Some articles we'd be interested in include:

Zine Fest reviews
Zines as educational tools
Zines as an alternative media
Favourite zine series
Tips on zine-making
Layout ideas
Zine do's and don'ts
Zine anthology reviews
Reviews of books about zines
Zines & activism
Zines & self-expression
Friendships and the zine scene

We're pretty flexible with our writers; all we ask is that writers must be able to adhere to editorial deadlines. You can submit as much or as little as you want!

What you get:

Writing experience: a valuable addition to a portfolio or CV if you're interested in pursing a career in journalism/media.
An audience: Spill the Zines currently averages 1000 readers per month! If you decide to become a regular writer, a link to your personal blog will go in our sidebar, thus increasing traffic for your own projects.
A chance to make a difference: We're the only zine blog dedicated to British zine culture and news, and we're getting bigger and better every month.

Interested? E-mail the editor Cath at spillthezinesuk@gmail.com with a bit about you (age, location, what zines you like to read, whether you write or contribute to zines) and a topic suggestion.

Can’t wait to hear from you!

Zine Fest 2011 @ The Women's Library - Review

2011-06-28T22:12:00.001+01:00

An absolutely gorgeous day in London saw a lot of amazing zinesters gather in the Women's Library for Zine Fest at the weekend (June 25^th). This is the fourth Zine Fest held in the Women’s Library in London, and is an event celebrating all sorts of different aspects of zine culture, from the political to the artistic. As well as having stalls selling all sorts of different zines, there were also workshops and discussion groups going on throughout the day.

Unfortunately, due to many of the Tube lines being fully or partly closed, by the time we reached the Women’s Library, we’d missed most of the workshops. Gotta love public transport. If you attended any of the workshops on such varied subjects as stencilling and feminist media, do leave us a comment with your experiences and/or pictures!

The Women’s Library itself has an extensive zine collection, and tours were given of the library throughout the afternoon. As well as holding events like this, the Women’s Library offer access to materials on women’s history throughout the ages, and provide a reliable resource for anyone wanting to explore the work of our feminist predecessors.

The stalls were in a small room on the top floor of the library, and a varied collection of zinesters were present, including such regulars as Marching Stars Distro and Vampire Sushi Distro, and newer publications like Girls Get Busy. Feminist collective, Storm in a Teacup, were also there, offering handprinted copies of their own zine. As well as zines being on offer, stalls ran by such groups as Pamflet and Girls Who Draw sold tote bags and pieces of art. I ended up buying a LOT of zines (all worth it!) and am hoping to review some of the highlights either on my personal blog, or on here.

The exhibition room was set in the library’s café, and provided some absolutely inspiring food for thought. A big theme with the exhibits was inspirational women, with the Feminist Disco Project, asking people to draw their female icons on paper plates, and the More Crackers Please exhibit, showing the best in feminist activism over the last 10 years. Also on show was the Shape and Situate zine’s exhibition of posters of figures from feminist history, the posters ranging from the funny to the inspiring. The zine itself is available to buy here.

Overall, Zine Fest was an immensely successful event in the atmosphere it offered. It was a zine event that was fantastically chilled out, and offered a friendly space for a more openly feminist sensibility. After all, any zine event that has a table selling copies of Reclaiming the F Word is totally okay with me. Any naysayers of feminism only have to come to an event like this to see just how much active feminist self-published media there is at the moment.

Did you go to Zine Fest? Agree or disagree with anything I’ve said? Let us know! Also, if you have any pictures or accounts of the event, do send us links!

Above - photos from the various exhibitions at Zine Fest.

News Round-Up!

2011-06-26T15:14:00.001+01:00

Pip pip! It’s been a great fortnight in the UK zine scene, so I’m delighted to offer you all plenty of zine news for once! Yay!

