Zine News Round-Up: 11.06.13

Posting this 2 days late because I’m rubbish. Enjoy!

(Btw did you see that we were featured in The Screever zine last week?)

Cath x

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. AOB

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1. Zine Releases

- Mixed media “acid trip” zine Soul Vibe #1 is out now! Grab hold of a copy by getting in touch with the author: brandon.tango @ live.co.uk.
- Lights Go Out #21 is out now! www.lightsgoout.co.uk
- Found is a photography project by Rhys Atkinson exploring the nature of discarded and found slide photographs.  More info at http://www.backtoprint.co.uk/product/back-to-print-issue-1

- Feminist campaign group Armpits 4 August have released their first zine! Check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Armpits4August
- Crafting zine Sugar Paper has just released its 10^th issue! More info at http://sugarpapergang.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sugar-paper-11.html
- Athemaura #10 is out now! Details on buying/trading a copy can be found at http://athemaura.weebly.com/1/post/2013/05/athemaura-10-new-issue-ready.html

2. Upcoming Events

- Queer Zine Fest London 2013: date and venue TBC! Keep up to date at https://www.facebook.com/events/160624710775600/?ref=ts&fref=ts
- Let us know if we’ve missed anything - spillthezinesukATgmail.com!

3. Submission Calls

- If you have any art that you want to put out into the world please feel free to submit them to Brown Paper Bundles! Get in touch at thechickencoop @ live.co.uk.

- Pandora Press, a feminist compzine from Swansea, are looking for submissions for their 6th issue! The theme is body.  More info at http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com.
Hand Job Zine is a new literary zine, looking for writing in whatever format on British subject matter.   Details at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hand-Job/404655936308222?ref=stream

Sonorus: Feminist Perspectives on Harry Potter are looking for submissions for their first issue! Details at http://sonoruszine.wordpress.com/
OH VENUS! are looking for contributors for their feminist zine on the theme of HEROES. Art, comment, fiction, reviews and so on all wanted. Please email images to oh_venus@live.com before June 16.
- A zine on the intersection of queer and working class identities is currently looking for submissions! Deadline is in September. Details at https://www.facebook.com/events/354699081318568/?fref=ts.

5. AOB
- Check out a great review of last weekend’s Alternative Press Fair: http://shadowplayfanzine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/review-alternative-press-spring-zine.html and some photos: http://pinterest.com/mikedraws/alternative-press-fair-spring-2013/
- July 2013 is International Zine Month! Alex Wrekk, founder of IZM, has posted a list of tasks to do for every day of July to celebrate (see above)! Text version here: http://www.stolensharpierevolution.org/31-activities-for-international-zine-month-july-2013/

Review: Clapton Zine Fair 2013

As my friend Vicky put it on the morning of the Clapton Zine Fair: today we're going to the dentist, and we're not afraid! For Board of Fun and Stars & Flowers had taken over a former dental practice premises for the purpose of a weekend of zines, live music, poetry, and socialising. The little building still has its bright yellow DENTIST sign on the shopfront, and I like that it has been kept. The man behind it all (Phil) has bought the shop with the aim of doing the place up and putting on gigs and artist events. So at the moment, the place is a little ramshackle - but I like that too. In a world where so many bars, cafes, and shops are so perfectly shiny and glassy and new, this place is refreshing - besides, there is so much potential, and today my thought was: with such a fantastically bright array of zines and handcrafted loveliness on show, who really thinks about it today?

 

The day started with me getting myself dramatically lost alongside a huge A-road going into Essex, and I feared being hideously late, but all worked out in the end thanks to my friend Vicky-Anne Smith playing Challenge Anneka with me. The Dentist is tucked away on a street alive with markets stalls, independent little shops galore, and so much community. It felt really nice to finally arrive on Chatsworth Road and take it all in - a sunny day too!

 

It was thanks to organisers Yo Sushi and Zoe Taylor that we were here. Yo is a long-standing musician (acoustic/alt-country singer-songwriter), and visual artist, and he had performed the evening before to makr the launch of his and Matt Riviere's new music releases, plus to launch the zine weekend. Zoe had found one of my perzines in Housmans radical book shop in King's Cross (go there and marvel at zines and comics, or help fill the place with even more political zines/comics, if you make them!), and had sent me an invite to have a zine stall, which was really nice.

 

The Dentist is a very snug shop, but an amazing amount of zine and artists' delights fitted in - with beautiful art prints, pen sketches, and colourful collages pinned to walls, high and low, DIY t-shirts hanging in windows from hangers, and zines of all stripes atop little square tables or on lowdown platforms, all sorts of home-printed tapes and CDs, badges, cards, and assorted visual goods, and everyone's positive presence filling the place. We were in our own zine and art haven for an afternoon.

 

I had a browse and took photos of the various stalls. I will do my best to recount the stalls. With a very tightly packed table of very brightly coloured zines and cards, was Mark Pawson. Best card for me here was one that had an image of bottles of booze and the legend: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL OFF-LICENSE. Too true! Here, I was happy to stumble across a zine about punk history and psychogeography around Dalston (with an intro by no less than Mr Iain Sinclair) called Splitting the Atom, as well as the zine Good Fuzzy Sounds. I had read this zine at the Stuart Hall zine library, so was glad to be able to buy my own copy. I have reviewed this zine separately, as it is an ace music zine about guitar pedals.

