What is a Zine?
"Zine" (zeen) is short for magazine, and they have a rich history both inside and outside of fandom. In fandom, they are most often magazines put together by groups of fan creators over the course of many months, and published publicly for free or for purchase.
Fandom zines create some of the most beautiful art and fic - and merchandise! - you can find about the series. By virtue of how they are run, copies of the zine and the extra merch that may go with it are rare and hard to find once the event is over, making them treasures.
If you want to learn more about fandom zines and how you can find them, or participate, read on below.
What kind of events are there?
Whether zines are small or large is simply limited by imagination. Technically, a zine could be little more than a hand-written pamphlet of collages from art and words that is photocopied and distributed en masse. Most often, fandom zines are digital PDFs of curated art and writing arranged by someone with semi-professional publishing/layout experience.
Zines can be digital (PDF only), digital with digital merchandise/extras (such as bookmarks or desktop backgrounds), or physical (printed softcover books, with or without physical merchandise such as bookmarks, enamel pins, stickers, keychains, etc).
Zines can be art-only, writing-only, or a combination of the two.
Zines can be collaborative, where each artist is paired with a writing contributor and they create related works. Or, zines can simply be curated collections, where artists and writers make works that are connected only by the overarching theme of the zine.
Zines can have broad or narrow themes, ranging from a single character, a single ship, a whole class of characters, a whole region, or an abstract concept. See the bottom of this post for examples.
Zines can be profitable, where artists and writers and mods get paid a cut of the money collected in zine sales. Zines are often for charity, where creators and mods are unpaid and all profit (barring printing costs, etc.) go to a chosen charity. Zines can be free and for no reason at all.
Zines may or may not have an (unofficial) connection to the creators of the IP the zine is a fandom for - this can range from a forward written by one of the IP writers, or a print copy signed by a voice actor, etc.
Zines are often NOT annual, but rather one-time events. New zines are organized all the time under different names.
Where are events hosted?
Zines are often advertised on twitter and tumblr.
Interest checks are often run through Google Forms.
Zine creation is often coordinated via Discord servers specifically created for the event.
Zines are often sold via BigCartel, gumroad, itch.io, or another of the (many, many) e-sale sites for this purpose.
What does participation in the event look like?
▸Interest Check
A zine profile (tumblr or twitter or both) will put out a google form for anyone to fill out. These will often inquire about:
the theme of the zine, sometimes with many options/focuses
the content (would you like to see art, prose, poetry)
the extras (what kind of merch/extra content would you be interested in, besides the magazine)
the format (digital vs physical)
the cost (how much would you be willing to pay for each format/bundle)
are you interested in being a contributor/buyer
▸ Moderator Applications
Can happen simultaneously with the interest check. Usually a zine is started by an individual or small group of individuals with gumption (or experience), but they often are looking for additional:
Social Media Mod(s)
Art (Organization) Mods
Writing (Organization) Mods
Graphics Mods
Printing/Shipping Mods
Merch Mods
Editor Mods
Treasurer Mods
The form and requirements of each moderator application vary greatly depending on the person organizing the event.
▸ Contributor Applications
In addition to contact information, contributors will be asked to provide examples of their previous works as a portfolio.
Sometimes creators will be asked to provide "prompts" or "pitches" - their ideas for what their contribution may be, very specifically.
Artists
⤷ Portfolios may be looking for google drive galleries, dedicated art blogs, dedicated social media account/thread/hashtag, etc.
⤷ In addition to a portfolio, may be asked to share a few specific, additional works, that highlight their strengths/interests and what they specifically will bring to the zine.
⤷ May be asked whether applying for cover art, page art, or merch art.
⤷ Merch artists may be asked to show actual physical merch you've made before, to show you know how to get things printed.
⤷ May be asked what kind of merch you would like to make.
Writers
⤷ Longform (2500 word is usually standard) or shortform (write short fics, usually multiple up to 1000 words each)
⤷ Mods may look at your overall writing portfolio
⤷ In addition to a portfolio, may be asked to share a few writing samples with min and max word counts - excerpts that showcase writing strengths.
▸ Creation Period
Contributors will be given a date to get a final pitch approved by the mods. After they can be approved, the contributors can get started.
How many check-ins/WIPs mods require from contributors will vary from one, to many. These are collected through google forms or emailed directly to the moderators.
Typically required that contributors proof and edit their own works to the highest degree possible and deliver the level of product they promised. Betas/editors/screening may or may not be provided by volunteers.
Artists will typically be provided with a template that shows the gutter/bleeds. It will typically be specified to work in CMYK, a specific file type, and file/page size.
Contributors work on their pieces.
Merch artists tend to work most closely with the mods, compared to other contributors, throughout the production process. Merch artists usually have an expedited schedule with earlier deadlines.
Cover artists may also have an expedited schedule with earlier deadlines.
▸ Production Period
Contributors will likely be able to share snippets/previews of their work - either a cropped image, or a paragraph+ excerpt of written work - as a way of drumming up further interest for the zine's sales. Snippets may be posted to the official event socials, or contributors may post them to their own socials and get re-shared by the official event socials, depending on the organizer's preference. This may overlap with the creation period.
Works are turned in.
▸ Sales & Sharing Period
The zine is available for purchase/download/ordering.
After orders close, for physical zines, moderators will place the order for printing (and merch, if applicable).
Usually when distributing only physical zines, the orders go directly from the printer to the customer.
If physical merchandise is bundled: typically, the zines and merch are shipped to a moderator's home where they are physically bundled together, then shipped from the moderator to the customer.
There may be a period of time sales closed and shipping is concluded where any extra goods may be offered for sale again, as supplies last.
⤷ OFTEN, when physical copies are offered, contributors may be gifted physical bundles of the zines (including merch). This is not always true but often happens as thanks for contribution.
Please, be discerning.
Because the commitment is very high for zines, a lot can go wrong. In addition to the usual risk of poor communication and delays (which can happen even with the best intentions).
Moderators may or may not be reputable characters and you may run into poor communication and organization - or even theft.
Whenever money is involved, or physical shipping is offered, be very wary of giving away your personal information!!!
Zines can be organized as a way for "moderators" to get free art; if money is not handled transparently, moderators can abscond with the funds. Sometimes contributors will be told that they will be paid, but then moderators will say that you will not be paid actually.
Zines can fail for a variety of reasons and never reach the publication stage. Zines can recruit contributors with the promise of the quality of the zine production/design but fail to deliver.
While these are some of the worst-case scenarios, keep in mind that fandom zines are not professional and run by volunteers. Moderators are often the most passionate and hardest working people involved in the events, doing their absolute best based on their resources and experiences.
Examples of Zines
Solamancy Zine (Archived)
The Keeper's Codex (Archived)
TheDragonAgeZine
Lotus and Root (Archived)
