Zines are self-published works, typically handmade and distributed outside of commercial channels. Their DIY aesthetic reflects their DIY ethos, which embraces underrepresented voices and alternative viewpoints.
Here’s a sampling of digital zines. Check them out, and for more, check out the BMCC Zine Library and our reviews of selections from this library.
- Let’s Make a Zine! (Digital PDF | Print PDF)
Explains the author, Olivia M.: “Here’s a zine I made about zines; what they are, a little about their history, how to make them, what to do with them, and where to find them. . . . Feel free to make copies and share, but make sure the credit to me and Creative Commons license info [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] is present on the back page and don’t sell it for profit. If you use anything I wrote or drew in the zine, please credit me.” - The Combahee River Collective Statement
Designed by artist Zoë Pulley, this printable zine presents the classic 1977 Black feminist text. Via Printed Matter, Inc., an NYC non-profit that promotes and disseminates artists’ books. - Gay Plants, Issue One: Monsters (Digital PDF | Print PDF | B&W Print PDF)
“This is a zine for queer and trans people who have relationships with plants. That is to say, who relate to or interact with them in some way. Perhaps while healing ourselves. Hopefully while becoming stronger (or, to echo the title of a soon-to-be-published book that we like the sound of, ‘Becoming Dangerous’). Definitely in the process of decentring, questioning or ‘queering’ the human.” - Rising Together | a Digital Archive/Exhibition of Zines with a Social Conscience
This digital exhibition from the College Book Art Association (CBAA) includes single-sheet, eight-fold zines that “react and give voice to issues of social justice, power, politics, and environment.”
