zines!

So DC Zinefest is coming up in July, and that's got me thinking about fanzines. I got started today on my own zine for this year, which is going to be about my life in fandom, but I would love it if I wasn't the only one there with fannish stuff.

I don't think the traditional giant-bound-volume-of-fic fanzine is a good fit for the DIY culture of the zinefest, but there's definitely an alternative. I was really impressed by the Adventures of Pete and Pete zine some people put together via Tumblr last year, and I think that's a good model for making fannish zines in a DIY context. There's got to be an audience for single-fandom or multifannish themed zines containing meta, fanart, and short fic, right? Putting together, say, an eight- or ten-page Doctor Who zine, given the collective output of Doctor Who fandom, shouldn't be an insurmountable challenge.

Is anyone else interested in trying to make fannish zines DIY-style? I would be SO HAPPY if I could show up at Zinefest this year with even a quarter-table's worth of fanzines, and I think there'd be an audience for them-- most people I know in that community are pretty nerdy about *something*.

eta: If you have an idea for a zine or know someone who might be interested in contributing to one, please let me know! Signal-boosting also appreciated. I've set up a comm at diyfanzines.

your dream fanzine

As I said in my last post, I am having Thoughts about fanzines. Specifically, about what fanzines I am willing to dedicate time and energy to making exist. And what fanzines other people are willing to dedicate time and energy to making exist. I'm crossposting the following to diyfanzines.

So, here are some zine ideas I have been contemplating. If anyone has anything or is willing to make anything to contribute to any of these potential zines, please let me know!

1. A Doctor Who zine containing meta, short fic and fanart. This could feature anything from your list of 'reasons Ace is the biggest badass to ever badass' to the story of how you became a Doctor Who fan to a picture of Eleven if he was a giraffe. (I know, how could you tell the difference?) Fic for this zine would probably be capped at 500 words. I would aim for 10 pages of content, total, but if I get surprised by a lot of cool submissions I would cheerfully make it longer.

2. A zine about being a feminist in a fandom that isn't friendly to feminism. I'm thinking mostly of comics fandom for this because that's where my experience lies, but people who've got stories to tell about gaming fandoms or other fandoms would be more than welcome.

3. A Discworld zine in the same mode as the Doctor Who zine above-- meta, fic, fanart and other short bits and pieces. I would especially love to get good fanart for this, because I see depressingly little of it.

4. A zine of stories about how people became fans. Comics about how people became fans would also be VERY welcome.

If there are single-fandom zines anyone is interested in making (Avengers is on my wishlist, for instance), or meta topics that could sustain a zine, I would love to hear about them.

I also want to be up-front about my plans for these zines: everyone who contributes would get a copy, plus digital files; I would cover my costs by selling copies at DC Zinefest and any extra money would be donated to the Zinefest or another agreed-upon charity.

If you're interested in participating in anything I've listed, or in adding to the list, I'd love to hear from you.

Signal boosts would be much appreciated.