And just like that, we’ve reached the end of the first full week of International Zine Month! The prompts this week were fantastic inspiration, and I’m so excited to share how I celebrated with y’all:

Day 4 – AmeriZine Day! Explore marginalized voices in the Americas. Buy, share, and read zines about racial justice and zines written by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) from the Americas. This day was a great opportunity to revisit some of my favorite zines, such as Doomed from Alexa Lima’s Ulterior Zines, and issues of Cyclista Zine — titles from both of these projects are featured in my latest Zine Reviews video, but more on that later in the post — as well as comix by Jools FiveAsh, Shotgun Seamstress by Osa Atoe, and Jonas’ perzines.

Day 5 – Review a zine: post it online or write a review to print in your next zine. Well, as the curator of an Instagram page called @zinereviews, this day’s prompt was seemingly made for me! If you’re into learning about a couple of new zines each week and you’re on the ‘gram, consider giving my page a follow!

And speaking of reviewing zines, Day 5 felt like the perfect opportunity to hit “publish” on my latest Zine Reviews video and share it with the world. In this episode, I review 5 zines that I got through Patreon subscriptions: the aforementioned Ulterior Zines and Cyclista Zine, as well as titles by Anna Jo Beck, Carrie McNinch, and Craft or DIY. Even if you’re not able to subscribe to them on Patreon, these zinesters put out great work that you should check out!

Day 6 – Zine Pride Day! Explore LGBTQIA+ zines! Buy, share, and read zines by people of marginalized sexual orientations and gender identities. I’m going to narrow the scope of this day’s prompt a bit, and use it to feature some great non-binary, genderqueer, and genderless zinesters! Some of my favorite enby zinesters are: Maranda Elizabeth, Craft or DIY (also featured above, in the latest Zine Reviews video), Julia Eff, and Tukru’s Vampire Hag distro. And breaking news: as I posted this, Tukru posted that they are taking UK preorders for their latest zine: Bat Habitat #29: on being non-binary. If you’re in the UK, add this zine to your cart, because it’s gonna be a must-read for sure!

Day 7 – Educate yourself of what zine distros are, how they operate, and how they pick zines to carry. Support a distro near you! Today’s feature was an easy choice: Neither/nor Zine Distro, operated here in KC by my incredible friend, Jaydream!

In case you’re new to the world of zines, a distro is a shop that curates, distributes, and sells a selection of zines (usually on consignment from the creator.) Some distros sell zines in person, some sell zines online, and some (like Neither/nor) do both! 🛒 ✨

N/n mostly stocks zines from local KC creators, and ones about self -care and -help, and radical- and identity- politics, as well as tried and true classic titles like Razorcake and Cometbus. In addition to their online store, Neither/nor curates the zine stock in shops all across the Kansas City metro; you can find these mini distro locations everywhere from local record shops, to cafés, and even a location in a climbing gym, in addition to pop-up events.

Jay also curates monthly zine subscriptions (🎁 these make great gifts 😉) and are working on building a zine library. As you can probably tell, they are an absolute zine rockstar! (And I haven’t even mentioned the awesome workshops they teach, or that they’re also a KC Zine Con organizer! 🤩) I’m so lucky to get to call them a friend, and holy smokes is KC lucky to have such a great zine distro in our city.

Day 8 – Cook with a recipe you found in a zine! Bonus: Photograph the result and post it online or print it in a zine! I celebrated this day a little bit early: on Monday (aka IZM day 4), I whipped out Schemin’ Vegan Vol. 1 (by the aforementioned Jaydream of Neither/nor) and made the mushroom brown gravy recipe as part of a poutine. Mmmm! It was a delight. And then, on day 8, I reviewed a food-themed zine to keep in spirit of the day: “Cookbook Bookmarks” by Breyanne Thrax.

This enticing collection of collaged ephemera showcases the recipe cards, “scraps and snippings found between the pages” of antique cookbooks. The result is an aesthetic treat, full of silly little surprises (a newspaper clipping titled “Exorcisms are in demand”, an ad for baby alligators costing $1) and a big dose of Americana nostalgia. It reminded me a bit of the “I Spy” books I enjoyed reading as a kid, as the longer I looked at each page, the more I discovered. As for what recipes I’ll make from it? The apple crisp sounds delightful… and I might just have to give the Carolina Corn Dog Surprise a try! As Breyanne says in the intro, these scraps are “long forgotten reminders to try cooking something new.” 😉

Day 9 – Buy direct! Update your shop and post a link to it online so people can get your zines directly from you. Is it still a shameless plug if the prompt calls for it? In the spirit of day 9, check out my zine shop, where you can find titles on witchcraft, tarot, personal storytelling… and even some zines about zines. I do love a good trade, so if you’re also writing perzines or about magic, then drop me a line and maybe we can trade zines?

Day 10 – Write a letter or send a message to a zine maker and let them know you enjoy their zine! Okay, gotta admit it, I haven’t tackled this prompt yet! (Saturday was busy! I had a lot on my plate!) But I’m determined to make it happen, if only because I know how gratifying it can be to hear from folks who have enjoyed your work.

How have you been celebrating #IZM2021?