Make zines! A List of Helpful Resources

Where to order

Several indie shops & distros sell zines online. Here are a few I recommend, though you can also find a thorough and mostly up to date list here:

How to make

Books

Tutorials

There are many many more on the web, but these are some of the better ones I’ve encountered.

Tools, templates, and spaces

  • Seashore — free, powerful photo editor for Mac OSX
  • Glimpse — another free photo editor
  • Zines! A Primer mini-zine (pdf) by Syracuse In Print
  • Digital templates for mini-zines [docx] [pages] [indd]
  • Flipsnack — free flipbook-style publishing tool
  • Issuu — another common magazine-style digital publishing tool

Connecting with others

Aside from the obvious hashtags like #zines and #quaranzines on Twitter & Instagram, these are some spaces where you might find zinesters gathering.

  • r/zines — Subreddit for zines
  • Broken Pencil — Longtime Canadian magazine that specializes in North American zine culture. Published quarterly.
  • Behind the Zines — Fascinating bi-annual meta-zine by/for/about zinesters. Find it at Antiquated Future and get as many the back issues as you can find.
  • POC Zine Project — Important resource that advocates for nonwhite zines and Black Lives Matter through materiality.
  • Razorcake — Punk magazine that reviews like-minded music zines.

Short videos about zine culture

Zine studies

Zine histories

Libraries & archives

Teaching with zines

  • Course: “Self-Publishing.” Upper-division course I’ve taught at Rowan University in Fall 2019 & Fall 2020. Includes syllabus, assignments, lesson plans, and more.
  • Courses: “Using Zines in the Classroom.” A survey of ways I’ve used zines while teaching creative nonfiction and DIY Publishing at Syracuse University (HASTAC)
  • Lesson plan: “Zine Workshop” by Aisha Conner-Gaten (Community of Online Research Assignments)
  • Lesson plan & workshop: “Make a Quaranzine.” Accessible 1-hour workshop sponsored by The Believer magazine and hosted by longtime Runcible Spoon publisher, graphic memoirist, and NPR contributor, Malaka Gharib.
  • All the things. Barnard Zine Library. Several different lesson plans, videos, and other resources, with classes and workshops ordered from newest to oldest.
  • Zine kits. Many zines fests and public programs have adopted to COVID-19 by mailing out zine-making kits in advance of an event or workshop. [Lancaster Zine Fest] [Austin Film School]