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First things first, Zinesommar. Zinesommar!! You know when you and your friends are just shooting the shit and you get an idea and then it grows and grows until it seems like it could never happen? But then, through some sort of magic, it does happen, and you pull it off, and it’s really, really beautiful? That’s what Zinesommar was. Whenever KC Zine Collective hosts an event — whether something relatively small like my monthly Zine Club, or our massive annual festival — I always get butterflies in my stomach leading up to the day of. All the “what ifs” nag my brain and I catastrophize. What if nobody shows up? […]

We’re just gonna pretend that it isn’t already halfway through August and that I’m not only just now finishing up my International Zine Month posts. I’ve made a bad habit of starting every blog with some sort of apology about the post coming out late (how zinester-y of me!) or waxing poetic about how fast time flies… and I’ve gotta stop that. It’s boring. Let’s be real: I’m shouting into a big internet void on this blog. Time here is flexible, malleable. Any deadlines are self imposed. This post could have premiered at anytime and it really wouldn’t change a thing about it. I’ve noticed that when I hem and haw […]

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 […]

Well, this post is coming out a bit later than I had planned! Little did I know when I set out to create a loose IZM schedule for myself that I would be laid out by an especially brutal head cold just a few days into the month. Instead of reading, writing about, and filming zines, I spent most of week one curled up on the couch with a hot cup of chamomile, watching comfort content (Twin Peaks and Halloween). It all sounds pretty dang cozy, albeit for the congestion, headaches, snot, and the awful raked-coals feeling in the back of my throat. I’m glad to report that I’m feeling better, […]

Happy International Zine Month 2023! ✂️🖊 IZM was inaugurated in 2009 by the one-and-only Alex Wrekk of “Stolen Sharpie Revolution” fame. Aside from encouraging folks to read and make lotsa zines in July, the month-long celebration features a prompt list full of ideas for zinecentric activities. 2023’s list was designed by @zineville, and I’ll be posting weekly recaps of how I fulfilled each prompt here on the blog. Day One‘s prompt is to define “zine” — I’ve always said that “zines are handmade, diy publications, typically printed on a copy machine, then folded and bound/stapled by hand.” To expand on that, I think zines are inherently non-commercial, tactile (not digital; I […]