Bombinate #1

Bombinate #1: bees

20 pages, A5. 

£3 (free shipping in UK, int postage varies)

I'll be honest, I had to look up the meaning of 'bombinate':

verb (used without object), bom·bi·nat·ed, bom·bi·nat·ing.1. to make a humming or buzzing noise.

Which is obviously fitting for a zine whose theme for issue #1 is bees, but also fitting for a zine literally buzzing with ideas. 

The bee crisis is already a very real problem - in recent years the UK alone has lost three species of bumblebee, and in parts of China apple farmers have been forced to pollinate by hand. Objectively, at this point in time, you could only say things are going to get worse the world over. 

Some of the work in Bombinate #1 tackles this issue, while other work takes bees as metaphor, image, narrative: a bumbling encounter between new lovers; feeding sugar water to the dying; two bees on the coffin of great-uncle Evan. 

Bombinate #1 contains mainly poetry, alongside a couple of short stories, with illustrations by Mot Collins.  The styles are diverse, and give different opportunities to view the same topic through different eyes and different angles. This diversity of content is increased in following issues, and the Bombinate submissions guidelines state they are looking for fiction, non-fiction, essays, plays, flash fiction, poetry, and recipes. 

For a reason I can't quite articulate a section of Fionn O’Shea's 'helo this doesn’t have a title' has set up home in my brain:

"there was a post I saw a while ago how you can see in google stats that in every single language that google supports, someone has searched 'where do the birds go when it rains'. The post was about how it's nice that everyone everywhere hopes that the birds are ok when it rains. I hope the bees are ok when it rains." 

To extend the image, in a world that is raining hard I'm happy there are places like Bombinate to retreat to. 

Buy a copy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/616929686/bombinate-issue-1

And don't forget to submit your own work. More info here: https://www.bombinate.space

Review by Nathan Penlington

Ellipsis Zine: One, A flash fiction anthology

A5, 62 black and white pages.

Print: £5 (+p&p), digital download: £3

On the back cover of this zine lies a strong statement. “Ellipsis Zine: One, a flash fiction anthology,” it explains, “[contains] 1000 words or fewer from 57 of the best contemporary flash fiction writers”.

Hmmm, we’ll see, I thought to myself, flipping back to the first page. It’s fairly common for zine makers to be enthusiastic about the work they produce, sometimes so enthusiastic that it becomes difficult for the material itself to measure up to expectations. So, when I see creators using words like “best”, I become cynical.

As it turns out, the editor of Ellipsis Zine (Steve Campbell) wasn’t far off when he used that bold little word. I spent a week reading this zine; a handful of stories at a time whenever I had a spare moment, and I can say with confidence that there isn’t a weak link in the collection. These stories are literary fiction in its tightest form. Each word has a purpose; scenes are written so cleverly that only a few brief paragraphs are necessary to project an entire story into the mind of the reader.

Late one night I read My, She was Yar, by Zoë Meager, only to lie awake in bed wondering about how young families cope when a child dies. Several days after reading Bird Girl, by Janelle Hardacre, I was still daydreaming about how technology could progress in the next few years, and the impact that would have upon our identities.

Each story is unique, and yet they are drawn together. The number one appears in this collection again and again, as a young girl’s new home, as a lost love sitting one carriage away, as the sole meeting between father and child, as a missed opportunity with a one true love*. A flock of sheep trample across the cover, all moving forward save for one, who looks back at the reader. Whether the recurring number is a conscious choice by the editor is ambiguous, but I prefer to believe that all these number ones are kismet, unexpectedly brought together for the first print issue of Ellipsis Zine, for its number one.

I had two warring emotions as I read this zine. As a reader, I was delighted. As a writer, I was filled with envy.

Issue one of Ellipsis Zine can be bought from their online store, here, and for news and updates follow them on twitter.

*House Number One by Eleanor Jones, One Carriage Away by Amanda Quinn, What Happens When Hot Air and Cold Air Meet? by Danny Beusch and Daisy Chain by Debbi Voisey, respectively.

Review by JL Corbett

The Gaysi Zine - Issue 5

The Gaysi Zine - Issue 5

156 pages. 28 x 22cm. Full colour. 

INR 400 + INR 50 (Delivery charge within India -  see below for international rates)

The theme for the latest issue of The Gaysi Zine is desire in its tangle of emotion, instinct, passion and confusion, in its myriad of voices, perspectives and realities. As the editors outline in their introduction, storytelling is the key to insight, and 

"the zine in many ways is an attempt at providing a common platform for all these different realities, not just to give them a way to the world and hence become something shared, but also to come together to paint a bigger picture of where we are as a queer conscience".

The zine achieves that and more. The content is clearly lovingly curated, beautifully designed, with a truly international range of contributors. It is by turns provocative, evocative, and erotic.

The contents range from documentary comic strips, short stories, poetry, guides to help you achieve multiple orgasms and improve your scissoring technique, to personal memoir. 

To quote the editors once again: 

"Desire is our weapon against an automated existence". 

Don't deny your desire to get your hands on The Gaysi Zine. Order a copy now. 


Check out Gaysi zine online here: gaysifamily.com/tag/gaysizine

To order visit: instamojo.com/GaysiFamily/the-gaysi-zine-issue-5-156-pages-mrp-400-del


**For International Delivery: please write to gaysifamily@gmail.com with the subject lines ‘Booking The Gaysi Zine – mention the number of copies’, and the Gaysi family will take it forward from there.**


Review by Nathan Penlington. My reviews of previous issues are here. 

The Gaysi Zine – Issue 4

The Gaysi Zine – Issue 4

122 pages. 23cm x 17cm.

INR 350 + INR 30 (Delivery Charge within India). International rates, see below. 


Being gay in India is to be routinely punished by physical assault and verbal threats. In such a culture it can be dangerous, both physically and emotionally, to be open about sexuality. 
Which is what makes publishing Gaysi hugely brave and incredibly culturally important. 

The latest issue of Gaysi Zine is India's first graphic anthology of gay narratives. Contributors come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and artistic disciplines, there has been no discrimination over age, sexuality or ethnicity. The result is a beautiful thing. 

The production is amazing, - it feels, looks, and even smells great (I admit I do have a thing for ink though). The design really binds the varied styles and tones together, making it hold together as a collective work. 

The texts cover subjects such as how it is to be treated being a single woman in the face of a society that refuses to accept independence; the perils of seduction; loneliness, loss, and longing. They range from emotional diary like entries, through poetic visual narratives, to witty observational comic strips. 

The style of the artwork is absorbing, fluid and strong. Each page is visual journey that pulls you in. The collaborative pairings of writers and artists really works. 

I can't recommend you get a copy of Gaysi Issue 4 enough. Buy it, get your friends to buy it. Spread the word. Gaysi Zine has the right approach to sexuality in India, it is their attitude that should be the norm not the exception. 

For ordering information visit: https://www.instamojo.com/GaysiFamily/the-gaysi-zine-queer-graphic-anthology-122-p

Check out Gaysi on the web here: Gaysifamily.com


** For International Delivery: please write to gaysifamily@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Booking The Gaysi Zine – mention the number of copies’, and the Gaysi family will take it forward from there **


Review by Nathan Penlington. My review of Gaysi Issue 3 is here.