Zine recommendations

We’ve had a lot of questions via the internet about where to get good zines. It’s kind of hard to say “Everywhere!” without feeling a little unhelpful, so we’re going to stop telling people that zines are all around them and try to give a little direction. We’ll be posting here every few weeks or so with reading suggestions from trusted sources,  plus the information needed to get the zine for yourself. This first rec comes from LAZF organizer Bianca Barragan. 

What: Lady Teeth #2 by Taryn Hipp 
Where I got it: Gifted from a friend!
Why I liked it: Before I get going on this, I just have to advise you to talk about zines when you meet new people. Like, right off the bat. If someone seems interesting, tell them you like zines because you will eventually get people giving you awesome things to read. Case in point: this zine, gifted to me by Brodie Foster Hubbard of Fair Dig zine and Shakeytown Radio Hour. 37 pages fly by as Taryn talks about self-care, attending zine fests, keeping friends, getting healthy (mentally, physically), music, food, and a handful of other topics.  By the time I reached the back cover, I felt like she and I had gone on a really solid road trip together because we’d had such an in-depth, varied conversation. I have always been a huge fan of perzines because I can’t imagine myself spilling intimate words onto pages and then sending those pages out for other people to see.  I admire deeply the brave people who can do that repeatedly and always keep it engaging.  For this reason (and others, I’m sure), Taryn Hipp is a total badass.
Other places to get it: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ladyteeth

From Lady Teeth #2:

“The truth is, my life has never been better & it really sucks that I am missing it. I am so stuck inside my sick brain that I can’t appreciate it fully. Some days it feels amazing & I can actually see that. I can actually feel it in my gut, how wonderful life is & how it will be ok. I will be okay. But other days I take it for granted because I am in a dark, dark place.  I try to go outside, lay in the driveway with my dog & let the sun soak through my skin. I let it warm my bones & breathe life into my sadness. I dig in the dirt , plant things that will grow, vegetables & fruits to consume, herbs to dry & turn to tinctures to heal & I feel proud of my bounty, even when the bunnies chew up my tomatoes or my dog eats my strawberries.”

Great trades from Claremont Zinefest!

Trades garnered from Claremont Zinefest. We’re going to have a few more pictures and a recap up soon! If you’d like to see what the Claremont ZF was like, you should probably check out this recap.

It was great to meet some new people! We traded with A Shop Called Quest (Skinner; ColorInkBook), Rusty Jordan (History In Ruins), Zineworks (Pocket Guide to Being a Safe & Sane Zine Pal), Allied Forces Press (Raw Bones, New Observations, ALFQuarterly, Battle Toads), Julia Glassman (Formulaic), SPEW Stickers (Midnight Madness), and Camera Creeps (Loophole). The superheroes-as-cats-in-costumes cards are by Nathaniel Osollo.

“The greatest compliment we’ve ever been told was that they read it every time they’re on the toilet.”

Alxis Ratkevich covered LAZF for ESPN and already gave us this awesome snapshot of what she saw.  Guess she just had an excess of great footage, because this new video shows a different but equally awesome perspective of inspiring, creative people making cool stuff–be it zines about mind-altering drugs or punk rock, or a whole community.

May 18: Riverside DIY Print Fest!

Calling anyone and everyone interested in, and involved with zines, small press, self publishing, DIY printing, screen printing, trading, tabling, workshops, and other cool stuff! Join us!

Riverside DIY Print Fest 2013 happens on Saturday, May 18  from 1pm-5pm at Blood Orange Infoshop, located in the historic Life Arts Center. Registration forms will be available February 26.

If you’d like to get involved or volunteer, please email us! riversideprintfest@ gmail  com.

The good people who organize Riverside DIY Print Fest are friends and former tablers.   Tables are supremely affordable–register here!

Yumi Sakugawa’s Comic and Zine-Making Workshop: March 2

Learn how to create, self-publish and distribute your own hand-made comics and zines with comic book artist and illustrator Yumi Sakugawa!  The $15 cost of this 2-hour class includes the supplies and admission to the Japanese American National Museum, where the workshop is being held.

Yumi is the illustrator of “There’s No Right Way To Meditate”, a Skylight Books best-seller, and of the comic zine “Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years and Other Stories”, which was selected as Notable Comics of 2012 by the Best American Comics anthology. Her comics are on The Rumpus every Saturday. This workshop will be great!

UCLA’s new zine collection wants YOUR zines!

Stellar librarian Julia Glassman‘s proposal to start a zine collection was approved, and she is on the hunt for zines!

“The UCLA Library Community Zine Collection, housed in the Powell Library Building, aims to promote student writing, pleasure reading, and self-publication, with a special focus on zines by UCLA students and other local writers. We want to instill a sense in students that their words and stories add value to the media landscape. We also want to provide a resource for faculty who are using zines in instruction, and students who are interested in researching zines.”

The collection will have two parts:
1. a circulating collection of library-owned zines that you can check out
2. a “Take a Zine, Leave a Zine” box

They are seeking text-based zines for the circulating collection (with the exception of wordless comics and other visual narratives), but zines of all kinds are desired for the “Take a Zine, Leave a Zine” box.

You can recommend your zines for purchase by emailing Julia at jglassman@library.ucla.edu with titles and ordering information. And although they do want to support zinesters, they would LOVE some donations.

If you are a current UCLA student and you would like to be involved in this project, the collection will also be forming a committee of students, faculty, and library staff to help build the collection.  Email Julia to get involved!

Did you get your LAZF t-shirt? Totebag? Free kitten? Merch for sale!

That last one is not available on the website, but we DO have t-shirts, totes, stickers, and LAZF Guides to LA galore for you!  Up at the top of this site, you’ll find a tab that will take you directly there.

LA Zine Fest is completely funded by it’s lovely organizers and volunteers. Do you wanna help us out while looking fashionable at the same time? Take a peek at our merch that’s available for sale and think about throwing a few bucks our way. We can’t do this without you! So check out our merch and get them while they’re hottttt!

Thanks, L.A.!

We are so happy that everyone came out to see the amazing talent of the tablers, and to attend their workshops! Thanks also to our stellar volunteers–without them, we surely would have died on the spot at 3:00!  This was a lot of fun, and we’re excited to see you next year!