Online zines combine the best of two separate worlds. Although I love a zine I can hold in my hands, aware that somebody else held it in the process of making it, I’m appreciative of the fact that online zines give me access to ones I would not otherwise be able to read. What makes physical zines special is their uniqueness, their demographic and geographic specificity, but it’s also what makes them limited in reach. Online zines remove that obstacle.
That said, what is a zine?
What Is a Zine?
Zines, short for magazine or fanzine, is a self-published compilation of texts and images, usually original but sometimes appropriated. It doesn’t typically have commercial purposes; its sole goal tends to be sharing the content published within its pages with an audience of like-minded individuals with similar interests. As such, its batches are limited, always under a thousand copies — usually far under.
Zines are fairly easy to make: zinesters often create them by “crafting an original ‘master flat’ on paper or screen, and then printing/photocopying, folding, and stapling the pages into simple pamphlets” according to The Bindery. But that’s not a hard and fast rule: zines can also be sewn, glued, or taped, among other ways of production. They’re either cheap or, sometimes, free.
A Very Brief History of Zines
The term zines hails back to October 1940, when it was first used in science fiction fanzine Detours, made by Russ Chauvenet. Nine years later, its use had become so widespread that it was an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. However, people have been using pamphlets to publicize a variety of topics for centuries.
The two movements that are often quoted as the beginning of zines as we know them are the Harlem Renaissance, with its culture of Little Magazines publishing Black art that publishers wouldn’t print, and the emergence of science fiction magazines by authors who were tired of being told their stories wouldn’t sell. Indeed, the interconnectedness of sci-fi and zines becomes evident in the fact that the Hugo Awards first granted a Best Fanzine title in 1955.
Why Read Online Zines?
From their very beginning as Little Magazines centering Black art and literature, and fanzines focusing on the science fiction stories mainstream publishing wouldn’t print, zines have been powerful vehicles for self-expression. Zines were and created counterculture: they allowed marginalized and peripheric voices to be heard, and their identities and stories to be put front and center.
Those who first published zines, and those who read them, were engaging in an act of rebellion: the former by insisting on speaking their truth and performing their art, and the latter by choosing to learn about other perspectives; they all looked away from mainstream narratives and made a conscious choice to enhance the cultural trove of their time. More, they were radical acts: especially with zines about feminism or race or queerness, they were helping to shape a better, more equitable world.
Where to Read Online Zines
There are several online zine libraries, several of which were created during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them you can find:
Sherwood Forest Zine Library: An independent media library focused on zines and DIY culture, it is primarily a physical space in Austin, Texas, but it also has a virtual library section. Last updated in December 2023, you can find hundreds of zines here, whether in downloadable PDFs or links.
Keke Magazine, zine library: Calling itself the internet’s first ever free zine library, it’s open to zines sent by all sorts of people. You can find a great range of topics, including but not limited to poetry and feminism.
issuu: With topics ranging from queerness to punk, there are thousands of zines on this website.
Quarantine Zine Club: After the zine shop Sticky Institute had to close in 2020, a group of volunteers came together and created Quarantine Zine Club (QZC). Although they stopped accepting submissions in 2021, the archives are well worth a close look: there are some truly wonderful zines on here.
LCC Zine Collection: During the worst of the pandemic, the LCC Special Collection team ensured that there would be online representation of the work that they do. The result? A fantastic website with some unique zines.
Read on to learn about the history of zines, and why you should read more zines in the first place.
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