Yesterday was the Zine Fest at the Women’s Library, which was bloody awesome. I went with Spill the Zines’ newest contributor, Caitlin Gwynn, who will be writing a review of the zine fest sometime this week, so keep your eyes open for that. I also picked up a huge pile of zines and a gorgeous Girls Get Busy totebag, all of which made me a very happy lady:

Expect some reviews of said zines on this blog in the next couple of weeks! Don't forget to keep sending us your British zine news, we love having lots to write about in our news round-up posts! Get in touch via email, twitter, or leave a comment somewhere on this blog!

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews

5. Distro News

6. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- “My Phone Hates Me” by Sky Nash, a zine all about how her iPhone is constantly making her look stupid! More info here.

- Not You Again #1, published out of Birmingham by BeauCapone, in which she recounts stories from her final year of university. Pick up your copy at her etsy shop.

- Your Pretty Face is Going Straight to Hell #15 was released in time for yesterday’s Zine Fest @ The Women’s Library! Get in touch with Tukru for info on how to get hold of a copy.
- Sarah-Beth has released her first zine, Ellipsis! More info on the zine and how to order here: http://safetobreathe.livejournal.com/114454.html
- If Destroyed Still True #6: Iraqi Kurdistan edition is out now. More info on the zine and how to get hold of a copy can be found at Nine’s blog.
- Girls Get Busy #6 is out now! Buy your copy at http://girlsgetbusyzine.bigcartel.com/.

2. Upcoming Events
- Bradford Zine Fayre: 2^nd July. A free event on from 12 – 4pm at Impressions Gallery, Centenary Square. More info at www.northern-indymedia.org.
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 9^th July. 12 til 6pm. 12 til 6pm at ‘We Are Birmingham’. Lots of workshops and tables (including my own table), followed by a BBQ and aftershow party! Come down and say hello! RSVP here.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. 1pm til 6pm at The Pirate Castle, Oval Road. For more info on workshops, tables, and how to help organising the event, get in touch with the organiser Will at camdenzinefestATgmailDOTcom. RSVP on We Make Zines or Facebook.

3. Submission Calls
- The Swansea Feminist Network is in the process of making its first zine, and is looking for submissions on the topic of “feminist heroes”. The deadline is 17^th July. More info can be found at the SFN blog here: http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/call-for-submissions-sfns-first-zine/

- Going to any festivals this summer? Send a one-page review to the next issue of Opinionated Geordie Monsters! The deadline is 1^st September. More info here.

- Princesa Pirata distro has an interesting collective zine project going on called “Ten Things” – basically, you order a free booklet and make a list of 10 things under that title on a page in the booklet (each has a different title, such as 10 Things I Dream Of, or 10 Things I Don’t Want To Forget). After you’ve made your list, you give the booklet to a friend, they give it to a friend and so on. The full booklets will be put together into little zines by A-K Pirata. Pick up the booklet and get started here!

4. Zine Reviews
- Hannah has posted some lovely zine reviews on her blog last week – take a look!
- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has posted some zine reviews, complete with plenty of photos, at her blog.

5. Distro News

- There’s a new distro in town! pushpin is a new UK zine distro focusing on travel, Japan, crafts, illustration, kawaii and perzines. Buy some cool stuff at www.pushpinzines.co.uk.
- Marching Stars is temporarily on hiatus! Boo hiss. Thankfully it’s only until 28^th June.

6. A.O.B.
- For those of you with the time or inclination, there’s a zine survey floating around looking for responses on the topic of writing and reading zines. Only takes about ten minutes. http://tinyurl.com/zinesurvey2011

Zine Reviews: June '11

2011-06-19T18:35:00.002+01:00

Fat Quarter #3

England – www.fat-quarter.co.uk
I bloody loved this one! I’d never read an issue of Fat Quarter until this month, but had heard plenty of good things about it. My first issue did not disappoint! Subtitled “a countercultural ladies’ mag”, Fat Quarter aims to celebrate what women do, and discuss the issues that we really care about, with an emphasis on female creativity. Fat Quarter is styled in a very similar way to mainstream magazines - it’s printed in full colour on glossy paper, and contains regular features including interviews, reviews, upcoming events, and advertisements (but all female-friendly, of course). The articles in this issue cover topics including virginity, female drag, alternative places in the UK to visit, and Japanese bento. At 23 A4 pages, I would’ve liked it to be much longer, as I was enjoying reading it so much. Apart from that, I loved it. Get hold of your copy at Marching Stars or from Fat Quarter’s website.

