Zine culture

Initiatives, collections, resources

• Artzines.info, a database for zines self-published by contemporary artists.

• Artzines.net, a blog on artzines and art books operated by Moritz Grünke.

• The Athens Zine Bibliotheque, est. Nov 2014, curated by These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things.

• Barnard Zine Library, The Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning, Barnard College, Columbia University, NY

• The Book of Zines: Readings from the Fringe, ed. Chip Rowe, est. 1996.

• Deutschsprachige Punkzines, 1977-1984.

• DIY fanzin(e)kollekció

• Fanzine & rendszerváltás, Facebook group.

• FCSMK (Fekete Csillag Műhely, Eger) E-polc, digital archive of Hungarian zines.

• Glasgow Zine Library, self-publishing library and community arts space, Glasgow, *2018.

• Grrrl Zine Network, grrrl, lady, queer and trans folk zines, distros and DIY projects from around the world, ed. Elke Zobl, est. 2001.
  • Elke Zobl, "The Power of Pen Publishing: International Grrrl Zines and Distros", Feminist Collections 26:1, Fall 2004, pp 20-24.

• Hungarian Underground Zines archive, [1].

• Independent Voices: An Open Access Collection of an Alternative Press, US periodicals and serials from the 1960s-80s.

• Magyar underground zenei fanzinok.

• MIMEO MIMEO, a forum for critical and cultural perspectives on artists' books, typography and the mimeograph revolution.

• Rollerderby zine, Lisa Carver, 1993

• Шесть шесть пять (665), zine library, Ukraine, [2]

• Solidarity! Revolutionary Center and Radical Library, zine collection online. Located in Lawrence, Kansas the mission of Solidarity! Revolutionary Center and Radical Library is to organize as a non-hierarchical collective for the purpose of sharing and distributing information. The collection is compiled of Zines (personal, non-copy written, non-traditionally peer reviewed articles, journals, and art) that were specifically purchased, donated, traded, or created for the Solidarity! Collection. These works cover every topic from Globalization and the Industrial Prison Complex to first kisses.

• Venom Zine Library, BIPOC zine library and self-publishing platform, Copenhagen

• Zine Coop, an indie publishing artist collective that promotes zine culture in Hong Kong, est. 2017.

• ZineDepo, a library with more than 1000 international zines collected over a period of 25 years, Arnhem/NL. Publications.

• Zine Libraries by Region

• Zine Library.pl, an extensive digital library of Polish alternative press (zines and magazines), est. 2010, Kraków.

• Zines on Internet Archive

• Zines of the zone, touring library of self-published books, c.2014.

• ZineWiki, an open-source encyclopedia devoted to zines and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.

Events

• Fanzine Anatomy – Alternative Hungarian Publications on Music and Politics from the Artpool Collection, exhibition, Artpool, Budapest, 14 May-19 Sep 2025. Curators: Éva Bárdits, Viktor Kotun, Zsófia Kókai, Gabriella Schuller.

• Glasgow Zine Fest, annual event by Glasgow Zine Library.

• Oslo Zine Fest, Rom for Kunst og Arkitektur, Oslo, 29 Nov-1 Dec 2024. Organised by JAM Collective.

• Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines, exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, New York, 17 Nov 2023-31 Mar 2024. Organised by Branden W. Joseph and Drew Sawyer.

• Queer*fem* magaZINES. Queer and Feminist Publishing in Art and Culture, exhibition, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, 25 Feb-4 Jun 2023.

• Zine Camp, WORM, Rotterdam, 24-25 May 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023. [3]

• Alles behalve de inhoud #5: Zines, Leeszaal West, Rotterdam, 3 Apr 2017.

• Here is Zine • Here is Hong Kong, PMQ, Hong Kong, 23 Dec 2016-9 Jan 2017.

• Fanzineist, Istanbul, 2016-2017; Vienna, 2019-.

• Amsterdam Zine Jam, Felix Meritis Building, Amsterdam, 4 Oct 2014. [4]

• Tokyo Zinester Gathering, Café Lavandería, Tokyo, annually since c.2014. [5] [6]

• ZineShow, Tymutopiyapres gallery & online, Lviv, 2013.

