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^thMarch, 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^thissue (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.

Zine News Round-Up: 10.02.13

Zine News Round-Up: 10.02.13

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

photo by Tukru

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1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

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1. Zine Releases- Lisa, author of perzine ‘Sometimes I’m Dreaming’, has released a travel zine about her recent visit to Japan, titled ‘Japanese Whispers’.  Buy your copy at her etsy store.

 - Emma Falconer’s new full-colour zine ‘Little Whisper Smoke Signs That You’ll Never Get’ #2 is available to buy from her website.
 - ‘Opinionated Nobody’ #4, a feminist perzine, is out now!  To buy/trade a copy, get in touch with the author Rebs @ http://sullen-hearts.blogspot.co.uk/
 - Emma, author of ‘Angry Violist’ has released the third issue of her perzine ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’ this week.  To buy or trade a copy, get in touch with her at angry.violistATgmail.com.

2. Upcoming Events - 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^thissue (theme: media).  Extended deadline: 28 February.  More info athttp://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

Zine News Round-Up: 20.01.13

Zine News Round-Up: 20.01.13

by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

by Anne Lamott, via http://mydarlingafraid.tumblr.com/

Happy 2013, lovely readers!  Spill the Zines is back from its Christmas hiatus, and we’ll be making an effort to keep the blog updated every week with news posts, zine reviews, and guest features.  Remember: if you want to write/contribute anything, just drop me a line!

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- Shape and Situate #4: Posters of Inspirational European Women is out now!  More information about the zine (and a list of distributors) can be found at: http://remember-who-u-are.blogspot.com

- Colouring Outside The Lines #6, is a zine full of conversations with contemporary female artists, has been released this month.  For more information about the zine, and where to get a copy, seehttp://cotlzine.blogspot.co.uk/

- New poetry zine Distraction Faction: Found Poetry in London, is out now.  For more details, get in touch with the creator Tony at http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/TonyHickson

- Pandora Press #4: The Pink Issue, is out now!  Pick up a copy at any Swansea Feminist Network event, or if you’re not from the Swansea area you can contact the editor at pandorapresszineATgmail.com to buy a copy.
- Music zine All Thrills No Frills Music Bill is out now - more details at http://www.allthrillsnofrillsmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/issue-one-of-paper-zine-now-available.html

2. Upcoming Events- A zine collective has been established for new zine-makers living in the SW London/Surrey area.  They hold regular meet-ups and zine events, and are currently in the process of organising a meet-up for the end of January.  More details can be found at http://swzinecollective.weebly.com/.
- 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).  Provisional deadline: 31 January.  More info athttp://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com

- Lindsay Starbuck and Melanie Maddison are working on a compzine called ‘Remember Who You Are’, which looks at “our own individual, personal histories to see how we come to be the people that we are, with the politics that we have”.  More details at http://remember-who-u-are.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/remembering-who-we-are-zine-seeking.html.

- Ink Soup is comics and narrative zine based in Birmingham. They are looking for comics and artwork for their 7th issue entitled 'Under New Management'.  Deadline: 31 January.  For more info check out:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ink-Soup/287767714585794

- Kat 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.

- 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
- SW London and Surrey Zines are looking for zines to sell at their zine stall at a local community market.  Lots of details can be found at http://swzinecollective.weebly.com/1/post/2012/12/call-for-zines-from-sw-london-surrey.html .

4. Distro News

- Some new zines have been added to Princesa Pirata’s stock! http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com/about-2/

5. AOB
- Some cheap second-hand zines for sale on the LJ community Zine Scene UK – take a look here:http://zinescene-uk.livejournal.com/157372.html

- Not UK related, but definitely worth a read: Maranda Elizabeth writes about self-care for zinesters on their blog:http://marandaelizabeth.com/2013/01/03/self-care-for-zinesters/
- feministzines.tumblr.com is a new blog made to showcase zines by/for feminists – submit yours, and check out some cool new zines!

Zine News Round-Up: 21.10.12

Zine News Round-Up: 21.10.12

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

photo by Bettie - thanks!

Hello, Bettie here. I'm doing the round-up this week because Cath is
super busy and I am super not! Take a look at the 'Write for us' page
if you want to help out too.


