Zine Making Tools

This first comprehensive study of zine publishing uncovers the compelling story of the movement. From their origins in early 20th century science fiction cults, their more proximate roots in 60s counter-culture and their rapid proliferation in the wake of punk rock, Stephen Duncombe pays full due to the political importance of zines as a vital network of popular culture. Packed with extracts and illustrations, this is a useful overview of the contemporary underground in all its splendour.

With names like The East Village Inky, Mend My Dress, Dear Stepdad, and I'm So Fucking Beautiful, zines created by girls and women over the past two decades make feminism's third wave visible. These messy, photocopied do-it-yourself documents cover every imaginable subject matter and are loaded with handwriting, collage art, stickers, and glitter. Though they all reflect the personal style of the creators, they are also sites for constructing narratives, identities, and communities.

Following the lead of papers like the Los Angeles Free Press, the East Village Other, and the Berkeley Barb, young people across the country launched hundreds of mimeographed pamphlets and flyers, small press magazines, and underground newspapers. New and cheap printing technologies had democratized the publishing process, and by the end of the 1960s, the combined circulation of underground papers stretched into the millions. With writers who actively participated in the events they described, underground newspapers captured the zeitgeist of the '60s, speaking directly to their readers, and reflecting and magnifying the spirit of cultural and political protest.

In this book, Chris Atton offers a fresh introduction to alternative media: one which is not limited to 'radical' media, but can also account for newer cultural forms such as zines, fanzines, and personal websites. Alternative Media: Examines how and why people produce and use alternative media - to make meaning, to interpret, and to change the world in which they live.

Zines and alternative press materials provide a unique bridge to appeal to disenfranchised youth, alienated by current collections. For librarians unfamiliar with the territory, or anxious to broaden their collection, veteran zinester Bartel establishes the context, history, and philosophy of zines, then ushers readers through an easy, do-it-yourself guide to creating a zine collection, including both print and electronic zines.