 

Pete from Dead Trees and Dye was behind a stall, but not with his usual perziney wares - this time it was with his Limner art critique magazine project.

 

With gorgeously collaged art prints on sale, was Rosanna Thompson. We had a good chat about feminism, and in particular about a theme in one of my zines which is assumptions in society (basically woman = babymaker, and also how renting = to be scorned whilst mortgages are some sort of ubiquitous all-conquering ambition).

 

OOMK (One of My Kind) Zine were tabling next to us with artist Amy Lambert. If you haven't yet seen it, OOMK is a visual art zine with feminist contributors from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It's really professional, with colour photography and in depth writing, and interesting themes each issue. Sofia, who runs OOMK, also had her brilliant colour comic Talk to the Scarf on sale, which satirises the assumptions people make about religious scarves/scarf wearers (my favourites were: the little toy you can attach to your scarf as an accessory, and hiding a pair of headphones underneath during lectures! It's a neat way of helping stamp out prejudice).

 

Yo had ink prints pinned about the place, and his drawing zine on sale. I like his style, and it's cute seeing Zoe featuring in his art/as a muse. He also played excellent DJ throughout the day. I appreciated the diverse selection! Ace music I recall being played: Pavement, Half Man Half Biscuit, The Flying Lizards ('Money, that's what I want', classic 80s pop).

 

I was also really pleased that an Argentinian creative writer, Maria, from our zine collective came along, and had made her first poetry zine that very morning, bound it with pretty ribbon, especially for this event!

 

I must recount my thoroughly brilliant zine moment (possibly my best ever zine moment), wherein somebody's elderly godmother, dressed in lavish jewellery and cape, and very well-spoken, was standing next to a green-and-spiky-haired punk dude, and they were both looking at my zines! I think such a vision sums up the beauty and breadth of zines, really. I had a lovely chat with the godmother, and she bought two of my perzines, and gave me some sweet, encouraging words.

 

There was a guy who asked me if I made money from selling other people's work on our table. When I told him I give everyone's earnings to them direct, he was flabbergasted, couldn't get his head round how or why anyone could do that. He was disappointed in my lack of enterprisement, and couldn't understand why I would sell zines purely for the love of zines! Oh well! Just to round up, if you're interested, I had on sale that day: A Night's Journey by my friend Vicky-Ann Smith, and the zines Angry Violist, A Short Fanzine About Rocking, Feeling Alone? (by Human Bean zines), poetry from the aforementioned Argentinian, Maria, and some free zines that I'd printed up from the one that Cath gave me from Swansea Feminist Network, as well as selling a selection of my own from over the years.

 

At the end of the day, out came the homemade cake - by the trayful! Top marks to the baker for her hard work and excellent range of cakes, including chocolate with real raspberries, white cake with almonds, and bright blue iced cake too. We had earned our cake and beer. A truly excellent afternoon, in a great little shop. The Dentist are holding regular gigs, so head over some time!

 

www.facebook.com/33ChatsworthRd

http://boardoffun.wordpress.com/

www.yozushi.net

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This review was written by the lovely Fliss - thanks!  All photographs are the author's own.

Zine Reviews - May '13

Me and Bruce (And my Dad) - www.coolschmoolzines.blogspot.co.uk 

Bruce lovin' not necessary here, as Holly Casio's buoyant energy shines through so resoundingly that this zine will draw you in whatever your feelings on the man. Personally, I left the zine wanting to write to Holly and ask her to make me a Bruce Springsteen compilation tape! 

I love the honesty and the slant that Holly has chosen to write with here - it's so unique, yet represents many themes that others can relate to. She recounts what a comfort Bruce's music was to her at university when she felt alienated for not being from the same sort of background as others she encountered - especially within the queer and feminist scenes, to the point where she felt the need to cover up a bit to fit in. She draws parallels between Bruce's poor upbringing and her own, and how Bruce's songs are often about working class anger (hard work, low pay, feeling trapped in crummy jobs in small towns), and she looks to her dad's factory job, its long hours, how bad it is for his health, how he is still in that job now, but how her dad rocks and goes to gigs at night (her dad sounds cool). She finds in Bruce's songs she can feel the characters' desperate need for adventure and escape - and the sentiments and the big loud choruses are so freeing. 

I love that Holly has also made a comic about Bruce and sent it to him! I should also mention that this zine is in nice, old school zine style, with typewriter-y font and cut up text with simple photo/collage layout, and that Holly is a 90s zinester. 

Moving down to London from a small northern town, Holly still feels a sense of adventure about being in a big city, having left smalltown life behind (smalltown life that wouldn't accept her being queer). I think a lot of people will relate to how Holly feels priveleged to be here and as if she doesn't quite belong, and how she might be grown up now, but is still poor, and still finds formally academic speak about queer and feminist politics alienating.  I'll leave you with this quote from the zine:

'For those that read the Guardian and have credible record collections, and go to farmer's markets and have brunch, then you can get away with listening to Bruce Springsteen's and thinking of his songs as nothing more than quaint stories and characters for your record collection. But for a lot of people those songs are a reflection of their lives.'