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


1. Zine Releases
- Vacant Minds #2 is a mainly art and doodles zines, and it's free (or
trade). Info at their Tumblr: http://vacant-minds.tumblr.com/
- Have we missed anything?  Let us know – spillthezinesukATgmail.com.

2. Upcoming Events
- Documentary Screening 'From the Back of the Room': 28th October at
Shacklewell Arms, London. A documentary about women in DIY punk. More
info at: http://www.facebook.com/events/402884689767379
- Leeds Zine Fair: Sunday 4th November at Wharf Chambers. LZF now has
its own website at: http://leedszinefair.footprinters.co.uk
- South East London Zine Fest: Sunday 11th November at the Amersham
Arms, New Cross. Have a look at their blog:
http://selondonzines.wordpress.com or their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/selondonzines
- Queer Zine Fest London: 8th December at Space Station 65,
Kennington. Lots of awesome zinesters and distros have been confirmed,
but there are still spots available to table and other ways to get
involved. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/events/232251613569656/

3. Submission Calls
- Poor Lass Zine is a positive collective zine by working class
grrrls. The theme for the first issue is 'work' and it's gonna be
awesome! Have a look at their facebook page for more info and how to
contribute: http://www.facebook.com/PoorLassZine

4. AOB
- Zinester punx the Copy Scams are playing gigs and holding readings
at zine fests and other events around the UK on their Sinister
Zinester Tour! Check their Facebook page to see where they're heading:
http://www.facebook.com/events/507706389255775/

Zine News Round-Up: 07.10.12

Zine News Round-Up: 07.10.12

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

photo by Melanie Maddison - thanks!

We're back!  Sorry for the long silence, life stuff sort of took over for a while.  As an aside, if anyone ever wants to give us a hand with writing for Spill the Zines, do get in touch!  Check out the 'Write for Us' page for more info. 

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases- ‘Dirty Blyter!’ is a zine all about the sexual innuendo/subtext in Enid Blyton’s novels.  Buy a copy at folksy.

- ‘Lights Go Out’ #18: The 24 Hour Zine Thing Issue, is out now!  Buy your copy at http://www.lightsgoout.co.uk/?wpsc-product=lights-go-out-issue-18.

- Have we missed anything?  Let us know – spillthezinesukATgmail.com.

2. Upcoming Events- REVOLT – DIY Riot Grrrl Ruckus: Saturday 13 October @ Taylor John’s House, Coventry. An evening of riot grrrl, spoken word, and burlesque (and I’m doing a zine reading!).  More details can be found at http://revoltpunk.wordpress.com/.
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 12 – 15 October.  Want to get involved?  More info can be found at http://www.birminghamzinefestival.com/.
- Documentary Screening- ‘From The Back of the Room’: 28 October @ Power Lunches, London.  A documentary on women in DIY punk cultures. More info here.
- Leeds Zine Fair: Sunday 04 November at Wharf Chambers.  If you'd like to get involved in organising the zine fair, or hold a stall at the zine fair then get in touch at footprintATfootprinters.co.uk

- London Queer Zine Fest: Saturday 08 December @ Space Station 65, Kennington.  The organisers are still looking for people to table, and to help out generally – if you want to get involved, there’s lots of info at https://www.facebook.com/events/232251613569656/

3. Submission Calls- To commemorate the film screening ‘From The Back of the Room’ mentioned above, the organiser Charlotte is putting together a zine on women and punk.  Written submissions must be 200 words max, visual submissions must be black and white.  Deadline: 21 October.  Questions and submissions can be sent to charlotte.richardson.andrewsATgmail.com.

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars Distro is still on hiatus, but will be back soon with a new website! Keep your eye on twitter and tumblr for more info about when the distro will reopen.

 - Vampire Sushi has a new website design and new stock!  Take a look at http://shop.vampiresushi.co.uk/.

- Lots of lovely new stuff over at Pushpin Publishing - http://www.pushpinzines.co.uk/collections/new

5. AOB
- Are you on tumblr?  If you want to spread the zine-love with lots of new followers, share your tumblr over at the WMZ forum: http://wemakezines.ning.com/forum/topics/zinesters-on-tumblr

Zine News Round-Up: 12.08.12

Zine News Round-Up: 12.08.12

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

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1. Zine Releases- Feminist perzine ‘Buy Her Candy’ #3 was released a little while ago!  Buy a copy, plus some cute crafts, at Bettie’s etsy.
- Tukru has released ‘Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell’ #17: A 24-Hour Zine!  Buy your copy at Vampire Sushi distro.