Tragic Boffin #1
Donna, Edinburgh – tragicboffinATgmailDOTcom

Some zinesters say that one’s first zine is always a bit shit (and I must say that this rings true for my perzine). Others say that the first is the glorious issue crammed full of ideas that subsequent issues struggle to live up to. While in my experience the former is almost always true, Tragic Boffin #1 was a rare case of an excellent first zine! I loved to hear Donna proudly write about how much she likes the way her life is – spending the evening writing and sewing instead of out drinking, playing her XBOX, enjoying a bubble bath with a book, and her love for her pet rats! There’s also a cracking comic by Billy Burg in the middle on the definition of “success”. Other topics briefly discussed include her relationship with money, body image, how mindfulness is essential to wellbeing, and feminist book recommendations. Mostly typical perzine fodder, but well-written and entertaining nonetheless. I must guiltily admit that I enjoyed this zine far more than I thought I would. Highly recommended!

Adventures in Menstruating #6
Edited by Chella Quint, Sheffield – www.chartyourcycle.co.uk

This is why I love the zine scene – articles about celebrating one’s period is something that I’d never find in the mainstream press, a place that’s saturated with images of women who are ashamed of menstruation, looking for ways to “outsmart” mother nature. Adventures in Menstruating is a zine that focuses on menses with a feminist slant and a great sense of humour. It’s reminiscent of a magazine, with its full-colour cover and neat interior layouts. Inside, there are articles, poetry, mini-comics, product reviews, a short story, flow charts (pun not intended), and deconstructions of the advertising used for menstrual products. It’s a zine about periods, what’s not to like, seriously? Every woman needs to read at least one issue of this zine in her life, so get your copy now!

Athemaura #2: The Library Issue

librariesforsocietyATgmailDOTcom

This is a zine written in March by a librarian campaigning against the government cuts (but annoyingly, the author didn’t include a name or location, just the email address above). Inside, the author discusses how libraries have featured in their life, from insomnia-fuelled reading binges in childhood, to the present day, where they spent four years to secure their first library job. We read about how they feel spending time at the library has had a positive effect on their development as a person, and how important the author feels libraries are for all members of the community. There are also a few statistics on library closures, and some recommended reading on the topic. Very messy, both in terms of its visuals, and the way it’s been put together. Some may like that kind of look, but I didn’t, if I’m honest. There are also random numbers alongside some paragraphs, and the meaning of them wasn’t clear. However, despite some quibbles I have with the author’s approach to putting the zine together, it still features some well-written pieces that do clearly highlight the importance of libraries, so overall I have to give this zine a thumbs-up. You can keep up to date with the author’s campaign updates here: http://savelibraryjobs.blogspot.com/.

Not Lonely #5.5 / Sometimes I’m Dreaming #4.5

Hannah, Scotland – not_lonely_zineATyahooDOTco.uk / Lisa, London – sometimesimdreamingAThotmail.co.uk

Two of my favourite British zinesters in one lovely little zine – wonderful! Both have deemed this a “half” issue, as it was written over the course of one weekend together, with lots of tea and Spotify playlists to fuel their writing. Although short and quickly made, it’s still a gorgeous split-zine, with both sides equally entertaining and pretty. The content was chosen by writing random topics on slips of paper, and picking them at random out of a large hat. Hannah’s topics include life-changing experiences, videogames, and common misconceptions about her, while Lisa writes about childhood dreams, travel, her style, trash TV, and shyness. Lisa’s side is more text-heavy and features more of her beautiful handwriting, while Hannah’s side has more large typewritten text and cut-and-paste imagery. A fun little read.

Zine News Round-Up!