• more

Anthologies

• Chip Rowe (ed.), The Book of Zines: Readings From the Fringe!, 1997. Anthology of pop culture writings from about 80 zines. Website companion.

• R. Seth Friedman, The Factsheet Five Zine Reader: The Best Writing from the Underground World of Zines, New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997, 192 pp.

• Tristan Taormino, Karen Green (eds.), The Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World: Writings from the Girl Zine Revolution, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1997. An anthology from zines created by women.

• Jen Angel (ed.), Zine Yearbook, since 1997. Annual anthology of zine writing.

• Ethan Clark (ed.), Stories Care Forgot: An Anthology of New Orleans Zines, Last Gasp of San Francisco, 2006, 149 pp. Reproductions of a dozen punk zines. Also includes author memoirs of their experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina.

Documentary films

• Fanzini Sa, dir. Siniša Dugonjić, 2011, 41 min. A documentary on the underground and DIY fanzine culture in Serbia during the 1980s and 1990s. EN subs.

Literature

• Nigel Fountain, Underground: The London Alternative Press 1966-74, New York: Routledge/Chapman & Hall, 1988, viii+231 pp, OL. History of the underground press in the UK.

• Mike Gunderloy, How to Publish a Fanzine, Port Townsend, WA: Loompanics, 1988, 91 pp.

• Mike Gunderloy (ed.), Why Publish?, intro. Jacob Rabinowitz, Pretzel Press, 1989, 54 pp.

• Mike Gunderloy, Cari Goldberg Janice, The World of Zines: A Guide to the Independent Magazine Revolution, Penguin, 1992, 224 pp.

• Bob Black, Beneath the Underground, Portland, OR: Feral House, 1994, x+190 pp, IA.

• Counter Intelligence: Zines, Comics, Pamphlets, Flyers: Catalogue of Self-Published and Autonomous Print-Creations: Articles! Reviews! Contacts!, eds. Jason Skeet and Mark Pawson, London: 121 Centre, 1995, 24 pp. Catalogue of an exhibition held throughout Oct 1994 at 121 Centre, Brixton, South London.

• Pagan Kennedy, Zine: How I Spent Six Years of My Life in the Underground and Finally Found Myself--I Think, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1995, 184 pp. Review: PW.

• V. Vale (ed.), Zines! Vol.1, San Francisco: RE/Search Publications, 1996, 169 pp, IA. [7] [8]

• V. Vale (ed.), Zines! Vol.2, San Francisco: RE/Search Publications, 1997, 137 pp, IA. [9]

• Francesca Lia Block, Hillary Carlip, Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines, Los Angeles: Girl Press, 1998.

• Alex Wrekk, Stolen Sharpie Revolution: a DIY Resource For Zines and Zine Culture, 2002, 96 pp; 2nd ed., 2003; 3rd ed., 2005. [10]

• Elke Zobl, "Persephone is Pissed!: Grrl Zine Reading, Making and Distributing Across the Globe", Hecate 30:2, 2004, pp 156-175. [11]

• Stephen Duncombe, Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture, London: Verso, 1997; repr., Bloomington, IN: Microcosm Publishing, 2008, 256 pp.

• Elke Zobl, Do-It-Yourself. Feministische künstlerische Praxis am Beispiel von Zines und Magazinen, Vienna: Akademie der Bildenden Künste, 1999, 126 pp. MA thesis. [12] (German)

• Liz Farrelly, Zines, London: Booth-Clibborn, 2001.

• Chris Atton, Alternative Media, London: Sage, 2002, 172 pp.

• Elke Zobl, The Global Grrrl Zine Network: A DIY Feminist Revolution for Social Change, Vienna: Akademie der Bildenden Künste, 2004. PhD thesis. [13]

• Julie Bartel, From A to Zine: Building a Winning Zine Collection in Your Library, Chicago: American Library Association, 2004.

• Alison Piepmeier, Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism, forew. Andi Zeisler, NYU Press, 2009, 264 pp, EPUB. Publisher.

• Janice Radway, "Zines Then and Now: What Are They? What Do You Do with Them? How Do They Work?", 2009.