 

Clod Magazine - http://www.hightown.org.uk/ 

Issue 24 and Luton's finest Clod magazine is still going strong. If you've never heard of it, it's a bit of a sin, as it is in a league of its own with its pulp-magazine style approach. It's crammed with loads of cut up text, lots of silly messsing about, and so much cleverly witty satire. 

They sell this zine at the ICA in London, which is always a good reminder for me to buy it, when I am browsing the magazine racks there. 

It's produced by an older generation, and it makes for unique reading because new zines are often written by young people. So there is that original zine approach, and it's a bit different. 

I love that Clod is from Luton and that the guys that make it fondly take the piss out of the place, but at the same time are trying to put something artistic back.

If you like made up speech cut out of loads of different magazines/newspapers, stuff that is surreal and that'll genuinely have you laughing aloud on a boring journey or at work, I recommend Clod. 

Best article this issue had to be the one about social networking. Why do we do it when it is full of: narcissists, fraudsters, celebrity murderers, kidnappers, and terrorists ! ('Who invented this? I think they should know what a lousy interface they have made.') How you have to keep updating or people will think you are dead: 'You can't stand still now that you have started... You need to be revised, on a weekly basis, at least... You are basically working for an employer who does not pay you! You get no lunch breaks, and to make things even more humiliating, that employer happens to be you!' I was nearly falling over laughing on the commuter train when I read about the alternatives that we supposedly had before internet social sites: putting newer and newer photographs of yourself in a scrapbook, sending photos of yourself to complete strangers in the post, asking lager monsters in the pub to threaten you, etc etc! 

Attempt to do the 100 things before your dead list (e.g. smash up a toast machine, join an orchestra), and download the reworked version of America by Simon and Garfunkel - the lyrics are all about bizarre food. 

Scary Hairy - weakandlovely@hotmail.com

http://www.activedistributionshop.org/shop/ 

If, like me, you are often cautious of comic zines and prefer perzines, I recommend this as the best of both worlds! This is a brilliant feminist zine about body hair and perceptions of how women should be, generally. 

The author came to terms with her family reacting negatively to her having her unshaved legs and armpits, to the point where she started to cover up when she would visit them. But she came to realise it wasn't right being herself, and so she would show her hair more than ever. The cartoons are cute, and the sentiments are spot on. You know when someone writes out something that you had only been feeling but hadn't quite expressed aloud or put into words? Well, I felt exactly that way about Scary Hairy. I have been thinking a lot about 'mens' clothes and 'womens' clothes, and conventions and assumptions, and negative judgements. What the author writes about how men can walk with confidence because typical men's clothing is practical, whereas women's clothing is restrictive or revealing, needs shouting from the rooftops. Why can't we walk with freedom of movement, and without consciousness, or fear of our bodies being so looked at, and men can? But then there is the catch 22 situation, as the author puts it, if she wears comfortable clothes, which happen to be men's clothes, then: 'Is there anything wrong with that? Freedom of choice, right? Either I dress like a woman and be uncomfortable, or I dress like a man? What a terrible exchange is that!' There is also a lot of history and connotations about power to men's clothing, and it was really great to see someone writing about this too. 

I also appreciated the cartoons about trying to explain your choices to little kids, when they have been force fed by the media (and sometimes parents/family, because of patriarchy) sexist notions, so they are confused or scared by you. Some good explosions of the myth of 'feminist' as a label, and fun cartoon strips about being who you want to be, also make this a fantastic feminist perzine. 

 

Band T-Shirt - vanessaberryworld.wordpress.com 

There aren't enough music zines around, in my opinion. I was thrilled to come across this one, as it is an idea that appeals to me, and possibly even the kind of zine I would myself make! It's all about band t-shirts, and each band t-shirt is listed with a story detailing the memories and emotions connected to when the t-shirt was bought, and what the wearer remembers about that time of her life. I love it! 

This zine comes all the way from Australia, which is also interesting to me, as I used to have pen pals from there - probably from around the same time in the 90s when the author writes/remembers about. One of these pen pals was a Cure fan, and here we have a story about a bootleg Cure t-shirt. The author also mentions The Hummingbirds, and I recall a pen pal sending me a tape of theirs. 

The zine is a nice square shaped zine, a size and shape that isn't done so much, and I like the way the band t-shirts are all drawn carefully by hand, and it is not just photos - tiny little figures of band members and everything.

I think you'll be hooked on this zine even if you don't necessarily like all the bands written about, as it's more the theme and the fandom here. But for your interest, some of the bands included here are: The Pixies, The Cure, The Birthday Party, The Cananes, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and Bauhaus. The reminiscing about being a teenage goth is familiar ground to me too. 

