‘Zine author Tori Holder, whose work focuses on personal narrative, will never forget the moment when someone read her zine “Relationshit” at a ‘Zine Fest. “I had someone start crying while they were reading the zine, and that was just so incredibly visceral for me,” Holder said. “It was a feeling of connectivity that, as someone who's highly introverted, I don't often get.”

Holder isn’t alone. Enthusiasts say that in an era of virtual communication, visual manipulation and online everything, they’re drawn to the authentic, DIY connection of the hand-made, self-published leaflets, and the deeply personal perspectives they represent. “For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction,” said Sarah Bennett, long-time zinester and co-founder of Long Beach Zine Fest, “so for the younger generation, who may not remember a life without computers, a tactile medium like zines is probably game changing.”

Zines first emerged as a counter-cultural form of expression in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s before all but disappearing. Then, in the early 2000s, they began re-emerging. Five years ago, there were four zine festivals in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Now there are more than two dozen. In 2017, Kanye West released a zine in tandem with the sale of Yeezys. In 2019, the LA Zine Fest showcased the work of some 200 authors.

Karen Joyce, author of Yellow Stained Blue zines, says the simple act of picking out what paper to use is an essential part of the zine-making process. “People say that even though we're connected online we're disconnected in the physical world,” she said. “I think it's comforting to have something in your hands.”

Jen Hitchcock, owner of Book Show in Highland Park, has a section dedicated to zines.

In the 90s Hitchcock interviewed bands she loved and published her work in her own music and humor zines, which simultaneously immersed her in the zine culture of the era.

“Carrying zines in my store has kept me connected with that culture,” she said. “The big thing about zines is the process of making them. People are looking for that organic feel to what they do, and zines seem to be a really good outlet.”

Hitchcock refers to Book Show as a place of discovery for zines. She recounts a high school girl coming in and showing her poetry on her phone and asking, “So I can put this in something like this, like a zine?”

“Yeah, you can do it tonight!” said Hitchcock, “Anyone who walks their zine down here, I will always carry.”

Brief History of Zines

Taken from the word “magazine,” zines are self-made, folded, and sometimes bound, pieces of paper that express the author’s thoughts or artistic creations. Historically, ideas expressed in zines are countercultural or simply not mainstream. Identity politics, mental health and personal narrative are just a few of the topics seen in today’s zines. One could say the very nature of zines defy a clear definition because they’re so versatile.

When exactly zines emerged is a point of dispute. Some say the first zines were borne out of the fanzine (short for fan magazine) circulating among science-fiction enthusiasts in the 1930s. However, based on the self-published and DIY nature of zines, the inception could even hearken back to the creation of the Gutenberg printing press in 1517, when self-publication began.

Zines, however, found a home within the DIY punk culture and the invention of the Xerox machine throughout the 70s to early 90s. “Zines preceded punk, but punk clearly re-energized and transformed the zine world,” writes Kevin Dunn in the book “Global Punk,” “self-publishing was a perfect match for punk and its DIY ethos.”

Then, in the 90s, the Riot Grrrl movement transformed zine culture, championing the medium as a way to express feminist ideas challenged in the mainstream. Riot Grrrls wrote about serious issues like sexual abuse, eating disorders and critiques on mainstream media’s treatment of women.

“They called for young women to come together and speak out about the sexist practices in the punk scene as well as their daily lived experiences,” writes Rebekah J. Buchanan in “Writing a Riot.”

It’s no wonder zines have made a comeback in today’s political climate when the sitting president has admitted to grabbing women “by the pussy.” Marginalized communities of today find a home in zine culture, with its historical ties to activism and uplifting the disenfranchised.

Zine Fests Foster a Sense of Community

Although technology has enhanced the zine-making process (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.) and the internet has made forming community easier (there are zines that live online x, x, x), the real human interaction that comes with the community can’t be replaced. This is where zine fests come in.

Zine fests are where people can come together, sell their creations and meet fellow zine-makers. With 26 festivals currently in Southern California, people have plenty of opportunity to showcase their work and meet others with similar, niche interests.

“Talking to the author is kind of like a right-of-passage,” says Bennett. There’s authenticity in meeting the author face-to-face.

At fests, creators sell zines for a couple of dollars apiece and other DIY ephemera like stickers and pins. However, the aim of zine festivals isn’t to make a profit. In fact, the cost of making them often exceeds the amount of money gained back. The very nature of zines is anti-establishment and, therefore, anti-capitalist.

“Anybody that gets into it for money is kidding themselves,” said Ewa Wojciak, an Associate Professor at USC’s Roski School of Art and Design. Wojciak has been in the zine scene since the 70s before people really started using the word “zine.” “[People] go because they want to trade with friends and see friends and communicate with friends,” Wojciak said.

A Platform for Social Change

Zines are also a great medium for people to express ideas they don’t want published in a formal setting. “With the publishing process, there tends to be a lot of middleman kind of business…whereas with the zine it’s just the direct line,” said Robey Clark, co-founder and owner of Pop Hop Books, “it’s just a straight shot from their mind to yours.”

Social media is a hotbed for ideas to be critiqued, picked apart and destroyed; people are criticized for being too progressive, others for not being progressive enough. In an age where cancel culture runs rampant online, the zine platform is a therapeutic alternative.

The San Fernando Valley Zine Fest, showcased educational zines on gender identity, experiences as a disabled person (Perfectly Disabled), stage fright and anxiety among POC musicians (Yellow Stained Blue), a mini-zine on the author’s cat (Salt Water Zines) and Growing Up Emo (Annie Nishida).

Zines can be about, but are not limited to, social issues and activism. Though, the nature and history of zines and zine fests allow people to be more vocal about issues affecting them personally. However, no one is criticized for whether they want to espouse feminist ideals or talk about succulents. In fact, one author may have zines about both.

It also seems like modern zine culture is lending itself to more layers of diversity. Jennifer West, Associate Professor at the School of Roski who teaches a class that examines the Riot Grrrl movement, says she’s noticed this at today’s zine fests.

“I think it's much more diverse than the Riot Grrrls, even though there were some really important zines made by Asian American and African American Riot Grrrls,” says West, “I feel like it's definitely much broader and just so much more diverse and, yeah, it's great because that's how it should be.”

Wendy Yao, who was a member of the Asian American Riot Grrrl trio Emily’s Sassy’s Lime, says she didn’t find zine culture in the 90s particularly exclusionary. Rather, she says, “zine-making has gone through different waves in terms of what was popular in its content, and at different times it appealed more or less to POC audiences.” However, Yao said that these days, “the zine community is continually becoming more diverse.” Because there really are no barriers to zine-making, anyone is able to participate.

Throughout history, zines were consistently a reaction to the current social climate, which may be why more people are gravitating to this platform for self-expression now. “I think there's a lot of suppression of personal voice going on right now,” says Wojciak, “Print has always communicated to subcultures and it's always been a way of forming these communities.”