First things first, what are zines??

Zines are a collection of self-published work of ideas, poetry, art, fanzines/fandoms and pretty much anything you could ever imagine, usually in book format.

Just remember, zines can be absolutely anything! From a piece of writing in an envelope to sketches in an old notebook, it’s all about sharing and creating.

This is just one way of making a zine!

Materials

Delving into the zine universe: all you need is paper, scissors, pen and your imagination!

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Step one: folding 

Fold your piece of paper horizontally in half.

Fold in half again, vertically.

And then again vertically.

When you unfold it, there should be eight rectangles.

You can do this on any size piece of paper it just depends on how small you want the pages to be.

https://giphy.com/gifs/zine-8dzacgqtI2JQA

Step two: the content

Now this is where your imagination comes in.

You can put anything you want in your zines! The options are endless!

If you are stuck, here are some ideas:

• Poetry
• A comic zine
• Collaging
• Anecdotes
• What you do in a day
• Photography
• Rants
• Fanzine
• The great adventures of Mr Higglyoppoulus.

Step three: getting them out there

Photocopying is huge in zine culture, so photocopy as many as you like!

Force your friends to buy them.

Place them conveniently in libraries, trains and other public spaces.

If you’re in Australia, you can send them to the zine shop Sticky in Melbourne and they’ll sell them for you!

Selling them online (etsy, storenvy, bigcartel) and at community markets and art fairs.

Step four: getting involved

There are heaps of zine fairs around Australia, along with writers festivals in which you can learn more about zines and sell zines. You can always support other fellow ziners by buying their zines at markets, fairs, shops and festivals.  

Step five: EXTRA SHNAZZLES!

You can add fold outs and pockets with secret messages and LOTS AND LOTS OF GLITTER!!!!

Zines are all about creativity and having fun!