2011-06-12T17:25:00.003+01:00

12.06.11

Hello everyone! I must apologise for the short length of this news post, as it’s apparently been a rather slow fortnight in the British zine scene. Last week saw Glasgow’s first zine fest, which I hear was a big success, and yesterday Ladyfest Essex was a success, managing to raise a tidy sum of money for the charity Refuge (if you didn’t get a chance to go, you can still donate to Refuge at Ladyfest’s JustGiving page). We’ve got lots more zine fests coming up this summer, as listed below, so hopefully next fortnight we’ll have a little more news to share! Don’t forget to email us anything and everything related to British zine culture at spillthezinesukATgmailDOTcom.

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Issue 106 of Bi Community News aka BCN is now out with its usual mix of writing about bi life, bisexuality in wider culture and the UK bi scene itself. Order a copy or a subscription at www.bicommunitynews.co.uk.

- I released issue 8 of my feminist perzine, Here. In My Head., this week. More info on how to buy a copy or ask for a trade at my blog.

2. Upcoming Events
- Zine Fest! 2011: 25^th June. Held in the Women’s Library in London, which has its own extensive zine collection. Be there or be some sort of square!
- Bradford Zine Fayre: 2^nd July. Still in the planning stages. For more info on how to get involved, visit the We Make Zines page.
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 9^th July. 12 til 6pm. Lots of workshops and tables (including my own table)! Come down and say hello! RSVP here.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Very far in advance, but this event is still in the planning stages, so if you want to lend a hand, get in touch with the organiser Will at camdenzinefestATgmailDOTcom.

3. Submission Calls
- Rotherham zine library is looking for donations! For more info, visit http://rotherhamzinelibrary.snaek.org/.

4. Distro news
- Marching Stars has been updated, with lots of new zines in stock, some of which I will be reviewing next week.
-Vampire Sushi has gone on a brief hiatus; you can keep up to date with their activity on their tumblr.

5. A.O.B.
- This video has been floating around the internets recently; 3Trousers has made a film out of part of his early UK punk zine collection, featuring loads of cool covers from the early days of UK punk zining. Worth a gander:

Zine News Round-Up!

2011-05-29T14:01:00.001+01:00

Hello again! Hope you’re all having a nice time being creative and whatnot this month. Since changing Spill the Zines’ news round-up posts from weekly to fortnightly, we’ve been finding these posts much easier to fill. I think more and more people are finding out about this blog too, as we're getting sent plenty of news these days. We’ve also been getting lots more requests for reviews, which is very exciting. Please keep sending your zine-related news and stories in, no matter how small! As long as it’s British, we’ll publish it! :)

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Hayley Foster da Silva of Essex has released her first ever zine, Dancing Barefoot! For your own copy, contact her at moonlight.phoenixATgmailDOTcom.
- Fanzine Ynfytyn #15 and #16 were released last week. You can buy them at Emma Jane Falconer’s etsy shop.
- Being Editors #1, a children’s literature comp-zine, has been published this week by editor Emma Jane Falconer. The first issue is dedicated to British author Diana Wynne Jones. Also available at Emma’s etsy shop.

- Comic zine SNOW TRAP by David Ziggy Greene is now for sale at www.samu.co.uk for £2.

- Rum Lad: The Stories issue, contains 13 contributions from folk telling a short story about themselves. Buy it at www.stevelarder.co.uk.

2. Upcoming Events
- Glasgow Zine Fest: 2^nd June. Held at the Free Hetherington, 3 til 7pm. RSVP on Facebook here.

- Ladyfest Essex: 11^th June. Hayley (feminist activist and author of Dancing Barefoot) is organising the first ever Ladyfest in Essex all by herself, and needs your support for this fantastic event! There will be female-fronted music, stalls, and yummy vegan food available. 2 til 11pm at the Railway Pub, Southend, £3 entry. All proceeds will be donated to Refuge. RSVP here.

