Friday, August 27, 2010

Friday Favorites: Zine Scene – by Louise Tripp

It's been a zine-ful week, hasn't it? Wednesday I posted about my zine collection and my obsession with all things xeroxed-and-stapled. For this week's Friday Favorites, I thought I'd continue in that vein and tell you about a teeny little D.I.Y guide to making zines that I happen to love. It's Stolen Sharpie Revolution (#2, because it's in its second edition) by long-time zinester Alex Wrekk.

If you've ever wondered the best way to write, print, promote and distribute your zine, this book is full of the kind of information you will find invaluable. The author begins by offering suggestions on how to start planning your zine (for instance, she lists the materials you may need and discusses the importance of thinking about your audience), then offers up the skinny on everything from the most efficient and least expensive way to make tons of copies to how and where you can sell your masterpiece of zine-dom. She also includes listings of outside resources: distros (short for distribution sources), zine libraries and stores, online zine resources, places to read zine reviews and more.
a look inside Stolen Sharpie Revolution

As much as I love blogging, I know that the production of zines has decreased due to this faster and yeah, cheaper, method of getting your voice out to an audience. That makes me sad. But zines aren't dead (!) and reading Stolen Sharpie Revolution reminds me of this. It makes me want to throw caution to the wind in order to create something more tangible. You can get your own copy of Alex Wrekk's little red zine guide (as well as other merchandise of her creation: zines, buttons, etc.) at: http://smallworldbuttons.bigcartel.com/


Louise Tripp grew up in North Carolina. She currently lives in Chicago, where she is revising her first YA novel and working in a public library. You can read her regular blog at: http://risktoblossom.blogspot.com/.

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