 

Good Fuzzy Sounds - thesimonmurphy @ yahoo.com 

Music geeks will love this zine. I don't know of any other zines that are centred around one particular guitar pedal, or just guitar pedals in general. I'm interested in all things technical about music, and this zine acts as a great tutorial to the fuzz pedal. There are illustrations of soundwaves, an introduction to the fuzz pedal, a history of the use of fuzz pedal (a good example is it's that sound the guitar in Can't Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones makes). There is a coup of an interview with an early fuzz pedal inventor, Pepe Rush. There is also an interview with a female queer pedal maker, Devi Ever, who discusses the barriers and judgements that women face, as well as discussing the time she was personally commissioned by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins to make his dream pedal - only for him to turn it away in dislike! (his loss).  The zine is red ink on blue paper, which I really like. All music enthusiasts will love this zine.

 

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This month's zine reviews were written by Fliss, the lovely lady behind SW Zines - thanks! 

 

Zine News Round-Up: 12.05.13

via http://girlsgetbusyzine.tumblr.com

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro news
5. AOB

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1. Zine Releases

- The first issue of The Northern Bullet Fanzine is available to read for free online here: http://issuu.com/thenorthernbulletzine11/docs/thenorthernbulletissue1
- Issue 26 of the UK horror fanzine Necronomicon is out on Etsy, with a big feature on Whitbys Bram Stoker International Film Festival. http://www.etsy.com/listing/121928470/necronomicon-26-uk-horror-fanzine-zine?ref=shop_home_active - Let us know if we’ve missed anything - spillthezinesukATgmail.com!

2. Upcoming Events

- Bradford Baked Zines: A Popup Zine Shop - 13th to 18th May, 13 Market Street, Bradford.  Lots of details at their website: http://bradfordbakedzines.wordpress.com/
- Alternative Press Fair: 1st June, 1 Albert Road, London.  For more details, including how to apply for a table, check out http://www.alternativepress.org.uk/index.php/events/

3. Submission Calls

- Kat W is looking for reviews, essays, quotes and artwork for her Stephen King fanzine, titled ‘Death Is When The Monsters Get You’.  For more info, email kjwilliams1986ATgmail.com.
- Girls Get Busy zine is always looking for feminist-themed writing and artwork to feature in upcoming issues! You can submit to the zine by emailing your work to girlsgetbusyzine @ gmail.com.

- Poor Lass, a zine about working class women, is looking for submissions for its second issue!  More info at https://www.facebook.com/PoorLassZine.
- If you have any art that you want to put out into the world please feel free to submit them to Brown Paper Bundles! Get in touch at thechickencoop @ live.co.uk.
- Lee is putting together a compzine on bereavement and grief.  If you'd like to contribute any prose, poetry, art etc., forward them to Lee at losborne74 @ gmail.com.  More info at http://primitivepeople.livejournal.com.
- Pandora Press, a feminist compzine from Swansea, are looking for submissions for their 6th issue! The theme is body.  More info at http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com.
- Submissions wanted for a fanzine titled 'Sonorus: Feminist Perspectives on Harry Potter'! Lots of info over at the website: http://sonoruszine.wordpress.com/

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars Distro is off hiatus, and has had a big redesign! Woo! www.marchingstars.co.uk
- Lots more zines in stock at Vampire Sushi Distro! http://shop.vampiresushi.co.uk/

- New stock at Princesa Pirata Distro! http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com/about-2/
- SW Zines website updated with new zines: http://swzinecollective.weebly.com/our-zines.html 

5. AOB
- Broken Pencil (Canada's magazine of zines and indie culture) recently launched an iOS and Android app, The Nub: Indie Arts Hub. The app provides readers with a stream of content from participating independent arts and culture magazines: columns, poems, short stories, essays, interviews, profiles, book/zine reviews, comics and rants.  The app is free for a limited time - more info at http://www.brokenpencil.com/thenub.
- Feminist magazine Spare  Rib is relaunching! http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/apr/26/spare-rib-magazine-rosie-boycott

April Zine Reviews: Sheffield Zine Fest Edition

Here I've reviewed some of the zines I bought and traded at last month’s Sheffield Zine Fest (read our review of the event here).  I’ve been a bit lax with updating this blog recently, so I hope you enjoy this bumper zine review post. :)

We Heart Lisa Simpson

Edited by Beth Sivyer, London – http://bethsiveyer.tumblr.com/

An awesome concept – this zine is all about Lisa Simpson and her feminist credentials, and includes songs, drawings, opinion pieces on why Lisa is awesome, and screencaps of some of her best moments from the TV series (including a scene in the school cafeteria where she is seen reading ‘The Bell Jar’!).  Printed in full colour, and with lots of Lisa-themed artwork dotted throughout to break up the text, it’s a lovely zine to look at – bit of a shame that the zine is entirely written in comic sans font, but that’s just me being a font snob!

Bi Community News

Edited by Jen Y, Manchester – www.bicommunitynews.co.uk

BCN is a regularly-published (maga)zine for bisexuals, with lots of great resources on offer including local group listings, news, upcoming events, national bi organisations, and publications of interest.  Alongside the regulars we read some longer articles and opinion pieces; this issue features writings on mythbusting bisexuality, gender and romantic relationships, and reflections on starting up a bi group.  The zine has a professional, almost glossy feel, and this issue is printed entirely in colour.  I cannot recommend this zine enough to my fellow bisexuals!  I had the pleasure of meeting the editor Jen at Sheffield Zine Fest, and she tells me that BCN is always looking for contributors – drop her a line at editor @ bicommunitynews.co.uk.