- Zine Fest! 2011: 25^th June. Held in the Women’s Library in London, which has its own extensive zine collection. More info here.
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 9^th July. 12 til 6pm. Lots of workshops and tables (including my own table)! Come down and say hello! RSVP here.
- Camden Zine Fest: 8^th October. Very far in advance, but this event is still in the planning stages, so if you want to lend a hand, get in touch with the organiser Will at camdenzinefestATgmailDOTcom. RSVP on We Make Zines here.

3. Submission Calls
- The Swansea Feminist Network is starting up its own feminist comp-zine and is looking for submissions for its first issue! The theme is “feminist heroes”, and the current deadline is the end of June 2011. For more info or to submit something, contact us at swanseafeministnetworkATgmailDOTcom.

4. Zine Reviews
- Sophie at Oh My Clumsy Heart has reviewed lots more lovely zines. Take a look and comment here.
- Ingrid has reviewed the zines she picked up at the London Zine Symposium at her blog Mythologising Me. She’s also giving away a zine grab bag; take a look here.

5. A.O.B.
- The Interactive Monster Unit have published pictures of people drawing monsters at their stall at the London Zine Symposium! There’s a photo of me there, looking awkward, haha. Go take a look to see if your monster was featured!

- girlVIRUS UK, run by me, is hoping to arrange a meet-up over the summer and we need ideas on what to do together! The current idea is a big gathering and sleepover at someone’s house, but we need to find someone in a fairly central location who is willing to co-host the gathering with me. To find out more, or to volunteer help, you can get in touch with me at contactATcatherineelms.co.uk. Make sure you join us on Facebook, and spread the virus!

- Don’t forget the annual 24 Hour Zine Thing is coming up in July. I’ll be participating – will you? Book yourself a day off work in advance for a glorious day of zine-making!

Zine Reviews: May ‘11 (London Zine Symposium edition)

2011-05-22T18:03:00.003+01:00

I picked up A LOT of zines when I went to the London Zine Symposium last month:

As I went straight back to university the following week to finish off my degree, and rant about said degree on my blog, I had no time to pick my way through this big pile of wonderful zines! It was very frustrating. I mean, I didn’t even have time to sleep and shower most of the time, let alone read zines. But 3 weeks ago, I finished my degree and came home for good, to start the dreaded job search. And so, during a particularly bad bout of procrastination, I sifted through my entire pile of LZS paraphernalia and picked most of it over the course of one glorious afternoon. The following zine reviews are all zines that I picked up that weekend, and loved. By means of apologising for Spill the Zines’ lack of activity in the past few weeks, this is an extra-long zine review post. Let us know in the comments what your favourite zines were from LZS!

Cath x

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Virgin #2
Anonymous, England - virginzineATgmailDOTcom
The first issue of Virgin, published in summer 2009, was written by one anonymous girl about her own experiences of being a virgin. This issue, finally published last month, is “the submissions issue”, made up of other people’s stories instead of the author/editor’s own. The submissions cover topics of disability, fear of intimacy, virginity as a burden rather than a blessing, asexuality, lesbianism, sexual abuse, self-worth and virginity as an exclusive heterosexual concept. As well as these submissions, the author/editor writes about the overwhelmingly positive feedback she got about the first issue, and the way the issues of asexuality and choice were misinterpreted in her original issue. The zine is half-sized, with clean layouts. For a mere 75p, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this zine, as it’s a really thought-provoking read. Available to buy from Marching Stars distro.

I’m Drawing a Blank #1

Tukru, Kent - tukrulovesyouATgmailDOTcom
Massive love for this zine. Tukru’s drawings have featured briefly in her previous zines, but I’m Drawing a Blank is her first solo comic zine, filled with lots of hand drawings and Tukru’s beautiful handwriting. As well as some self-portraits and accompanying text explaining the picture (e.g. kick-ass Tukru holding a rifle, informing us that she is the same height as Rambo), there are also drawings of Emma Jane Falconer, Amber Forrester, Buffy, Eric Northman, Kurt Cobain, and her partner Carl. The writing has a very similar feel to the writing of Your Pretty Face…, very stream-of-consciousness. Get your hands on a copy, it’s Tukru so you know it’ll be really great. And only £1! Brilliant!

