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Zine(s)

pronounced "zeen" ZINE (n): A zine is a self-published, non-commercial print-work that is typically produced in small, limited batches. Zines are created and bound in many DIY ways, but traditionally editions are easily reproduced—often by crafting

Zine History

A (very short) timeline of zine history:

  • 1517?: Luther’s 95 Theses as the first major zine (specific, self-made and published)
  • 1770s: American Revolution broadsides
  • 1920s: Surrealist and dada (artists and the avant garde critique of the bourgeois)
  • 1930s: Sci-fi (fans met at conventions and readings; the publication of zines such as Amazing Stories and Weird Tales)
  • 1940s: Beat poetry chapbooks, such as Allen Ginsburg and San Fran friends
  • 1950s: Samizdat (Soviet Union DIY; this was literature secretly written, copied, and circulated in the former Soviet Union and usually critical of practices of the Soviet government)
  • 1960s: Comics (industry news and information magazines, such as The Comic Reader, as well as interview, history and review-based fanzines)
  • 1970s: Punk fanzines and zines (zines about established punk culture, bands, direct action and non-conformity)
  • 1990s: Riot grrl zines 
  • Today: Zinefests, zine distros/small presses, and zine libraries galore!

-from Conner-Gaten, A. (2019). Zines 101 [PowerPoint slides].

Source: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/zines101/history

Note: This timeline is Western-centric in its current form.