Tempest In A Teacup #6

Louise, Lincoln – directingshipsxo.tumblr.com

The 6^th issue of Louise’s feminist perzine, written especially for SZF, seems to focus on moving beyond her negative experiences to make positive changes in her life.  We read stories about major life changes including new friendships, new pets, travel, loss, bereavement, assault, and career change.  Louise closes the zine with a positive piece on her hopes for 2013 and beyond.  The layouts are fairly plain and cute this time around – mostly black text on white background, with some stickers and pretty pictures of women and cats here and there. A very nice read!

Hard Femme

Kirsty Fife, Lewisham – kirstywinters.etsy.com

This is half-sized perzine all about the concept of hard femme, femininity outside of social norms, and what this means to the author.  Rather than focusing on the style aspect of hard femme, Kirsty focuses on themes of resilience, self-reliance, strength, survival, and “femininity on its own terms”.  Her hard femme identity includes being fat and strong, being marked with bruises and scars, modifying her body, and surviving a childhood partly lived in poverty.  Entirely handwritten in Kirsty’s scruffy capitalised handwriting, laid over leopard-print backgrounds, the layout itself feels very true to the hard femme aesthetic!  A powerful, thoughtful zine that gave me lots to think about.

I Love Myself: A Self-Care Zine

Kirsty Fife, Lewisham – kirstywinters.etsy.com

Another zine by the same lady; this time, a minizine on the importance of self-love and body confidence, which folds out to reveal an A4 “self-care map” full of self-care tips.  Love it love it love it - I want to photocopy this zine and put a copy inside every glossy magazine I see!

Awaiting an Epiphany

Rachel, Stoke-on-Trent - http://www.awaitinganepiphany.co.uk/

I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this zine for aaages!  It’s a perzine that focuses on the things that mean the most to Rachel, and the cover features a painting of her late rabbit Taff, whom Rachel had hoped to write about but couldn’t quite face just yet.  Inside, we read about her ME and recent frustrations where she was badly misrepresented in a local newspaper interview on ME (reading it made me sooo angry!), her love for the Manic Street Preachers and meeting the band, and a thoughtful piece on extinction and the lesser-known species that humanity has wiped out.  The zine closes with some zine reviews, and lists of things Rachel has enjoyed recently.  A lovely read, with a nice variety of topics.  

D&D Virgin

Emily, Sheffield – www.emilytulett.com

D&D Virgin is a friendly zine all about the author’s love for fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons, and includes an explanation as to how the author got into D&D, the story of her first gaming experience (where she played the role of an elf cleric named Tia), a basic guide to the game, and a glossary of terms.  I’m not sure I’d have the patience to play D&D (some games can potentially stretch to 10 years long!), but Emily’s enthusiasm is very infectious!

Buy Her Candy #5

Bettie, Sheffield – manufacturinghearts.blogspot.com

This issue of BHC was written for Sheffield Zine Fest (Bettie was one of the organisers!), and has a mostly positive and strong tone.  Bettie writes about feeling empowered at Sheffield Reclaim the Night, meeting fellow “rad fats” at the Yorkshire Rad Fat plus-size clothes swap event, tabling at London Queer Zine Fest, and more thoughts on her identity as a “hard femme dyke”.  The zine closes with an angrier piece on her frustrations that so many zines and blogs about body hair focus on the “normal” areas of pit, leg and pubic hair, with no mention of facial hair or excessively dark/thick hair (completely agree with this – I’d also add that many of these writers tend to be white, thin, cisgendered women too, which grants them certain privileges when it comes to growing out body hair)!  An introspective and personal zine, this may be my favourite issue so far!

Pylon

Jacob Tomlinson, England – www.candle-party.tumblr.com

I’ve started to get into comic zines more and more, and Pylon is one of my recent favourites.  The story is described by the author as “about not spiralling inside online and the importance of nice people in your life”.  After getting frustrated and angsty online, the protagonist is taken on an adventure by an internet friend where they travel to another dimension and skim stones over the clouds.  Expressive drawings and a great story make this a lovely read.  The cover looks good too, printed on glossy paper.

Bolam Retrospective (Grab bag/package)

Richard Bolam – richardbolamat50.wordpress.com

Bolam is a mixed-media modern artist, and this Retrospective package is part of an “ongoing project to catalogue, curate and present [his] life's work in art” towards his 50th birthday.  The zine package doesn’t seem to be a retrospective in and of itself, but part of the larger project; having read through his blog, I think the project will culminate in an art exhibition, although it’s not immediately clear whether this is the case.  The package contains issues 1 through 7 of Bolam’s art zine, along with other fun goodies including a fridge magnet, some coasters, and business cards.  I have to be honest and say that I didn’t understand what the art meant, but I don't want to be dismissive of Bolam’s work - perhaps I'm not the right audience.  I can’t say I found the content engaging, as I’m not a fan of modern art, but from a design point of view, it’s a lovely tactile package, and each issue is very different from the others, so it feels like a good introduction to Bolam’s work.  Check out his website for more info about the Retrospective project.

