What is a Zine?

It is pronounced “zeen”, as in magazine.

A zine is a simple booklet, often photocopied in a format that acts as a vessel for anyone, and I mean anyone, to have a voice.  

Zines have found renewed popularity in the last decade and provide a medium for different groups to cultivate their forms of expression.  Simply put, they are a method to share work outside traditional creative world channels.

Zines are affordable, rare, and allow unfettered access to the creator’s perspectives. They are often tongue-in-cheek, eclectic, expressive, sad, and political. Anything goes, really. They can also be poetic, artistic, and fun, and because they are often self-published, they can be sold for, traded, and given away. 

A zine is usually a non – commercial, non-professional publication, kind of like a magazine but also very different.

The thing I love most about zines, besides that they are created in unique voices, is that anyone can create one. Zines are a great way to begin sharing your work. Here is a very easy FREE DIY tutorial to download and print so that you can practice creating your very own zine today. All you need is a pair of scissors and your imagination.