• Signs 35(1): "Comparative Perspectives Symposium: Feminist Zines", ed. Agatha Beins, Autumn 2009. Texts by Elke Zobl, Feminist MAF(I)A, Val Rauzier, Red Chidgey, Noya Kohavi, Jenna Freedman, Claire Villacorta, and lolagouine (aka Riot Coco). [14]

• Teal Triggs, Fanzines: The DIY Revolution, Chronicle Books, 2010, 256 pp. Features hundreds of reproductions of zine covers plus a history of fanzines and examination of various genres.

• Janice Radway, "Zines, Half-Lives, and Afterlives: On the Temporalities of Social and Political Change", PMLA 126:1, Jan 2011, pp 140-150.

• Marc Fischer, Underground Music Fanzines from the late 1980s-early 1990s, Chicago: Public Collectors, 2011, 28 pp.

• Elke Zobl, Ricarda Drüeke (eds.), Feminist Media: Participatory Spaces, Networks and Cultural Citizenship, Bielefeld: transcript, 2012, 292 pp. OAPEN.

• Kate Eichhorn, The Archival Turn in Feminism: Outrage in Order, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2013, xii+188 pp.

• Kate Eichhorn, Adjusted Margin: Xerography, Art, and Activism in the Late Twentieth Century, MIT Press, 2016, 216 pp. [15]. Reviews: Mosher (Leonardo), Horne (Radical Phil).

• "Zinedepo Manifesto of Radical Zineculture", Arnhem, n.d.

• Under the Radar: Underground Zines and Self-Publications 1965-1975, eds. Jan-Frederik Bandel, Annette Gilbert, and Tania Prill, Leipzig: Spector Books, 2017, 368 pp; repr., Dec 2019. Publisher.
  • Unter dem Radar. Underground- und Selbstpublikationen 1965–1975, Leipzig: Spector Books, Mar 2017, 368 pp. Publisher. (German)

• Miloš Hroch (ed.), Křičím: „To jsem já.“, Prague: PageFive, 2017. On Czech fanzines from the 1980s until today. English extract. [16] (Czech)/(English)

• Momo Nonaka (野中 モモ), Barubora (ばるぼら), 日本のZINEについて知ってることすべて　同人誌、ミニコミ、リトルプレス―自主制作出版史1960～2010年代, Tokyo: Seibundo Shinkosha, 2017, 319 pp. (Japanese)

• Artzines: "Brazil", Paris: antoine lefebvre editions, 2017, 35 pp.

• Art Libraries Journal 43(2): "Zines and Libraries in the UK", ed. Gustavo Grandal Montero, Apr 2018, pp 71-112. [17]

• Florian Cramer, "#Synchronicityofparasites @Zinedepo/Motel Spatie, 17-5-2019", Making Public blog, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 7 Jun 2019.

• Paula Guerra, Pedro Quintela (eds.), Punk, Fanzines and DIY Cultures in a Global World: Fast, Furious and Xerox, Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, xxi+210 pp. Publisher.

• Forum Historiae 14(1): "Fanzines in Historical and Interdisciplinary Perspective", eds. Karel Šima and Miroslav Michela, Bratislava: Historický ústav SAV, 2020.

• Forum Historiae 14(2): "Self-publishing and Building Glocal Scenes", eds. Miroslav Michela and Karel Šima, Bratislava: Historický ústav SAV, 2020.

• Miloš Hroch, Nico Carpentier, "Beyond the Meaning of Zines: A Case Study of the Role of Materiality in four Prague-Based Zine Assemblages", Communication, Culture and Critique 14:2, Jun 2021, pp 252-273. [18]

• Viktoriya Feshchuk (Вікторія Фещук), "Мистецтво, фан та активізм: для чого видають зіни в Україні", Chytomo, Dec 2021. (Ukrainian)

• Miloš Hroch, Vystřihni – nalep. Jak post-digitální tisk a ziny vzkřísily papírová média, forew. Nico Carpentier, Prague: Akropolis, 2022, 184 pp. Excerpt. Publisher. (Czech)

• Branden W. Joseph, Drew Sawyer, Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines, Phaidon, and New York: Brooklyn Museum, 2023, 448 pp. Publisher. Exhibition.

• more

Links

• Lisa Gitelman: Amateurdom and Its Discontents, Or, What Is a Zine?, keynote talk for the June 2013 Symposium on Emerging Genres, Forms, Narratives—in New Media Environments. Held by the North Carolina State University program in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media.