- Bloomigrant, a 24-hour zine written by the author of Bloomurder, is out now!  Details and order info can be found at etsy.

- Here. In My Head. #11, a 24-hour perzine, was released last week.  More info at my blog.- Perzine 'Ellipsis' #2 is out now! To buy or trade, get in touch with Sarah-Beth at her We Make Zines page.- 'We Are Adventurers' #1, a 24-hour zine about recent adventures, is out now!  Buy a copy from Tracey’s etsy. 
- Ingrid has released two issues of Mythologising Me: #5.5, a 24-hour zine, and #6, subtitled ‘Change and Consumption’.  Email her at mythologisingmeATgmailDOTcom to buy or trade.
- Jean McEwan and her brother have created a zine called ‘OK Werner’, about their favourite filmmaker Werner Herzog.  Buy your copy at http://jeanieszines.bigcartel.com/product/ok-werner.
- 'Angry Violist' #6, a zine about music-making and experimental string playing, is out now! Etsy again.

- 'Elderflower Tea' #3 was released last week!  Details and ordering info can be found at Sarah’s blog.

2. Upcoming Events- You can catch readings from Chella Quint’s zine ‘It’s Not You, I Just Need Space’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival tomorrow at 2.50pm, venue 156!
- Girls Get Busy Zinefest: 25^th August at The Shacklewell Arms, London.  Spill the Zines has a table, so come and say hi!  More info can be found at the event page here.
- Zine Readings & Rock Music: 15^th September at Chameleon Arts Café, Nottingham. Organised by Steve Larder (author of ‘Rum Lad’). Download the flyerhere.
- Birmingham Zine Festival: 12^th – 15^th October.  Want to get involved?  More info can be found at http://www.birminghamzinefestival.com/.
- Leeds Zine Fair: Sunday 4^th November at Wharf Chambers.  If you'd like to get involved in organising the zine fair, or hold a stall at the zine fair then get in touch at footprintATfootprinters.co.uk

3. Submission Calls- Bettie (of ‘Buy Her Candy’ zine) is making a compzine all about the 90s, and needs submissions!  There’s no fixed deadline as of yet, but Bettie is hoping to put it together in September.  More info can be found here.

4. Distro News

- Vampire Sushi and Pushpin Publishing have recently been updated with loads of lovely new stock!

- Marching Stars is on hiatus until September, when it will reopen with a new website, shopping cart system, customer order history, and an intergrated loyalty card system!

5. AOB
- Download Richard Herring’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival podcast (#10) to listen to a review of Chella Quint’s compzine ‘Adventures in Menstruating’!

- Bettie wrote a nice review of last weekend’s Little Zine Party’ event, which you can read at her blog.
- I was interviewed for culture blog 'twenty-four hours'! Check it out: http://www.twentyfourhoursonline.com/2012/07/spilling-zines-with-cath.html

Zine Reviews: July 2012

Zine Reviews: July '12

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

Rum Lad #5

Steve Larder, Lincolnshire – www.stevelarder.co.uk

Rum Lad has to be one of my favourite comic zines – every issue features interesting handwritten stories, surrounded by Steve’s charming and rich illustrations.  This issue features a visual diary detailing the “organised chaos” of his band’s tour around America – travelling for over 10 hours at a time in their tour van, playing at pubs and house parties, sofa surfing, and exploring the American towns they visited.  The illustrations of the band members, the venues, the interesting personalities they meet along the way, and the American scenery, are all so full of character that they really draw you in to Steve’s story.  I liked the choice of topic too; it was fascinating to see the details of what goes on during a cross-country tour.  Rum Lad never disappoints – get your paws on this issue now!

Buy Her Candy #2

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

Another cracking zine by Bettie, which opens with a list of things she has been up to since the last issue, including planning a riot grrrl night, and watching Star Trek TNG.  We read about Bettie’s concerns surrounding privacy in her zines, a little guide to her favourite parts of Chorlton, her feelings as she approaches the end of her nursing degree, and her future plans for when she qualifies as a nurse.  The layouts are as pretty as ever, with handwritten and typewritten sections, and lots of cool pictures and patterns pasted in.  However, my favourite thing has to be the cover – a cartoon of Cinderella and Snow White sharing a passionate kiss, printed on lilac paper!  Gorgeous.