Zine News Round-Up: 07.04.13

picture by Liz Prince - thanks!

Seems to be a very quiet one this fortnight… or maybe we just haven’t been able to find enough zine news?  Keep sending us your news (or news that you’ve heard of that you think we’d like to hear about)! It’s just me running the blog at the moment so there’s only so much of the internet I can read! Spillthezinesuk @ gmail.com.

Cath

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro news

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1. Zine Releases

- The latest Lights Go Out zine is out now, featuring reviews of gigs from 2012 . details here: http://www.lightsgoout.co.uk/?product=lights-go-out-issue-20 
- Let us know if we’ve missed anything - spillthezinesukATgmail.com!

2. Upcoming Events

- Artists’ Bookmarket: Saturday 20 April, The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 11am til 6pm.  Lots of artwork and zines on sale! More details at https://www.facebook.com/events/499067516818389/
 - Victoria Baths Fanzine Fair: Sunday 5 May, Victoria Baths, Manchester, 12 til 4pm.  More info here: http://www.victoriabaths.org.uk/visit/2013/family-friendly-trail/

3. Submission Calls

- Kat W is looking for reviews, essays, quotes and artwork for her Stephen King fanzine, titled ‘Death Is When The Monsters Get You’.  For more info, email kjwilliams1986ATgmail.com.

- Annabell is creating a zine called ‘fōbēə’, focusing on strange and obscure phobias. Illustration, articles, and stories all welcome, and even if you don't fancy submitting but have an obscure phobia you’d like to share, that would be helpful too. More info, email annabell.daltonATgmail.com
- Poor Lass, a zine about working class women, is looking for submissions for its second issue!  More info at https://www.facebook.com/PoorLassZine.
- If you have any art that you want to put out into the world please feel free to submit them to Brown Paper Bundles! Get in touch at thechickencoop @ live.co.uk.
- Beth Siveyer is looking for submissions for an updated e-zine titled 'We Heart Lisa Simpson'.  Lots more info here: http://bethsiveyer.tumblr.com/post/47471948303/ive-decided-to-redesign-my-we-heart-lisa-simpson
- Feminist campaign 'Armpits for August' are looking for submissions on their zine about women's body hair.  For more info, check out their website http://armpits4august.org/.
- Pandora Press, a feminist compzine from Swansea, are looking for submissions for their 6th issue! The theme is body.  More info at http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com.

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars Distro is off hiatus, and has had a big redesign! Woo! www.marchingstars.co.uk
- Lots more zines in stock at Vampire Sushi Distro! http://shop.vampiresushi.co.uk/

- New stock at Princesa Pirata Distro! http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com/about-2/
- SW Zines website updated with new zines: http://swzinecollective.weebly.com/our-zines.html 

5. AOB
 - Check out this video about last weekend's DIY Cultures 2013 zine fest: 

Zine Reviews: March '13

Social Notworking

Sofia Niazi, England – www.sowfia.blogspot.com

A cute little comic zine about the phenomenon of  Social Network Syndrome (SNS), written by imaginary scientist Dr Gustav von Schneider.  In this study, he details the development of SNS, the symptoms (compulsive behaviour, unfounded anxiety, and loss of concentration), experiments, psychotherapy notes, and the 4 distinctive types of SNS sufferers.  Presented as a scientific study, complete with observations and conclusions, this zine is so original and entertaining!

Opinionated Nobody #2

Rebecca, Barnsley - http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk/

Inside this lovely little perzine, Rebecca writes introspective stories which reveal a great deal about her personal life, including going on a “fat swimming trip” organised by the Yorkshire Rad Fat Collective, her fascination with the Christian Patriarchy Movement, her favourite bed, meeting up with some zinesters at last year’s Little Zine Party, thoughts on religion after studying theology at university, and her love of to-do lists.  Rebecca’s style of writing is nice and easy to read, and I love how it feels you get to know Rebecca well when reading her zines.  I like the layouts too – clean and neat, with handwriting and computer-printed text.  Email or write to Rebecca to grab a copy.

Athemaura #3

Anon, Surrey – http://athemaura.weebly.com/1/category/athemaura/1.html 

A half-sized, horizontal zine with a cool tracing paper cover and messy cut-and-pastey layouts, Athemaura #3 is more personal than previous issues, focusing on details from the author's life.  Inside, we read a long piece about her struggles working with difficult colleagues in her beloved library, which escalated to the point where she had to resign.  She then goes on to discuss the positive things that she has done since, including volunteering with a wildlife project, growing vegetables, and cat-sitting.  We also read about the death of her beautiful dog Jazz (along with a photo – what a cutie!), and some thoughts on bullying in adulthood, and how we should speak out when we witness people being shitty to others.  Though she writes about some upsetting and frustrating experiences (I felt sooo angry when reading about her awful colleagues at the library!), she seems to take a positive approach to it all, encouraging the reader to learn from horrible incidents in their lives, and to be aware of what’s going on around them and help others in need. 

