User:Threedeezeens/sandbox

Fanzine/Zine page merger

Many of the punk zines were printed in small quantities and promoted the local scene. They were often cheaply photocopied and many never survived beyond a few issues. Their greatest contribution was in promoting punk music, clothing and lifestyle in their local communities. Punk bands and independent labels often sent records to the zines for review and many of the people who started the zines became critical connections for punk bands on tour

Mod

In the United Kingdom, the 1979 Mod revival, which was inspired by the 1960s Mod subculture, brought with it a burst of fresh creativity from fanzines, and for the next decade, the youth subculture inspired the production of dozens of independent publications. The most successful of the first wave was Maximum Speed, which successfully captured the frenetic world of a mod revival scene that was propelling bands like Secret Affair, Purple Hearts and The Chords into the UK charts.

After the genre had started to go out of fashion with mainstream audiences in 1981, the mod revival scene went underground and successfully reinvented itself through a series of clubs, bands and fanzines that breathed fresh life into the genre, culminating in another burst of creative acceptance in 1985. This success was largely driven by the network of underground fanzines, the most important and far reaching of which were Extraordinary Sensations, produced by future radio DJ Eddie Piller, and Shadows & Reflections, published by future national magazine editor Chris Hunt. The latter in particular pushed back the boundaries of fanzine production, producing glossy, professionally written and printed publications at a time (1983–86) when most fanzines were produced via photocopier and letraset.

Local music

In the UK, there were also fanzines that covered the local music scene in a particular town or city. Mainly prevalent in the 1970s, and 1980s, all music styles were covered, whether the bands were playing rock, punk, metal, futurist, ska or dance. Featured were local gig reviews and articles that were below the radar of the mainstream music press. They were produced using the technology of the time, i.e. typewriter and Letraset. Examples include Bombsite Fanzine (Liverpool 1977), Wool City Rocker (Bradford 1979 - 1982), City Fun (Manchester), 1984, Spuno (Bath 1980) No Cure (Berkshire) and Town Hall Steps (Bolton) and more recently ''mono'' (fanzine), (Bradford) with many more across the country.

Role-playing-game fanzines

Another sizable group of fanzines arose in role-playing game (RPG) fandom, where fanzines allowed people to publish their ideas and views on specific games and their role-playing campaigns. Role-playing fanzines allowed people to communicate in the 1970s, and 1980s with complete editorial control in the hands of the players, as opposed to the game publishers. These early RPG fanzines were generally typed, sold mostly in an A5 format (in the UK) and were usually illustrated with abysmal or indifferent artwork.

A fanzine community developed and was based on sale to a reading public and exchanges by editor/publishers. Many of the pioneers of RPG zinedom got their start in, or remain part of, science fiction fandom. This is also true of the small but still active board game fandom scene, the most prolific subset of which is centered around play-by-mail Diplomacy.

Video gaming

Video game fanzines first emerged during the second generation period when newsletters for computer user groups and stores were not uncommon, though not always well-known. Subscriber-based newsletters included the well-known 8: 16 (UK, all things Atari, 1st issue Nov 1987),The Video Game Update and later Computer Entertainer. The publication, Joystick Jolter was the first actual fanzine.

Later, as desktop publishing tools became more accessible, there was an increase in fanzine production. Fanzines generally emphasized either classic gaming (e.g. 2600 Connection and Classic Systems & Games Monthly), or current gaming (e.g. APE and The Subversive Sprite). However some fanzines covered both topics (e.g. Digital Press and Joystick & Screen). The number of zines grew bigger when video game journalists including Arnie Katz and Chris Bieniek used their columns to publish reviews of fanzines that they had been sent at magazines like Video Games & Computer Entertainment, EGM, and Tips & Tricks. These reviews had the effect of introducing fan editors to each other and creating a fanzine scene.

The video game fanzine diminished greatly in popularity with the rise of the web, though some zines—particularly the classic gaming ones—continued past the mid-90s (e.g. Classic Gamer Magazine and Video Game Collector). The rise of "on demand" publishing has led to a new outlet for print zines, like Jumpbutton and Scroll.

The video game fanzine era was biggest in the US and Canada, but there were/are zines from other countries too. Video game fanzines in UK have included Retrogamer, Pixel Nation, Capcom Fanzine, Mercury, and Super Famicom Mini Mag among others. In France fanzines like Revival we circulated, and Japan has seen the production of lavish doujin works.

