A zine (pronounced ZEEN) is short for "fanzine" and is usually a small-batch, independently published work that circulates less than 1,000 copies. Anyone can be a zinester (aka "someone who creates a zine"), and most people make zines for the love of creating rather than for seeking a profit. In general, a zine is a pamphlet-like publication that can include text, images, artwork, found objects, or any other creative material that helps to express the author's message. -Purdue University
Step 1:
Decide what your zine is going to be about
Your zine doesn’t have to be the most brilliant publication ever or even the piece of work you’re proudest of. Just make something that reflects how you’re feeling or what you’re thinking about at the moment.
Step 2:
Decide what format you will use
Zines can take all kinds of forms, some easier than others to make. There are stitch-bound zines, perfect-bound zines, accordion zines, tiny zines that come in matchboxes, large poster-sized zines that unfurl, and digital, online-only zines. There are two types of zines that I’d recommend as a place to start: eight-page folding mini zines and standard booklets made from folded printer paper.
Step 3:
Remember to format your pages correctly
If you’re creating a physical master copy of your zine, remember that each folded piece of paper is four different pages of your zine—and they are not all consecutive! The first page will be on the same piece of paper as the last page, for instance. For that reason, all folded zines must have a page count that’s divisible by four. After you’ve decided on the number of pages your booklet will have, fold your zine and number the pages with a pencil before getting started. That way, you won’t get confused.
If you’re working digitally, you can create each page individually and save it as a normal PDF. Your pages should each be 5.5” x 8.5”, and your page count must still be divisible by four.
Step 4:
Start making it
Depending on what kinds of materials you’re most comfortable with, there are a lot of ways to design your zine.
The most traditional method is analog, through either collaging or drawing. That means handwriting and drawing whatever content you want your zine to be. It can also mean gathering archival photos, Xeroxing images from books, cutting stuff out from magazines, and printing out text (or using a typewriter), then pasting them all together onto the page. If you’re more of a computer kid than a crafty type, make it digitally. Use whatever software you prefer—Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or Microsoft Word.
Step 5:
Decide if you want different papers for the “guts” (the inside pages of the zine) and the cover. You may consider printing the insides on normal printing paper and the cover on heavier-weight paper—people almost always judge books by their covers, even if they’re taught not to. You may want to use special paper for the insides, as well. (If you’re making a photo zine, for instance, you may want a relatively thick, or even glossy, paper for your guts.) If you want something nice for either, go to your local paper store. You’ll be overwhelmed by all the weights, textures, and colors available.
Step 6:
Bind it
The last decision is how you want to bind it all together. Stapling is the easiest and most common way to go. To do that, order your pages, create a column of two or three staples vertically down the center of the pages, and fold them in half to make the booklet. A standard stapler won’t reach the middle of the page, so buy a long-armed stapler from an art supply store or borrow one from an art studio.
Information from VICE.
From Cornell University Library:
Even the Library of Congress has its own collection of zines for you to browse through!
FIRE!! Devoted To Younger Negro Artists (1926), via POC Zine Project.
American zines trace their origins to the amateur press movement of the early 20th century, when amateur printers purchased their own presses in order to produce small works concerning a specific topic or interest. Components of the amateur press movement can be seen in an often overlooked precursor to zines, the “little magazines” of the Harlem Renaissance. While not unique to the Harlem Renaissance, during the 1920s, individuals or small groups of Black artists and writers used the little magazine (a short, small distribution magazine) to undermine the established literary system. These self-published works, often local in scope, featured lesser-known voices of the Renaissance along with those of greater prominence.
Zines in their current form largely derive from the fan magazines (shortened to fanzines) of the 1930s. Fans of the evolving science fiction genre created these self-published works to share theories and opinions regarding published works and to create a community across geographic distances. The Comet (1930) is considered by many to be the first fanzine. From the 1930s to the 1960s, fanzines expanded to genres like comics, music, and horror.
ThroTTle Magazine, May/June 1981
The advent of new technologies, specifically the photocopier, allowed for easy duplication of zines, which were adopted by the punk music scene in the 1970s and 1980s. While zines were used as a medium of subcultures from the start, the overt anti-establishment ethos of the punk movement meant the scene relied heavily on zines to disperse information regarding music groups, venues, and events as they rejected corporate labels and more mainstream publications.
By the 1990s, influenced by the punk movement, the “Riot Grrrl” movement used zines as a way to discuss feminist messages rooted in social consciousness. Zines allowed individuals to share their own experiences in an unfiltered manner that passionately addressed issues of gender identity, discrimination, sexism, and body image. With computers becoming more widely available and the creation of the World Wide Web, some Riot Grrrl zines adapted to electronic platforms as “e-zines.”
The expansion of the internet has resulted in more traditional zine content moving to online forums, blogs, and digital media; however, physical zines are still popular forms of expression and are available for purchase at many independent bookstores, zine fests held across the country, and directly from creators. Additionally, public libraries, universities, and other cultural and archival institutions are developing collections of zines for public use, serving as a testament to the enduring value of these publications.
Information from the Library of Virginia