Angry Violist #2
Cambridge – angry.violistATyahooDOTcom

This is described as a zine for “alternative string players who are angry at being forced to play classical music”. Inside, we read about the author’s viola, the difference between a viola and a violin, being regarded as a failed violin player or being mistaken for a violinist, strange musical phenomena such as the “devil’s interval” and the “brown note” (google ‘em), and inspirational string players. Angry Violist is one of the more esoteric zines I’ve read – if you’re not really into music, particularly classical music, I think you’d find this zine kinda dull. Or you might enjoy reading something totally different and learn new things, it depends. Having studied music at A level, and being a bit of a music geek, I really enjoyed the zine. It’s written with good humour, and remains intelligent without slipping into territory that’s too academic or dense. So if you’re a music-y type, I highly recommend this zine. The main criticism I have for this zine is the fact that it is very difficult to read in certain places due to the poor photocopy quality and small font size. Some of the fonts themselves are quite difficult to read too (a quick note: sans-serif fonts photocopy the best, so I recommend them to zinesters over serif fonts!). Other than that, great!

No Comment: The Defendant’s Guide to Arrest
London – www.ldmg.org.uk
This is being included for its sheer usefulness. It’s a free zine on how to deal with getting arrested – what happens when you get arrested, contacting a solicitor, being interviewed, police tactics to force out a confession, and what to do if a friend or relative is arrested. Very useful; I’m glad I picked it up. I mean, I hope I don’t get arrested anytime soon, but you never know. Download your free copy here.

Fanzine Ynfytyn #8
Emma, Kent - emmajanefalconerATgmailDOTcom

I met Emma for the first time at LZS and bought a few zines from her, as I hadn’t read Fanzine Ynfytyn before. This was my favourite of the bunch – a quarter-sized, horizontal zine printed on purple paper, with pretty floral layouts. At only 20 pages long, it’s a quick read, most of which is taken up by an article about songs that remind Emma of certain times of her life. These include 36 Degrees by Placebo, which reminds her of being in a girls’ grammar school at 13, and Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode reminding her of her 22^nd birthday. There’s also a short article on why she likes aquariums, and hates seagulls. Very sweet.

Scratch that Itch #3
Kathleen, Leeds – iloveavocadoAThotmailDOTcom

I loved this zine – it’s subtitled “No poetry, angst, or trainhopping stories” so you know it’s proudly different from most perzines. After a brief update of her life in the opening pages, Kathleen jumps straight into the story of her hectic life as a newly-qualified paramedic. This includes the exhausting 13-hour shifts, and dealing with death in work. There ‘s also an AMAZING rewriting of Jesus’ crucifixion story, which involves a wise-cracking troll called Smartie and 2 Unlimited’s 1994 hit “No Limit”! Written by her nine-year-old self, it’s very sweet, and includes her original drawings of Jesus and Smartie being crucified! Although the young Kathleen meant no harm by this story, it’s not for the easily offended! I really love the way this zine looks too, with various mementos, maps and playing cards dotted throughout. Alongside her writing, Kathleen includes some great hand-drawn artwork, and a pull-out poster of undercover policeman Mark Kennedy. My fave page, however, was a hand-drawn and –written piece called “I fought the chore!”, all about getting through the shitty jobs of cleaning and cooking! I really loved this zine, and devoured it in minutes – it’s honest, down-to-earth, and light-hearted, with cool cut-and-paste layouts and great stories.

Out of the City and Into the Trees #1
Natalie, Edinburgh - out-of-the-city-and-into-the-treesATriseupDOTnet

This is why going to zine fests is such a great experience – I would’ve never heard of this zine otherwise. It’s a half-sized perzine, featuring journal entries about a young activist’s decision to move out of her parents’ house at 16 to live in a treehouse on a protest site. The entries track the author’s adventures with protesting and getting into trouble with the law, forming new friendships, and finally feeling like an animal instead of a machine. Also includes some lovely poetry written among the trees. The poetry pages are laid out in a really cool way, but the rest of the zine is plain black text on white paper. This was probably my favourite zine of the whole bunch – I found Natalie’s stories really inspiring and excitng. Plus it’s only £1, which is a fantastic price for the amount of goodness you get inside. Available from Scale Trees distro.