More recently, there has been a mini-resurgence in video game fanzines, with the launch of HyperPlay RPG in 2015 and Switch Player in 2017. Based in part on the above-mentioned Super Play with a focus on role-playing games and "any-bit" Nintendo, popular fanzine HyperPlay RPG has been consistently well-reviewed by the mainstream video game media.

Wargaming

Several fanzines exist within the hobby of wargaming. Among them is Charge!, a leading international fanzine exclusively for miniature wargaming enthusiasts for the American Civil War period. Other fanzines support Warhammer and other popular rules sets.

Sport

The first association football fanzine is regarded as being Foul, a publication that ran between 1972 and 1976. In the UK, most Premier League or Football League football clubs have one or more fanzines which supplement, oppose and complement the club's official magazine or matchday programme. A reasonably priced 'zine has a guaranteed audience, as is the culture of passion in being a football fan.

The longest running fanzine is The City Gent, produced by supporters of Bradford City FC, which first went on sale at Valley Parade in November 1984 and is now in its 26th season. Following close on its heels was Nike, Inc. which was first released in 1989. At the time it was not the first of its kind with Terrace Talk (York City), which was first published in November 1981 and Wanderers Worldwide (Bolton Wanderers) having already been established but since disappeared. In 1985 the emergent When Saturday Comes (a fanzine without a specific club focus that was subsequently launched as a mainstream magazine) promoted a 'fanzine movement' that gave birth to many more club titles during the late 1980s which was something of a glory period for fanzines.

With the widespread availability of the Internet, much of the energy that was put into football fanzines subsequently went into the development of supporters' websites. Examples of other UK football fanzines include A Love Supreme (Sunderland), TOOFIF (Fulham), 4,000 Holes (Blackburn Rovers) and War of the Monster Trucks (a Sheffield Wednesday fanzine named after a local TV station elected not to show the final scenes of an unlikely cup victory). The Queen's Park Rangers fanzine 'A Kick up the Rs' was first published in August 1987 and is still issuing an average of 10 issues per season.

Fanzines are not exclusive to the top tiers of football however, with Northern Counties East League side Scarborough Athletic FC having a fanzine titled Abandon Chip!, a pun based on both the perilous situation of predecessor club Scarborough FC and that club's sponsors, McCain.

And also away from the world of Football there were a number of established fanzines, for example Rugby League has such notable publications as Who The Hell Was St. George Anyway? Rugby League fanzine, by supporters of Doncaster RLFC and Scarlet Turkey of Salford City Reds.However, due to pressure from the Internet etc. these publications no longer exist in printed form. The title of World's longest running Rugby League fanzine now belongs to The Aye Of The Tigers, by Castleford Tigers supporters. The fanzine movement has even spread to the United States, where ice hockey fans have produced several popular fanzines. In Chicago two examples include the formerly published Blue Line Magazine and currently The Committed Indian, both produced by Chicago Blackhawks fans. In St. Louis there are Game Night Revue and St Louis Game Time for the St. Louis Blues.

There are also a number of fanzines to be found in Ireland of which Shelbourne's Red Inc. is the longest running.

In the United States, sports fanzines are relatively rare. In Boston they are a bit more common. There are two fanzines sold outside Fenway Park including Yawkey Way Report, which is run by a former Marine.

Recent developments

With the increasing availability of the Internet in the late 20th and the early 21st century, the traditional paper zine has begun to give way to the webzine (or "e-zine") that is easier to produce and uses the potential of the Internet to reach an ever-larger, possibly global, audience. Nonetheless, printed fanzines are still produced, either out of preference for the format or to reach people who do not have convenient Web access. Online versions of approximately 200 science fiction fanzines will be found at Bill Burns' eFanzines web site, along with links to other SF fanzine sites. In addition zine festivals are held each year in American cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn, as well as internationally in cities including Melbourne, Australia, and Glasgow, UK.

Article Evaluation

The warning banner says the article needs citations and possibly contains original research.

In the intro paragraph, it says “The primary intent of publication is to advance the views of the editor rather than profit” - whereas there are multiple intentions for publication, including to reach/engage in a marginalized group/subculture, to report on a knowledge not spread far, to share the creators art, etc.

Overview and Origins

• states: “The word zine is short for magazine or fanzine, and refers to "self-publications, motivated by a desire for self-expression, not for profit", according to the Barnard Zine Library.^[3] The Oxford English Dictionary defines zine exclusively as a shortened form of fanzine.” - this is already stated in the intro paragraph and can be cited rather than exemplified from multiple dictionaries online.

