"Zines," entry in International Encyclopedia of Communication

Ethnologies, 1997

English and Drama Blog, British Library, 2016

Considers the situation of zines and fanzines in the British Library. It highlights the vibrancy of the 'zine scene' and the level of interest in zines, both as a resource for social research and as a means of expression for people who are marginalised by mainstream publishing or who favour a DIY aesthetic to retain control over their work.

2015

Zines (as in magaZINE), are independent self-published, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) magazines, created out of a desire for self-expression rather than profit, and distributed in small runs. They’re highly personal, can be on any subject imaginable, and are made with an eclectic variety of materials, such as twine, string and glitter. Zines are awake and immediate in a manner that is unlike any other medium. To me, they are powerful tools used to represent the underrepresented in society. They offer a platform to people on the fringes, whose voices are ignored or misrepresented in mainstream publications and traditional libraries.

CUNY Graduate Center, 2017

Given the diversity of feminist voices, zines are a perfect match for expressive, sometimes hand-scrawled, manifestos, poems, and other outpourings on an incredibly wide range of topics. This case and the neighboring one include zines about reclaiming the body (Adventures in Menstruating), asserting one's claim on stereotypically feminine tasks (Radical Domesticity), and giving voice to the often-silenced experience of abortion (Shout Your Abortion).

The 40th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

Zines are typically self-published magazines designed for small circulation and often DIY'd (Do It Yourself'd). They are often linked to empowerment and personal expression, and that potential for voice-finding can be powerful when explored in the classroom setting. This experience report reflects on a "zine-ing" experience from both an instructor's and student's viewpoint. Our hope is that other technical communication teachers might consider zines and zine-ing as a way to introduce students to self-publishing, design, and radicalized expression. As zines can be as simple or complex as the designer wants, and can take anything as their general subject while offering a clearly-defined deliverable, they work well as a central component for any number of projects. CCS CONCEPTS • B7; Human-centered computing → Visualization; Visualization theory, concepts and paradigms.

2010

There have been many academic and non-academic texts delving into the importance of zines as a medium. However none of the reviewed texts have looked across a sample of zines and their literature to find what accounts for their endurance as a medium in a time when online self-publishing is prevalent. My thesis is a study of the qualities that contribute to making zines an enduring and essential part of the alternative/underground media landscape. The thesis demonstrates that the significance of zines stems from the medium possessing a montage of qualities not found in other media. I argue that amongst many elements three in particular feature consistently across the spectrum of zine and literature content and directly inform their endurance and cultural significance. Amongst those general qualities I pin-point individual qualities that contribute to making zines an integral part of underground media including tactile qualities, production rituals and affiliation with Samizdat (banned literature). The significance of the research stems from the fact that I am researching the reasons for the endurance of zines in a holistic way. By concurrently looking at the political, cultural, historical and design elements of zines, I am providing an alternative perspective from that which currently exists about the endurance of the medium.

Artists' lo-fi, DIY and Alternative Publications in South Africa, 2025

'Artists’ lo-fi, DIY and Alternative Publications in South Africa' is published as part of the zines and alternative publications roundtable titled 'What value do printed zines and DIY publications offer in a digital age?' which took place at the Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Art, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, on 10 August 2024 in conjunction with the exhibition 'lo-fi street cred: artists' zines, DIY and alternative publications,' JGCBA, 4 June – 30 August 2024. In this chapter 'Curating artist’s zines, DIY and alternative publications' (in Part One: 'The lo-fi street cred exhibition & its afterlife'), I provide an overview of the 'lo-fi street cred' exhibition and its remit. I tie together the diverse publications that were included (ranging from those produced in the 1960s and ‘70s to works produced just in time for the exhibition’s opening) by means of a brief historical analysis of the milieu that gave rise to alternative publications in South Africa and reflect on the fruitful work of university students whose publications populated the exhibition.

2019

Zines are small, informal, non-professional publications; creative outlets devoted to idiosyncratic self-expression, and are often used by members of different minority groups and subcultures as methods of cultural expression and communication. By their very nature zines are hard to pin down, but distinguishing common characteristics of zines include a small circulation (sometimes via subscription but often distributed informally among interested parties) and a raison d'etre stressing free expression over profit. The zine collection started at the archives is designed to preserve these alternative voices and provide users a new and deeper understanding of different cultural experiences. This poster will show how zines in library and archival collections can be used as an effective medium for giving a voice to the joys, concerns and beliefs of outsider cultures and communities.

Zines are increasingly becoming seen as legitimate subjects of collection development in libraries and archives. In this article, the author expands on a poster he co-created for the 2014 ALA Annual Conference that discussed the genesis and development of a zine collection at Cushing Memorial Library, Texas A&M University. This process involved the creation of a workable collection policy that slotted into existing library collection strategies, the initial and ongoing acquisition of zines, and the development of a promotional event that publicized the zine collection and brought to Texas A&M’s campus several zinesters and examples of their alternative voices.

Cultural Studies - Critical Methodologies , 2022

This article is an exploration of the zine as a form of practice that is radical and disruptive. It takes the form of six sections and has its own zine armature. It describes a zine workshop held in Kampala, Uganda, during lockdown, and constitutes a record of that event. The authors argue that zine-making is itself a form that can offer a queering of the status quo and can make authors of us all. It invites the reader into the space of the zine as a form that is both materially grounded and epistemologically challenging.