Other things I picked up that were enjoyable:

Gorilla Film Magazine – a free half-sized zine I picked up in Rough Trade, all about filmmaking. Very entertaining.

The Stool Pigeon – a free bi-monthly newspaper featuring lots of written pieces and cartoons.

The Secret Anarchist History of Newcastle – an entertaining and informative zine on anarchism in Newcastle.

Pistachio Magazine –a tongue-in-cheek “pastiche to what ‘lad-culture’ is all about”. Articles available online here.
Profiting from Occupation: UK and International Companies Complicit in Israeli War Crimes against Palestinians – distributed by Corporate Watch. Scary stuff.

News Round-Up!

2011-05-15T15:14:00.010+01:00

Hello all!
It's my turn to do an update, and I'm not as organised as Cath so please bear with me... I'll get the ball rolling with a few pieces of news - enjoy :)
Hannah x

P.S. Please keep sending us your zine-related news to spillthezinesukATgmail.com so that we can spread the word of your creativity and fun events!

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1. Zine Releases
2. Upcoming Events
3. Zine Reviews
4. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
* Issue #4 of Angry Violist has been published, all about experimental and alternative string playing. This issue includes a Krautrock Krautmap and an interview with The Raincoats violinist Vicki Aspinall. Find out more at http://angryviolist.wordpress.com

2. Upcoming Events
* Nottingham Zine Fair: 28^th May
* Alternative Press Fair (London): 28^th - 29^th May
* Ladyfest Essex: 11^th June
* Zine Fest @ The Women’s Library (London): 25^th June
* Birmingham Zine Festival: 9^th July

3. Zine Reviews
* I updated my zine blog with reviews last week and early today; you can read the posts here and here.
* It's a couple of months ago now, but Fliss posted some zine reviews at her blog in March and I feel they deserve a mention. Please go here to read them.
* Sophie has written a new zine review post over at her blog, Oh My Clumsy Heart, here.

4. AOB
* Camden Zinefest now has its very own website! Will also have a confirmed date and location, so all that's needed now is volunteers. A couple of generous people have stepped forward already and offered their time on the day, but any others who are willing to step forward will be very, very much appreciated, especially if they're willing to help with planning things in advance. For more info, check out the website or get in touch with Will.

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(post originally written by Hannah, edited by Cath)

News Round-Up!

2011-04-25T18:40:00.001+01:00

Happy easter everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the rest of the lovely long weekend with plenty of chocolate eggs! This fortnight has been a fairly busy one in the UK zine scene, notably for the massive success of the London Zine Symposium last weekend, which plenty of people have written about on their blogs (see below)! Spill the Zines has now made a flyer, some of which were distributed at the London Zine Symposium - if you want to print and distribute your own, here it is: http://bit.ly/idQQOa. We’ve also been syndicated on http://syndicatedzinereviews.blogspot.com, which is rather exciting. Take a look at our re-blogged posts here.

Anyway, enjoy our zine news of the fortnight, and do remember to send us any news of your own for us to feature on the next blog update!

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Zine Reviews

4. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
Lots of awesome zines were released just in time for the London Zine Symposium last weekend, including:
- I’m Drawing a Blank, Miss Tukru’s first comic-style zine. Pick up your copy at Vampire Sushi distro!
- Scratch that Itch #3. I’ve got this feminist perzine, and can’t wait to read it.
- Out of the City and Into the Trees #2, written by Jake of Scale Trees Distro. A zine about a boy that leaves home to live in a treehouse.
- Adventures in Menstruating #6, a comp-zine themed around periods. Highly recommended! Get a copy at http://www.chartyourcycle.co.uk/zines.
- Virgin #2. This issue is a compilation zine featuring 6 submissions on the topic of virginity. To buy a copy, paypal £1.50 to virginzineATgmailDOTcom.

2. Upcoming Events
- EGAKU 2 – Draw for Japan (London): 1^st May

- Victoria Baths Fanzine Convention (Manchester): 14^th May
- Nottingham Zine Fair: 28^th May
- Alternative Press Fair (London): 28^th - 29^th May
- Ladyfest Essex: 11^th June
- Zine Fest @ The Women’s Library (London): 25^th June
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 9^th July

3. Zine Reviews

Sophie has written a great zine review post at her blog Oh My Clumsy Heart this week, featuring reviews of Lost Boy #1, Mythologising Me #2, and Oh My Oh No.

4. A.O.B.

- Vampire Sushi distro has been updated, with lots of new zines in stock.

- A few people have written reviews of the London Zine Symposium last weekend, including me, Caitlin Gwynn, Amelia’s magazine, Pamflet, and Sophie (Oh My Clumsy Heart). Any more? Let us know!

- Will of xyz zine is looking to set up a zinefest in Camden, London, in October! Zinefests require a great deal of planning and helping hands, so if you want to help Will out with organising this event, get in touch at zisforzineAThotmail.co.uk. There’s more info about the event and the help needed at Will's blog Z is for Zine.

Weekly News Round-Up!

2011-04-10T21:00:00.002+01:00

Hello again! I hope you’ve all been having a lovely crafty time since we last met. Don’t forget to let us know what you’ve been up to, and send along anything and everything zine-related. No matter how small, we’ll be happy to reply and promote! UK news only, of course.

We’ve listed all the lovely upcoming zine events here too, so you can put the dates in your diary if you haven’t done so already. I’ll be attending most of them, so if you see me, come say hello! I’ll have purple hair and biker boots. :)

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Zine Reviews

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases
- Issue 5 of perzine Sometimes I’m Dreaming was published this week. To get hold of a copy, check out Lisa’s Etsy store: http://sometimesimdreaming.etsy.com
- Not a zine but still a cool crafty thing worth sharing: Girls Get Busy zine have released their first ever Chixtape featuring girl bands Slutever, Wett Nurse, Sparkleshit, Chemical Peel and more. Hand-made with love. Only 50 available, so grab ‘em while you can. http://girlsgetbusyzine.bigcartel.com

2. Upcoming Events
- London Zine Symposium: 17^th April
- Victoria Baths Fanzine Convention (Manchester): 14^th May
- Nottingham Zine Fair: 28^th May
- Ladyfest Essex: 11^th June
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 9^th July

3. Submission Calls
- Charlotte Lee is looking for submissions for issue #4 of her comp-zine, Bitch Theme! The theme is girl hate/girl love. If you want to submit something, please email charlotteleeukATyahooDOTcom. More info can be found on Charlotte’s tumblr here.

4. Zine Reviews
- Did you read my zine reviews I posted last week? No? Go take a look then! Don’t forget that if you want your zine to be reviewed on this blog, you can email us a request. There’s more info on our review policy page.

5. A.O.B.
- The Dylan Thomas Prize for young writers is currently looking for submissions for its 2011 competition. There’s a whopping £30,000 cash prize and an excellent launch-pad into a literary career available for the lucky winner. To find out more about how to enter, take a look at their website: http://www.thedylanthomasprize.com/
- Remember we mentioned EGAKU in our last news post? Well, the event went ahead last weekend, and they raised a cracking £1700 for Red Cross Japan! How great is that? Due to the success of the event, another zine sale will be taking place soon. For more info on how to get involved, visit www.egaku.org.uk
- Marching Stars distro was updated yesterday. Lizzy will be tabling at London Zine Symposium; if anyone wants to reserve zines to pick up at LZS, you can email her at distroATmarchingstars.co.uk by Friday 15^th April.

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We also wanted to remind you that we’re still looking to trade links. This process is underway, as you can see from our lovely new sidebar. If you’re interested, drop us a line.