• Start the section with “Dissidents and members of socially marginalized groups have published their own opinions in leaflet and pamphlet form for as long as such technology has been available.”

• Include more info about Author H. P. Lovecraft or take him out?

1930s–1960s and science fiction

• The sentence “George R. R. Martin is also said to have started writing for fanzines, but has been quoted condemning the practice of fans writing stories set in other authors' worlds.” needs a citation - is sort of contradictory and skeptical atm.

1970s and punk

• “The DIY aesthetic of the zine also fit nicely with the rough garage sound of punk music itself.” maybe should be more general - about how the DIY aesthetic is echoed parallel in both zine and punk music creation.

• Instead of quoting “crucial to the initial circulation of much of the (punk) writing represented” (Sabin, Roger), cite it to the previous sentence: “  Zines became vital to the popularization and spread of punk subcultures.”
• “By March 1977, zines had spread to countries outside the UK and America, such as Ireland.” - list other countries they were prominent in.
• Move this sentence: “Cheap photocopying made it much easier to create fast, economical publications.” To the end of “Although zines have their roots in the science-fiction of the early twentieth century, they experienced a revitalization starting in the 1970s due to the rise of the punk movement and the increasing accessibility to copy machines, publishing software, and home printing technologies.”

1990s and riot grrrl/girl zines

• "superficial, at best, and damagingly counter-productive, at worst," - who said this? Need a citation separate from “Erika Reinstein and May Summer founded the Riot Grrrl Press to serve as a zine distribution network that would allow riot grrrls to "express themselves and reach large audiences without having to rely on the mainstream press"
• Don’t need to reference Kevin Dunn and May Summer Farnsworth - only Erika Reinstein:
  • Zine scholars Kevin Dunn and May Summer Farnsworth use this excerpt of Erika Reinstein's Fantastic Fanzine no. 2 to explain the relationship between politics and media production for girl zinesters:^[1]

"BECAUSE we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We are tired of boy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy punk after boy punk after boy . . .

"BECAUSE in every form of media I see us/myself slapped, decapitated, laughed at, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked, and killed …

BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an instrument, or get anything done, we are creating the revolution. We ARE the revolution."

— Reinstein, Fantastic Fanzine no. 2 (zine)

• Mostly exemplifies zines about victims of violence - maybe add more about the discussion of gender, race, class, sexuality, creating a safe space for female-perceived people to open up about their experiences?

Under Libraries

• Seems redundant
  • Jenna Freedman, the founder and archivist of the Barnard College Zine collection believes that zines are important because zinesters are "people controlling their own content and style" and also offers voices from "people with radical points of view."^[1]
  • Librarian Julie Bartel of the Salt Lake City Public Library argues that starting or maintaining a zine collection adheres to the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and principles of intellectual freedom. Bartel believes that librarians should be placing more of an emphasis on providing a wide array of ideas, regardless where the ideas come from (established publishing houses vs. self-published work) and how they are presented (professionally published books vs. zines).
  • "The Indie Photobook Library, an independent archive in the Washington, DC area, has a large collection of photobook zines from 2010 to the present.^[2]" and "In California, the Long Beach Public Library began to be the first public library in the state to start circulating zines for three weeks at a time with a Long Beach Library card in 2015, and also in 2017 the Los Angeles Public Library started to circulate zines publicly to its patrons as well. Both projects have been credited to librarian Ziba Zehdar who has been an advocate in promoting circulating zines publicly at libraries in California." can be added to previous paragraph listing zine libraries.

General Changes

• Many opportunities for linking to other Wiki pages
• Publishing (including distribution & libraries) should go under distribution/Circulation to conserve space/words
• The Subcategories of Star Trek and Punk should be placed above, with the different eras to conserve space/words

Zine Page Edits Made:

A zine (/ziːn/ ZEEN; short for magazine or fanzine) is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier. Zines are either the product of a single person, or of a very small group and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. The term "fanzine", introduced by zinester Louis Russell Chauvenet, entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.

Popularly defined within a circulation of 1,000 or fewer copies, in practice many zines are produced in editions of fewer than 100. Among the various intentions for creation and publication are developing one's identity, sharing a niche-skill or art, or developing a story, as opposed to seeking profit. Zines have served as a significant medium of communication in various subcultures, and frequently draw inspiration from a "do-it-yourself" philosophy that disregard the traditional conventions of professional design and publishing houses proposing an alternative, confident and self-aware contribution. Handwrittenzines, or carbon zines are individually made, emphasizing personal connection between creator and reader, turning imagined communities into embodied ones.