Sad Songs About Failed Relationships

Kirsten, London – www.website-schmebsite.blogspot.com

This zine is very difficult to describe.  From the title and gorgeous cover, I expected some sort of dissection of classic break-up songs alongside a story about a break-up.  Instead, Kirsten briefly outlines the dissolution of a relationship with sparse words, cartoons of typical relationship anxieties (e.g. how many kisses to include in a text), and symbolic drawings.  On the last page, Kirsten provides a link to the “soundtrack” of the zine, which features some great songs about failed relationships, including Leonard Cohen’s ‘Take This Longing’, The Dresden Dolls’ ‘Delilah’, and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’.  This was a nice touch, though I would’ve loved to read a discussion as to why those particular songs were chosen!  I like the fact that it’s not your typical break-up zine, and it’s been put together carefully and creatively.  Having said that, I love me some dense, wordy zines, and the lack of text just didn’t sustain my interest.   A very interesting concept though, definitely worth a flick.   Buy your copy for a mere 45p (I love cheap zines!) – this zine has a limited print run, so grab hold of one asap!

Nancy #1

Alex Creep, London – www.creepclub.co.uk/nancy

An intelligent queer zine written by effeminate queer Alex, which discusses in detail the concept of a nancy boy (a femme gay man), the way mainstream gay culture marginalizes effeminate queers and the pressure gay men face to “act straight”.  Tied in with this larger discussion Alex brings in ideas about the concept of “camp”, the idolization of strong women like Lady Gaga by gay men as examples of “strong femininity”, the oversexualization of gay culture, and effeminate boys in anime and goth culture.  We also read Alex’s own story of coming to terms with his effeminacy, and a list of his favourite femme gays of TV and film, including Kurt of Glee and Lafayette Reynolds of True Blood.  The layout is functional – mostly black text on white background, with hand drawings of a few of the aforementioned queers scattered throughout.  Having never really considered the idea of “sissyphobia”, this zine was an illuminating read.  Alex did a good job of discussing a murky issue with clarity and good humour, peppered with stories of his own experiences.  Highly recommended!

Bloomurder #1

Laura, Bristol - bloomurderATgmail.com

This little perzine features the kind of topics you’d expect from a first issue - bicycles, gigs (Adelaide Fringe Festival 2011), travelling stories, thoughts about femininity, and nostalgia.  In the middle there’s a very interesting little piece on Laura’s love of violent/horrific art (including Medusa by Caravaggio), which was my favourite part of the zine.  Bloomurder has a nice upbeat tone, laid out with cut and paste imagery and charming scratchy handwriting. 

International Zine Month 2012 from Spill The Zines!

International Zine Month 2012

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

via http://www.flickr.com/photos/hortensejones/

This Sunday (July 1st) marks the beginning of International Zine Month, and entire month dedicated to celebrating zines and independent publishing with people from all over the world. Here are two excellent ways to celebrate IZM:

flyer by Alex Wrekk

1. 31 Days of International Zine Month.
Alex compiled a list of things to do for every day in July to celebrate zines, the postal service, zine libraries, and distros. Some examples include teaching a friend or family member about zines, writing to a distro telling them you love what they do, and making your own envelopes. The full list can be found at http://www.stolensharpierevolution.org/international-zine-month/, or you can download a PDF of the above image to copy and distribute here.

 

2. 24 Hour Zine Thing
This challenge asks zinesters to create a 24-page zine in 24 hours straight, on any day they wish during IZM. The zine must be created from conception to final product during this time, so you can't approach the challenge knowing exactly what you're going to create! It's all about being adventurous and setting a challenge for yourself. Read more and sign up to the challenge at http://24hourzines.com/.


What are you guys hoping to do to celebrate International Zine Month? Do any of these challenges particularly grab you? Let us know in the comments!

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p.s. For those of you who noticed, I'm sorry I didn't write any zine reviews on Sunday. They're going to have to be a week late, because I'm rubbish. They'll be done in the form of a vlog though, so hopefully worth the wait!

