Category: Zinester Profile

One of the best aspects of organizing a zinefest in your own neighborhood is that it gives you the opportunity to learn of more and more zine projects being done right in your own backyard!

Such is the case with today’s zinester, Brooklyner Marta Lapczynski. Here’s her bio:

Marta Lapczynski eats, breathes, & dreams the DIY ethos. When she’s not coordinating shows or other community events at Fat Heart House where she resides in Brooklyn, she’s poring over the work of Fat Heart Press, her smallscale DIY publishing company & zine distro, scheming on the deconstruction of systemic oppression, wandering aimlessly through wooded areas outside of the city, nuzzling dogs, riding bikes, making coffee, or singing whimsical songs to no one in particular.

Anyone either living in or visiting Brooklyn should check out Fat Heart House, which hosts DIY community events, including swap meets, skillshares, and music performances.

Today we’re proud to present a seasoned zinester, Maranda Elizabeth, who’s been creating zines for a solid 10 years!

Here’s their bio:

Maranda Elizabeth makes the perzine Telegram Ma’am, 24-hour zine Little Acorns, and fiction zine Edith. They have been making zines for about a decade, and tend to write about mental health, self-care, finding & making a home, daily adventures, their bike, learning processes, & gender/queer stuff.

They have a blog at http://marandaelizabeth.com, and their zines are available at http://schoolformaps.etsy.com.

And below are some photos from their rad zines, placed upon charming flower backgrounds…

Meet melissa ann!, creator of the long-running perzine she’s so very…  The description on her blog of #15, the most recent issue, reads:

This issue details my Lady Gaga tribute band, joining the Bloomington Burlesque Brigade, attending a Birth Doula workshop, seeing Crispin Glover and Chris Hardwick and my overwhelming obsession with Depeche Mode.

In her own words, melissa ann!  is a feminist zine writer living in Bloomington, IN and has been making zines for 10 years. she is currently working as a mental health professional and is also a burlesque performer and birth doula.

Here’s a cover shot of the zine’s very first issue, published back in 2002:

Today we’re delighted to blog about local zinester Shawn(ta) Smith, creator of the Black Lesbians in the 70s Zine!

Here’s Shawn’s bio:

Shawn(ta) Smith is an Archivist, a librarian, a writer, and a Zinester.  Shawn is an Archivette and Coordinator at the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and a producer of Theater at the WOW Cafe Theater, where she is proud to contribute to Rivers of Honey, a space highlighting the art of womyn of color.  Her librarianship is academic faculty or young adult, and always reference.  So ask her about books, she might know a thing or two; she’s been known to answer to “Your Lesbian Librarian”.  She just finished a year at StoryCorps, a national oral history project, as the Archive Coordinator, and will continue this year pursuing creative projects, starting with finding a publisher for her Anthology: Her Saturn Returns: Queer Women of Color Life Transitions.  You can find out more about Shawn at hersaturnreturns.com

Shawn also provided us with some really great info about her zine:

Fifty copies of the Black Lesbians in the 70s Zine will be available at the Zine Fest.

As we’re a Brooklyn-based zinefest, it is our pleasure today to introduce a hometown zinester- June Dee, creator of the zine Words Are Not Enough.

Here’s some more info about June and Words Are Not Enough:

My name is June, and I wrote this zine because I wanted to share my experiences working with survivors of domestic violence and homelessness. I hope that folks read this and don’t just feel sad, but feel persuaded to step forward and work to support those who experience violence in realistic, caring, and community oriented ways.

As for me, I no longer work in shelters, and reside in Brooklyn in a house full of cute cats and queers.

Today’s profile is of zinester Stephanie Basile! This is very exciting to Kate, as the two of them initially became friends at Bluestockings years ago through Steph’s longtime zine, Suburban Blight!

In Steph’s own words:

Stephanie Basile is a union organizer who lives in NYC. She is interested in radical politics, particularly anarchism, syndicalism, and feminism. She started Suburban Blight in 2004, editing regular issues until 2007.  She is excited about releasing a new issue of her after her haitus.

Here’s the cover of the newest issue of Suburban Blight, published at the end of 2010 :

Today’s post is a double feature, profiling both NYC-based zinester Jenna Freedman and the Barnard Zine Library, an amazing collection which she has been managing for years.