Written in a variety of formats from desktop-published text to comics, collages and stories, zines cover broad topics including fanfiction, politics, poetry, art & design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, intersectional feminism, single-topic obsession, or sexual content far outside the mainstream enough to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media. (An example of the latter is Boyd McDonald's Straight to Hell, which reached a circulation of 20,000.) Although there are a few eras associated with zine-making, this "wave" narrative proposes a limited view of the vast range of topics, styles and environments zines occupied.

History

Overview and origins

Dissidents and members of socially marginalized groups have published their own opinions in leaflet and pamphlet form for as long as such technology has been available. The concept of zines had an ancestor in the amateur press movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, which would in its turn cross-pollinate with the subculture of science fiction fandom in the 1930s. The popular graphic-style associated with zines is influenced artistically and politically by the subcultures of Dada, Fluxus, Surrealism and Situationism.

Many trace zine's' lineage from as far back as Thomas Paine's exceptionally popular 1775 pamphlet Common Sense, Benjamin Franklin's literary magazine for psychiatric patients at a Pennsylvania hospital and The Dial (1840-44) by Margaret Fuller and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

1930s–1960s and science fiction

"The Reign of the Superman," a short story from the 1933 zine Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization, which led to the creation of the comic book hero Superman.

During and after the Great Depression, editors of "pulp" science fiction magazines became increasingly frustrated with letters detailing the impossibilities of their science fiction stories. Over time they began to publish these overly-scrutinizing letters, complete with their return addresses. This allowed these fans to begin writing to each other, now complete with a mailing list for their own science fiction fanzines that allowed them to write not only about science fiction but about fandom itself and, in self-proclaimed perzines, about themselves.

Science fiction fanzines vary in content, from short stories to convention reports to fanfiction are were one of the earliest incarnations of the zine and influenced subsequent publications. "Zinesters" like Lisa Ben and Jim Kepner honed their talents in the science fiction fandom before tackling gay rights, creating zines such as "Vice Versa" and "ONE" that drew networking and distribution ideas from their SF roots. A number of leading science fiction and fantasy authors rose through the ranks of fandom, creating "pro-zines" such as Frederik Pohl and Isaac Asimov.

Star Trek

Some of the earliest examples of academic fandom were written on Star Trek zines, specifically K/S (Kirk/Spock) slash zines. Author Joanna Russ wrote in her 1985 analysis of K/S zines that slash fandom at the time consisted of around 500 core fans and was 100% female. Russ observed that while SF fans looked down on Star Trek fans, Star Trek fans looked down on K/S writers. Kirk/Spock zines contained fanfiction, artwork, and poetry created by fans. Zines were then sent to fans on a mailing list or sold at conventions. Many had high production values and some were sold at convention auctions for hundreds of dollars.

"K/S not only speaks to my condition. It is written in Female. I don't mean that literally, of course. What I mean is that I can read it without translating it from the consensual, public world, which is sexist, and unconcerned with women per se, and managing to make it make sense to me and my condition."

Janus and Aurora

Janus, later called Aurora, was a science fiction feminist zine created by Janice Bogstad and Jeanne Gomoll in 1975. It contained short stories, essays, and film reviews. Among its contributors were authors such as Octavia Butler, Joanna Russ, Samuel R. Delany, and Suzette Hayden Elgin. Janus/Aurora was nominated for the Hugo Award for "Best Fanzine" in 1978, 1979, and 1980. Janus/Aurora was the most prominent science fiction feminist zine during its run, as well as one of the only zines that dealt with such content.

1970s and punk

Punk zines emerged as part of the punk subculture in the late 1970's, along with the increasing accessibility to copy machines, publishing software, and home printing technologies. Punk emerged from the United Kingdom's black subcultures and became a genre for the working class because of the economic necessity to use creative DIY methods, echoed in both zine and Punk music creation. Zines became vital to the popularization and spread of punk spreading to countries outside the UK and America, such as Ireland, Indonesia, and more by 1977. Amateur, fan-created zines played an important role in spreading information about different scenes (city or regional-based subcultures) and bands (e.g. British fanzines like Mark Perry's Sniffin Glue and Shane MacGowan's Bondage) in the pre-Internet era. They typically included reviews of shows and records, interviews with bands, letters, and ads for records and labels.