Zine News Round-Up: 06.05.12

Zine News Round-Up: 06.05.
from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

 

 

1. Zine Releases

2. Upcoming Events

3. Submission Calls

4. Distro News

5. AOB (Any Other Business)

 

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1. Zine Releases- Buy Her Candy #2, a feminist perzine, has been released this week – buy a copy at Bettie’s etsy store.
- The first issue of perzine Bloomurder has just been published! Buy a copy at http://www.etsy.com/listing/98939203/bloomurder-a-perzine

- Girls Get Busy #12, a feminist compzine, is out now! Buy a copy at their Big Cartel store.

- Gayle B has just released a free minizine entitled ‘Everyday Nonsense’. For a copy, email Gayle at gbugbyAThotmail.co.uk
- Oddments #4: The Book Issue, is a perzine written by Marceline Smith, the person behind Pushpin Publishing! Buy your copy here.

- Free zine Bread of Life #2, is out now. Get in touch with the author to arrange swaps or sends!
- Smasha Zine, a music zine published out of Kent, has just released its 4^thissue. Buy or trade by emailing the author at smashazineATlive.co.uk.

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

3. Submission Calls- Jean McEwan and Jon Eland invite you to submit your interest or finished pieces celebrating the work of the alternative rock band Flaming Lips. More info here.

- Fatty Unbound has sent out a submission call for Make It Work #2, a fatshion/craft zine. Lots of writing prompts and details can be found here.

- Pandora Press, a feminist compzine published by Swansea Feminist Network, is still looking for contributions for its 4^th issue, the “pink” issue! More details here: http://swanseafeministnetwork.wordpress.com/pandora-press

- Last week’s submission calls are still open too!

4. Distro News

- Marching Stars is on hiatus for a little while – check back in a week or so! www.marchingstars.co.uk

- New zines at Pushpin Publishing! http://www.pushpinzines.co.uk/collections/new

5. AOB
- Bettie, author of zine series Anatomical Heart and Buy Her Candy, has started a blog all about stationery! Us zinesters are the biggest stationery geeks, so you should definitely go and check it out: http://thepocketnotebook.blogspot.co.uk/

- Spill the Zines’ “Ten Tips for First Time Zinesters”, written by Hannah, is doing the rounds on tumblr and getting some great feedback! Check it out for yourself here (and if you want to reblog, you can find it on tumblr here).

Zine Reviews: April 2012

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

 

Drawing Moustaches in Magazines Monthly Magazine (Bi-Monthly) #7

Josie Long, England – www.josielong.com

I bloody loved this zine, and that’s not just because Josie Long is one of my favourite comedians! DMIMMM (B-M) (yes, the Bi-Monthly part is important) is a mish-mash of facts, flowcharts, photos, random phrases pasted in from magazines, e.g. “meet a cat with style on page 20”, hand-written rambles, comics, and rants about Tories (“David Cameron goes to gigs, stands at the front and talks loudly about how drunk he is, then shouts “bollocks!” in quiet bits”). Some of the more substantial parts of the zine include a discussion of Josie’s love of modern poetry – she invites us to compare 2 English translations of ‘Waiting’ by Yevgeny Yevtushenko – and a page full of facts about the silverfish living in her house. There are also some guest contributions – James Acaster provides a Power Walk Playlist, while Isy Sutster draws a comic about growing old and dull. You can read PDFs of the first 5 issues at www.josielong.com, or get in touch with the lady herself on Twitterto ask her to send you some! Oh, and did I mention that this zine is free?!

Lights Go Out #11 & #16

Edited by Mr T, UK – http://lightsgoout.co.uk/shop

Lights Go Out is a long-running music fanzine featuring regular band profiles, music reviews, zine reviews, pop culture columns, interviews, and gig reviews. At 48 pages long, it’s a substantial read, with each page crammed full of text and accompanying photos – and all for only £1! The musicians featured in this zine are quite varied, from Reel Big Fish, to Kate Voegele, from Antillectual, to Alice Gold. The interviews feature interesting questions, such as “what are your thoughts on downloading and sharing music?”, and “what would you say is the greatest film of all time?”. Although Lights Go Out seems to be rooted in a punk aesthetic, I really liked the fact that they delved into other genres, with an interview with musician Kate Voegele (Mia Catalano from ‘One Tree Hill’), and the editor admitting his love for Kylie Minogue! #16 is a colouring book, with black and white drawings of singers including Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain and She-Ra. Lots of fun (though I don’t think I’d want to ruin the zine by colouring it in)! Lights Go Out represents my first proper foray into music fanzines, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