Paper and Ink Vol. 1: Broken Hearts and Broken Bottles

Edited by Martin Appleby, England – http://inpursuitofexpression.blogspot.com

Paper and Ink is a collaborative literary zine featuring short stories and poetry by a selection of writers.  The theme is heartbreak, and the featured pieces are all good quality and lovely to read.  The layouts are clean and functional – black text printed on white background, with lots of blank space on each page, and a different font used for each contributor, which I thought was a nice touch.  It’s quite short at 14 pages, so I managed to devour it very quickly! One of the better lit zines I've read for a long time.

Buy Her Candy #3

Bettie, Sheffield – http://manufacturinghearts.blogspot.com

Buy Her Candy is a consistently good queer/feminist perzine, and no issue ever disappoints!  This issue features short pithy pieces on letter-writing, growing up and feeling as if she’ll never be a ‘proper’ adult (me too!), and queer identity.  There’s also a very sweet story about missing post involving an elderly lady assuming Bettie and Ingrid are children writing to each other!  Bettie includes some short reviews of zines she has enjoyed recently at the back of the zine.  The layouts are really cool – cut and paste, with lots of stickers and simple striking imagery.  Highly recommended!

Want us to review your zine? Details here.

Review: Sheffield Zine Fest 2013

photo of Sugar Paper's stall by Emma Jane Falconer - thanks!

This is a guest post by Caitlin Gwynn.  Caitlin is a feminist zinester, co-founder of the Swansea Feminist Network, and amateur music journalist.  You can find her on Twitter at @WonderCaitlin. 

Last Saturday saw two fabulous zinesters, Bettie (of Buy Her Candy and Anatomical Heart) and Chella Quint (of Adventures In Menstruating) pair up to organise Sheffield Zine Fest. After a previous successful zine fest in the city back in 2011, the pair joined forces to organise their own event celebrating DIY zine culture.

Tabling at the event were our very own editor, Cath Elms, renowned zine distros Vampire Sushi and Marching Stars, as well as other names previously featured on this blog, such as Sugar Paper and Fanzine Ynfytyn. As well as old and established names, there was much on offer to discover, such as the lovingly put together Young Explorer zine written by Steve and Liz (www.youngexplorerzine.blogspot.co.uk) and the brilliant Kirsty Fife, writer of Make It Work and Hard Femme zines (she can be found at fattyunbound.blogspot.co.uk). Whilst it goes without saying that the majority of the tablers were primarily zine makers, several tables dedicated themselves to selling other crafty wares. For example, the delightful table from Emily & Anne (www.emilyandanne.co.uk) that had zoetropes and flipbooks for sale as well as zines, and Lolly (lollylikesfatshion.blogspot.co.uk) who kindly brought along vegan cakes for hungry zinesters. A communal table was also available for those who wanted to leave their zines for members of the public to pick up for free.  

Along with the actual zines themselves, the organisers offered a wide range of workshops taking place throughout the day: everything from body positivity to working on a collaboration zine with Hollaback Sheffield to getting some inspiration for creating zines from Emma Jane Falconer (Emma’s own round-up of the event can be found on her blog).  Cath Elms put on a workshop discussing zines and feminism, and brought along enough materials for attendees to create their very own works of art, which they did with sheer enthusiasm. Looking at the different mini zines that each attendee created was a wonderful testament to what can be done in the zine format, as every zine created was entirely different to the next.

Looking at the actual venue itself, the Electric Works had the strong advantage of being very central to Sheffield town centre, and central to the bus / train station, handy for anyone coming from further afield. Also, more importantly, it has a helter skelter, and has the amazing honour of being Britain’s first indoor office helter skelter.

Our only complaint about the day is that four hours went surprisingly quickly! Kudos to Bettie and Chella for organising a wonderful event that celebrated the best and brightest in self-publication and supporting the clearly flourishing creative zine scene in the UK (and further afield, of course!). There was an overwhelmingly positive atmosphere at the event, and supplied a safe and positive space where all attendees were free to enjoy and support the creativity of others. We look forward to 2014 already!  

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If you liked Caitlin's review, check out these other reviews of the event:

Forbidden Planet (yes, that Forbidden Planet!): http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2013/sheffield-zine-fest/

Emma Jane Falconer: http://emmajanefalconer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/sheffield-zine-fest-redux.html

Rebecca McCormick: http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/sheffield-zine-fest-and-what-i-wore.html

Cath (STZ editor): http://blatantblithe.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/zine-fests-workshops-and-feministing/

Jenna Lee Alldread: http://jennaleealldread.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-sheffield-zine-fest-2013.html

Richard Bolam: http://richardbolamat50.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/i-printed-i-stapled-i-zined-sheffield-zine-fest-2013/

Zine News Round-Up: 18.03.13

photo by Ten Minute Reviews - thanks!

Had to post our news round-up a day late due to how tired we were this weekend after Sheffield Zine Fest (a review of the event will be published on Sunday)!  Enjoy!

Cath

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro news

4. AOB

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1. Zine Releases

- ‘Buy Her Candy’ #5, a queer feminist perzine, was released this weekend!  Contact Bettie for a copy. Details here.