UK and US zines

In the American Midwest, a zine called Touch and Go described the area's hardcore scene from 1979 to 1983. We Got Power described the LA scene from 1981 to 1984, and included show reviews and band interviews with groups including DOA, the Misfits, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies and the Circle Jerks. My Rules was a photo zine that included photos of hardcore shows from across the US an In Effect, launched in 1988 described the New York City punk scene.

By 1990, Maximum Rocknroll "had become the de facto bible of the scene, presenting a "passionate yet dogmatic view" of what hardcore was supposed to be. HeartattaCk and Profane Existence took the DIY lifestyle to a religious level for emo and post-hardcore and crust punk culture. Slug and Lettuce started at the state college of PA and became an international 10,000 copy production - all for free. In Canada, the zine Standard Issue chronicles the Ottawa hardcore scene. The Bay Area zine Cometbus was first created at Berkeley by the zinester and musician Aaron Cometbus. Gearhead Nation was a monthly punk freesheet that lasted from the early 90's to 1997 in Dublin, Ireland. Some hardcore punk zines became available online such as the e-zine chronicling the Australian hardcore scene, RestAssured.

1980s and Factsheet Five

During the 1980s and onwards, Factsheet Five (the name came from a short story by John Brunner), originally published by Mike Gunderloy and now defunct, catalogued and reviewed any zine or small press creation sent to it, along with their mailing addresses. In doing so, it formed a networking point for zine creators and readers (usually the same people). The concept of zine as an art form distinct from fanzine, and of the "zinesters" as member of their own subculture, had emerged. Zines of this era ranged from perzines of all varieties to those that covered an assortment of different and obscure topics. Genres reviewed by Factsheet Five included quirky, medley, fringe, music, punk, grrrlz, personal, science fiction, food, humour, spirituality, politics, queer, arts & letters, comix.

1990s and Riot Grrrl

The Riot Grrrl movement emerged from the DIY Punk subculture in tandem with the American era of third-wave feminism, and used the consciousness-raising method of organizing and communication. As feminist documents, they follow a longer legacy of feminist and womens' self-publication that includes scrapbooking, periodicals and health publications, allowing women to circulate ideas that would not otherwise be published. The American publication Bikini Kill (1990) introduced the Riot Grrrl Manifesto in their second issue as a way of establishing space. Zinesters Erika Rienstien and May Summer founded the Riot Grrrl Press to serve as a zine distribution network that would allow riot grrrls to "express themselves and reach large audiences without having to rely on the mainstream press".

"BECAUSE we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We are tired of boy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy punk after boy punk after boy . . .

"BECAUSE in every form of media I see us/myself slapped, decapitated, laughed at, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked, and killed ...

BECAUSE every time we pick up a pen, or an instrument, or get anything done, we are creating the revolution. We ARE the revolution."

— Reinstein, Fantastic Fanzine no. 2 (zine)

Girls use this grassroots medium to discuss their personal lived experiences, and themes including body image, sexuality, gender norms, and violence to express anger, and reclaim/refigure femininity. Scholar and zinester Mimi Thi Nguyen notes that these norms unequally burdened riot grrrls of color with allowing white riot grrrls access to their personal experiences, an act which in itself was supposed to address systemic racism.

BUST - "The voice of the new world order" was created by Debbie Stoller, Laurie Hanzel and Marcelle Karp in 1993 to propose an alternate to the popular mainstream magazines Cosmopolitan and Glamour. Additional zines following this path are Shocking Pink (1981-82, 1987-92), Jigsaw (1988- ), Bikini Kill (1990), Girl Germs (1990), Bamboo Girl (1995- ), BITCH Magazine (1996- ), Hip Mama (1997- ), Kitten Scratches (1999) and Rockrgrl (1995-2005).

Commercialization

Starting in this decade, multinational companies started appropriating and commodifying zines and DIY culture. Their faux zines created a commercialized hipster lifestyle. By late in the decade, independent zinesters were accused of "selling out" to make a profit.

Distribution and circulation

Before the invention of the printing press (1440), the Mesopotamians, Chinese and Egyptians used stamps and presses to emboss images into clay and print on cloth (BC). With the invention of paper in the second century AD, reproduction of literature became more efficient. The thirteenth century brought letterpress and relief printing to the scene, a method used to produce religious scripts. Since then, offset printing (1875), the mimeograph (1886), the duplicator/"ditto machine" (1920's), Xerography (1938), inkjet printing (1951), laser printing (1965), and digital printing (1991) have made the process increasingly more accessible to the general public. Comparatively, digital printing produces 2,400 times more sheets per hour than the original printing press.