Fanzine Ynfytyn #12

Emma-Jane Falconer, Kent – www.emmajanefalconer.co.uk

Another super-posi issue of Emma’s long-running perzine. She opens the zine by interviewing herself, with interesting questions such as “what do you smell like?”, and “This is a perzine – where’s the angst? Why aren’t you spilling your guts?”. The rest of the zine is made up of random lists, including small pleasures, things Emma likes to trade, and the best albums to fall asleep to. We also read a haiku for Ernest Hemingway, and the lyrics of the Welsh song “Fanzine Ynfytyn” (“Fanzine Idiot”) that this zine is named after. Her layouts are really neat and pretty, so it’s a lovely zine to look at too.

Fuck Shit Up #3
Emma, Sheffield – zines_and_teaAThotmail.co.uk

Emma explains in the introduction that Fuck Shit Up #3 is made up of 2 merged zines– the first is a fun hand-drawn comic illustrating her adventures on a trip around Europe with friends, the second is more of a typical perzine, with typewritten articles on the best uses for garlic (popping a clove up your woowoo will cure thrush, apparently!), drinking games, a recipe for courgette cookies (which she assures us is tastier than it sounds), and how to make a DIY punchbag. Emma also discusses her favourite things about punk, including being political, living on the cheap, and doing it yourself. A very long section in the middle features a Lovecraft story called ‘The Outsider’, followed by a guide on how to make your own plushy Cthulhu – a bit of easy filler perhaps, but thoroughly entertaining nonetheless! The whole zine is good and cut-n-pastey, and is filled with Emma’s drawings. Loved it!

Drink The Sunshine #13 & #14

Tom, Cheltenham – finish_last_zineATyahoo.co.uk

Drink the Sunshine is a fun and friendly perzine, packed full of handwriting, doodles, adventures, and musings on growing older. Issue 13 is a double-sided A3 fold-out page, divided into roughly A6 sized jigsaw pieces. Each jigsaw features a random observation, such as the frustrations of Autocorrect, how excited Americans get about British history (“He’s older than Queen Victoria’s grave!”), people making insensitive remarks about his height, the use of text speak such as “soz” and “lol” in real life, and drivers using the wrong lanes on the roundabout. I loved this zine – the format was original, the content was funny, and I devoured it within minutes, which is always the mark of a good zine for me! Issue 14 is subtitled “Eight Gigs I Never Went To”; the zine documents 8 gigs that Tom was due to go to and somehow never ended up attending, often with a story about why Tom liked the artist. At the end of the zine, Tom invites us to count how many of the often-spotted things at gigs we can see, e.g. a person wearing a shirt of the band that’s playing. I have to be honest and say that I didn’t enjoy reading this issue as much as #13, though people who are more into reading about bands and gigs might dig it.

Zine Reviews: October '11

Zine Reviews: October '11

via Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath) on 10/11/11

Sometimes I'm Dreaming #6

Lisa W, London – sometimesimdreamingAThotmailDOTco.uk

I love Sometimes I'm Dreaming; every single issue of Lisa's zine leaves me feeling inspired and pensive.  I also love the fact that there's a nice sort of continuity between each issue – all have similar layouts, usually with pretty patterns and butterflies, but without each issue looking or feeling too samey; each deals with similar stories, and sometimes pick up from where the previous issue left off; each issue is a similar length and word count.  In this issue, Lisa picks up from last issue's story of her garden tree being cut down, and writes about how green shoots emerging from the stump filled Lisa with hope and new life. She describes her time visiting the royal botanical gardens at Kew as a pilgrimage, as she finds connecting to the natural world a spiritual experience.  She also writes about her experiences volunteering in a charity shop and the ups and downs, getting her first job interview and coping with being turned down by the company (an experience I know can be incredibly disheartening when you want the job so badly, as Lisa did), and giving up on the job hunt to work on her own creative hobbies.  We also read about Lisa moving out of her parents' house in London and in with her partner Huw, and her longing to find somewhere where she belongs.  Visit Lisa's etsy store to buy a copy (you can also buy  her gorgeous hand-made jewellery there)!

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 – http://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.

Zine News Round-Up: 18.09.11 from Spill The Zines!

Zine News Round-Up: 18.09.11

from Spill The Zines! by noreply@blogger.com (Cath)

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: