Zine News Round-Up: 18.09.11

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

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

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.