- ‘Pandora Press #6: The Media Issue’, is out now.  Details on how to buy a copy can be found at the Swansea Feminist Network blog.

- ‘Paper and Ink: A Literary Zine’ was released this week.  More info at http://www.inpursuitofexpression.com/p/zine.html  

- Issue 6 of ‘The Strange New Times Zine’ is out now! More info about the zine can be found at http://thesnt.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/issue06-sneak-peak-pics.html  

2. Upcoming Events

 - DIY Cultures 2013: Sunday 7 April, 12 til 7pm.  A festival of zines, comics, artist-run spaces, talks, films, art and workshops.  http://www.facebook.com/events/590291354321604/?ref=2  

 - Any upcoming UK zine events?  Let us know – spillthezinesukATgmail.com!

3. Submission Calls

 - ‘Narwool’ is a new zine by and for crafty people, featuring tutorials, how-to’s, artwork, and more.  To submit, contact the editor Kim at narwoolzineAThotmail.co.uk.

- Twigs and Apples, a zine collective based in Preston, are looking for submissions for their latest comp zine.  Welcome topics include “art, illustration, photography, writing, reviews, music, film, veganism, recipes, anarchism, environmentalism, sports, gardening, bike-riding, philosophy, travel, DIY & craft”.  More info at http://twigsandapples.tumblr.com  

 - Kat W is looking for reviews, essays, quotes and artwork for her Stephen King fanzine, titled ‘Death Is When The Monsters Get You’.  For more info, email kjwilliams1986ATgmail.com.

- Annabell is creating a zine called ‘fōbēə’, focusing on strange and obscure phobias. Illustration, articles, and stories all welcome, and even if you don't fancy submitting but have an obscure phobia you’d like to share, that would be helpful too. More info, email annabell.daltonATgmail.com

4. Distro News

- There’s a new distro in town! Girls Get Busy zine distro stocks feminist/female-authored zines.  Take a look at their developing catalogue and buy some cool zines at http://girlsgetbusyzine.bigcartel.com/category/distro

5. AOB

- Check out this cool short film about Sheffield Zine Fest! http://youtu.be/uA2Z3NrXZ8k

Zine News Round-Up: 24.02.13

image by Angry Violist - thanks!

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. AOB

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1. Zine Releases
 - Poor Lass #1, “a collection of stories of what it's really like to be working class”, is out now!  Buy a copy for £2 at http://sugarpaper.bigcartel.com/product/poor-lass-1

 - Becoming: A Feminist Coming of Age, a zine created by Project:BABE, is out now!  Contact the editors for a copy at projectbabecollectiveATgmail.com.

2. Upcoming Events
 - Workshop on Zines and Feminism: Thursday 8^th March, 10.30am at Swansea University.  Part of the Swansea Feminist Network’s workshop day for International Women’s Day.  More info at http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com.
 - Sheffield Zine Fest: Saturday 16 March, 12 til 5pm.  The organisers are looking for people to table and hold workshops – more info and contact details can be found at http://sheffieldzinefest.wordpress.com/ .
 - REVOLT #2: Saturday 16 March, Taylor John’s House, Coventry.  A riot grrrl night with zine stalls and feminist music.  http://www.facebook.com/events/532368940127398/?ref=2
 - DIY Cultures 2013: Sunday 7 April, 12 til 7pm.  A festival of zines, comics, artist-run spaces, talks, films, art and workshops.  http://www.facebook.com/events/590291354321604/?ref=2
 - Any upcoming UK zine events?  Let us know – spillthezinesukATgmail.com!

3. Submission Calls
 - Pandora Press, a feminist compzine published by the Swansea Feminist Network, is looking for contributors for its 5^th issue (theme: media).  Extended deadline: 28 February.  More info at http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com

 - Kat W is looking for reviews, essays, quotes and artwork for her Stephen King fanzine, titled ‘Death Is When The Monsters Get You’.  For more info, email kjwilliams1986ATgmail.com.
 - ‘Narwool’ is a new zine by and for crafty people, featuring tutorials, how-to’s, artwork, and more.  To submit, contact the editor Kim at narwoolzineAThotmail.co.uk.

 - There’s a Doctor Who fanzine in the works!  Lots of detailed information can be found at http://type-40-zine.tumblr.com/Submission-Guidelines

 - Twigs and Apples, a zine collective based in Preston, are looking for submissions for their latest comp zine.  Welcome topics include “art, illustration, photography, writing, reviews, music, film, veganism, recipes, anarchism, environmentalism, sports, gardening, bike-riding, philosophy, travel, DIY & craft”.  More info at http://twigsandapples.tumblr.com.

4. AOB
- Kirsty, of Make It Work/Hard Femme zines, is currently doing an oral history project on zinesters as part of an MA in Archives and Records Management, and is looking for people to get involved. She can travel to you (or vice versa) and you'll have a 1-2 hour chat about zines, how you started making them, your involvement in the community and so on, anything you want to talk about! Fancy being involved? Or know someone who does/want to recommend someone? Email Kirsty at kirsty.fifeATgmail.com.