July, where have you gone? Just like June, July has been flying by, and I can’t believe that it’ll be over in just eight short days. And with the end of July comes the end of International Zine Month 2023. I’ve got some catching up to do! Clearly, time flies when you’re having (zine) fun – here’s how I celebrated the second week of International Zine Month 2023:

Day 9 – Buy Direct! Do you sell zines online? Update your shop and post a link to it. While I do sell my zines online, right now my little web shop is under construction as I work on shifting from Paypal to WooCommerce. For the time being, you can pick up some of my witchy titles via the Portland Button Works Spiral House Shop, and issues of Coco Zine will be coming soon to Neither/nor.

Day 10 – RPG Zines are a blast! Find or make your own play adventure zine Right on! RPG zines are a blast! I’m glad that this prompt has been added to the #IZM list, as I’m not as familiar with RPG zines as I am other genres, but the ones I have read never fail to impress me… see Nash High’s “Odd Little World” and Jared Valburg’s “Encounters with Nameless Spirits”.

Day 11 – International Zine Day This prompt is always one of the easiest to fulfill, as some of my favorite zinesters live outside the U.S.A. — Maranda Elizabeth from Canada, Tukru from England, and Nina Zina from Belgium, to name a few. So in honor of International Zine Day, I recommend picking up issues of “Bat Habitat” and “Same Heartbeats”, as well as subscribing to Maranda’s Patreon.

Day 12 – ZineWiki Day! I always appreciate this #IZM prompt, cause otherwise I’d forget to update my page on the ZineWiki. I’ve added record of both “Coco Zine” and (the revamped) “Hagwitch” to my entry. I’d still like to flesh out my page a bit more with descriptions of my zines, but for now, it’s a-okay.

Day 13 – Zine Superstition Do I have a zine superstition? Sure do! I’ve gotta doodle a little “safe travels” sigil on all of my zine mail, or I’m pretty sure they’ll get lost in transit. Ever since I premiered the sigil in “The Witchy Zinester’s Pocket Book of Spells” and incorporated it into my shipping process, I’ve had no zine disappear before reaching it’s destination. I dare you to draw it on your envelopes, too.

Day 14 – ValenZines day For “ValenZines Day” on July 14th, the prompt was to treat yourself to some zine love, and that’s the same day that I posted the first blog in this series. If I’m being honest, that timing was a bit of a happy accident, but I’m rolling with it.

I feel “zine love” when I participate in this community: doing these #IZM prompts, every time I get a new issue in the mail from a favorite zinester, when I hit “start” on the copy machine and hear those wonderful mechanical whirring noises as toner hits paper, bringing my art and writing to life. I feel it when I open my p.o. box to find new titles to review, or when I crack the spine on an old favorite, attend a zine fest or a KC Zine Con organizer’s meeting… participating in the zine community is, in every which way, “zine love”. This community inspires me and gives me purpose. I’m so grateful that our weird little diy punk artform exists, and that our community is made up of so many imaginative, kind, and resourceful zinesters. The zine community is love.

Day 15 – Free Zine Day You want a free zine? Don’t worry – I’ve got’cha! My meta-mini “Let’s Make a Mini Zine” is here for you: just download, print, and fold (using the directions inside the zine!)