Zines are sold, traded or given as gifts at symposiums, publishing fairs, record and book stores and concerts, via independent media outlets, zine 'distros', mail order or through direct correspondence with the author. They are also sold online on distro websites, Etsy shops, blogs, or social networking profiles and are available for download. While zines are generally self-published, there are a few independent publishers who specialize in art zines such as Nieves Books in Zurich, founded by Benjamin Sommerhalder, and Café Royal Books founded by Craig Atkinson in 2005. In recent years a number of photocopied zines have risen to prominence or professional status and have found wide bookstore and online distribution. Notable among these are Giant Robot, Dazed & Confused, Bust, Bitch, Cometbus, Doris, Brainscan, The Miscreant, and Maximum RocknRoll.

There are many catalogued and online based mail-order distros for zines. Some of the longer running and most stable operations include Last Gasp in San Francisco, Parcell Press in Philadelphia, Microcosm Publishing in Portland, Oregon, Great Worm Express Distribution in Toronto, CornDog Publishing in Ipswich in the UK, Café Royal Books in Southport in the UK, Fistful of Books in Scotland, AK Press in Oakland, California, Missing Link Records in Melbourne and Soft Skull Press in Brooklyn, New York.

Libraries

The Papercut Zine Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts

A number of major public and academic libraries carry zines and other small press publications, often with a specific focus (e.g. women's studies) or those that are relevant to a local region. Libraries with notable zine collections include Barnard College Library, the University of Iowa Special Collections and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University, which has one of the largest collections of zines on the east coast and is housed in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The Indie Photobook Library, an independent archive in the Washington, DC area has a large collection of photobook zines from 2010 to the present. In California, the Long Beach Public Library began to be the first public library in the state to start circulating zines for three weeks at a time in 2015. In 2017 the Los Angeles Public Library started to circulate zines publicly to its patrons as well. Both projects have been credited to librarian Ziba Zehdar who has been an advocate in promoting circulating zines publicly at libraries in California.

Zine Fests Today

Zebrapizza tabling at the Los Angeles Zinefest in 2017

There has been a recent insurgence in the alternative publication culture, in tandem with the influx of zine libraries and as a result of the digital age, which has sparked zine festivals across the globe. The Los Angeles Zine Fest, which is considered to be one of the biggest in the United States started in 2012 with only a handful of exhibitors, now hosting over 200 exhibitors.

Other big zine fests across the globe include, San Francisco Zine Fest, Brooklyn Zine Fest, Chicago Zine Fest Feminist Zine Fest, Amsterdam Zine Jam, and Sticky Zine Fair. At each zine fest, the zinester can be their own independent distributor and publisher simply by standing behind a table to sell or barter their work. Over time, zinesters have added posters, stickers, buttons and patches to these events.

Effect of the Internet

With the rise of the Internet in the mid-1990s, zines initially faded from public awareness possibly due to the inability of private web-pages to fulfill much the same role of personal expression. Indeed, many zines were transformed into Webzines, such as Boingboing or monochrom. The metadata standard for cataloging zines is xZineCorex, which maps to Dublin Core.

E-zine creators were originally referred to as "adopters" because of their use of pre-made type and layouts, making the process less ambiguous. Since, social media, blogging and vlogging have adopted a similar do-it-yourself publication model, with the most efficient form of communication yet.

Alt.zines

The Usenet newsgroup alt.zines was created in 1992 by Jerod Pore and Edward Vielmetti for the discussion of zines and zine-related topics. Since that time, alt.zines has seen more than 26,000 postings.

Throughout the 1990s alt.zines was the only online forum for zinesters to promote, talk, and discuss small publishing issues and tips. It was a place where a zine reader or first time publisher could rub elbows with infamous zinesters.

Zine Wiki

An open-source wiki site solely for zines, small press publications and independent media as well as their history. The online encyclopedia for zines was launched in 2006 by Alan Lastufka and Kate Sandler.

Television Shows

Two popular kids shows in the late 90's - early 2000's featured zine-making by the main characters Kale from Our Hero (2000-02) and Reggie from Rocket Power (1999-2004).

Kale Stiglic's life in the Toronto suburbs was narrated and presented in the form of a a zine that she created with her friends. Each episode stood for a single issue of her zine's production. The show won titles from the Canadian Comedy Awards and Gemini Awards during its development.