About Jenna:

Jenna Freedman has been making her annual zine, Lower East Side Librarian Winter Solstice Shout Out, since 2001 and began including a reading log in 2002. She has also made a few one-off zines, including a zine chronicling a 9-city tour she did this summer with three other librarian zinesters. By day she runs the Barnard Librarian Zine Collection and is also Director of Research & Instruction Services at Barnard. Another of her endeavors is Radical Reference, a group of library workers that see to the need of activists and independent journalists and establishes local collectives that serve as affinity groups for like-minded librarians.

Here’s one of Jenna’s most recent zines being enjoyed by a cute feline friend:

If you’ve never been to the Barnard Zine Library you should absolutely make it a point to visit. Jenna wrote the following blurb to describe the parameters of the collection:

Barnard’s zines are written by women (cis- and transgender) with an emphasis on zines by women of color. We collect zines on feminism and femme identity by people of all genders. The zines are personal and political publications on activism, anarchism, body image, third wave feminism, gender, parenting, queer community, riot grrrl, sexual assault, trans experience, and other topics.

The Barnard Zine Library even publishes its own zine!

And now for another zinester – – K Funk!

K makes comics – queer, radical, political comics that cover everything from Dan Savage to”patriarchal ownership blood diamonds” and manarchists. His funny, appealing work puts a great spin on many popular topics – plus, it’s always awesome when you’re reading along, and suddenly “a wild radical feminist” appears in the next panel. Check out the samples of their work below…

Info:

website: kfffunk.tumblr.com
contact: kfunkcomics@gmail.com

Who is K Funk?

In his own words: K Funk is a writer who draws, currently surviving his last year of undergrad. He majored in being unemployed and living in his parents house in New Jersey. Inspired by his gender studies degree and his life as a big queer, he writes and illustrates autobiographical comic books and absurd cartoons about queer politics and feminist theory. He is particularly interested in critiques of mainstream “gay and lesbian” politics, and is inspired by a broader pursuit of social equality that includes racial and economic justice. Not only has he used comics in academic and political pursuits, he also runs a website and pens a zine under the name “Loud & Queer.” K tells bad jokes and plays drums in Shady Hawkins.

And another comic – –

Introducing, the folks from Hoax Zine!

Hoax Zine is a collaborative zine, and sometimes gets up to 76 pages (wow)!
This is a nice hefty zine, with a lot of dense and awesome writing/nonfiction/art by a wide variety of people.

In their own words, and with a call for submissions:

About Hoax Zine:
Hoax Zine is a feminist & queer collaborative zine attempting to find the connections between us despite our differences. Thus far, we have completed six issues on the topics of relationships, health, history, community, and communication. We are currently taking submissions for hoax #7 – feminisms and change. Feminists of all backgrounds and genders are encouraged to submit! Email us – hoaxzine (at) gmail (dot) com!

About the Editors:

sari is a 24 year old pennsylvania native tryna make ends meet in baltimore. their other main zine endeavor is the perzine you’ve got a friend in pennsylvania. they are currently writing several zines simultaneously, with topics such as depression & suicide, growing up, one’s relationship to femininity & masculinity as a non-binary trans* person,
dating straight-identified men while identifying as queer, challenging the oppressive dynamics of punk, and a queer feminist harry potter fan fic centered around hermione granger. they think they wanna be yer best friend (and pen pal), yeah.

rachel is a 24 year old feminist zinester with roots in new york city and baltimore, maryland. she co-edits hoax & has additionally written two perzines – “a tale of two cities: baltimore vs. nyc” (a zine about growing up in the big apple & integrating oneself into a new community) and “reimagining queer community” (a personal investigation into an evolving relationship to a queer identity and creative participation in queer spaces). rachel is stoked to be premiering her newest zine “stuff ‘progressive’ kids don’t want to hear: a journal of unpopular opinions,” a collaboration with jamie varriale velez, at nyc feminist zinefest. she loves making new feminist friends and cannot wait to meet y’all in february!

NYC Feminist Zinefest is delighted to introduce Midge, creator of the zines LOUDMOUTH, Furr, and Riot Grrrl Revival. A recent art school graduate, Midge has a really cool Etsy store where you can check out her zines, prints, buttons, and other goodies!

Here’s an except from one of Midge’s zines:

Who is Midge? In her own words:

I’m a feminist artist/recent graphic design graduate/crafter! I make my feminist art almost solely to put in my zines. I love to make quirky drawings and collages with strong messages behind them, because of love the juxtaposition of the two. I currently live in long island, and if I’m not making zines I can guarantee I’m making another craft of some sort, using my endless abyss of ideas, while staying highly caffeinated.