Publications – OLD SCRATCH PRESS

The Zine Scene

Published on March 18, 2026March 20, 2026 by Beatriz F.2 Comments

If you haven’t delved into the Zine scene lately, you may be missing out! A zine, pronounced “zeen,” short for “fanzine” or “magazine” is a personal hand-crafted publication that can contain anything the creator’s imagination can supply and often devoted to unconventional subject matter!

Zines are made to share, trade, explore, discover and celebrate all modes of self-expression that can be printed: writing, art, photography. All you need to create a basic one is pen and paper. (A photocopier helps if you want to produce more quantity!)

My latest close encounter with zines happened when a professor at the university where I work asked to display her students’ zines in the library where others could read them or even take one with them if they wanted. She was teaching a class called Zine Writing and her students produced a variety of zines on fascinating topics ranging from their personal struggles with cultural assimilation to social justice issues affecting them and their families. I was really captivated by their insightful observations and the accompanying artwork, which included collages, flags, maps, masks, pictures of food, drawings and even a playlist!

These zines were tiny pamphlets cleverly folded from a single 8.5 X 11 piece of paper, but zines come in all shapes and sizes.

How-to Zine

A quick YouTube search will yield many zine-making tutorials:

This guide shows how to make a zine from a single piece of paper such as the students did—no staples required!

Find a Zine Event Near You!

If you want to fire up your imagination, you can view original zines or learn how to craft one at a Zine fair or Zine fest! Zine events take place worldwide; you can easily search for your city or region and zine fair/ zine fest / zine event and the current year to find a zine-making workshop at your local library or a zine festival that includes many publishers:

Printed Matter lists both national and international zine events organized by state or country.

Book and zine fairs – Printed Matter

Nicezines also lists worldwide zine events and other zine resources such as how to make them, price them and share them:

Zine events in 2026 – Nicezines

I found out the Miami Zine Fair is coming up in April:

Miami Zine Fair 2026

“Founded in 2015 by EXILE Projects as part of O, Miami Poetry Month, the Fair is a free, public celebration of self-publishing and independent print culture. Each year, it brings together over 150 artists, writers, illustrators, activists, and poets from Miami and beyond.

Visitors can explore hundreds of zines—handmade and expertly crafted—alongside workshops, performances, and multimedia projects.
Open to all ages and backgrounds, the Miami Zine Fair invites the public to browse, touch, and engage with the vibrant world of independent publishing.”

Zine New Wave

Some see the Zine resurgence as a response to an increasingly digital world:

The New Wave of Zine Culture: Why Print Isn’t Dead in 2025 – Mole Empire

One reason writers and poets are attracted to the zine medium:

”Zines offer an intimate platform for sharing personal stories, poetry, and experimental writing that might not fit into traditional publishing models.”

The above article offers advice on how to delve deeper into the zine culture:

“Zine Fairs and Festivals: Keep an eye out for local and online zine fairs. These events are fantastic opportunities to discover new zines, meet creators, and connect with the community.

Independent Bookstores and Art Spaces: Many independent bookstores and art galleries are now stocking zines, recognizing their cultural significance.

Online Communities: Platforms like Instagram and Tumblr host thriving zine communities. Search hashtags like #zine, #zinester, #diyzine, and #[yourcountry]zines to discover creators and connect with others.

Directly from Creators: Many zine makers sell their work directly through their own websites or social media. Support independent artists by buying directly!”

From LitMag News:

Inside Zine Festivals (and Why Zines Matter)

Ironically, as zines are ephemeral print matter by nature, libraries have been digitizing them for preservation purposes.

Zine Collections in Libraries, Books on Zines

Many libraries have Zine collections (aka Zine libraries)

Barnard College’s site lists Zine libraries by region

Zine Libraries | Barnard Zine Library

And guides to zine history, books on zines, zine collections:

What is a Zine? – Zines – LibGuides at University of Texas at Austin

Search Worldcat.org for books on zines held in worldwide libraries:

www.worldcat.org

Zine Culture

Even the Smithsonian has gotten involved as zines have grown in importance to our cultural development:

How Zines Brought Power to Those on the Margins of Culture

Specific subcultures have used zines to promote their ideas:

Riot grrrl – Wikipedia

“The movement quickly spread well beyond its musical roots to influence the vibrant zine- and Internet-based nature of fourth-wave feminism’

Zine Classes

Apart from the DIY classes offered by your local library or zine fair, school systems have zine programs added to their curriculums:

Zines for Progress | The Wolfsonian | Florida International University | FIU

“Zines for Progress (Z4P) is a Miami-Dade County public high school outreach program centered on addressing topical issues through zine-making.”

At my university I found yet another class focused on Feminist Zine Writing.

Zine Writing Virtual Gallery – FIU Digital Writing Studio

“Social critiques, personal diary rants and impassioned protests are just some of the topics commonly discussed within feminist zines. Zines are able to bypass traditional gate-keeping mechanisms that silence non-dominant voices and perspectives. As a result, zines offer a platform upon which feminists of all genders are using words, images and other non-violent discursive practices to advocate for equity, mobilize activist efforts and build and sustain community.”

You can see how zines have become a much-valued venue for self-expression!

Dip a toe in the zine pool and you might wake up a tsunami of creativity!

Thank you for reading and please follow us here and on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/OLDSCRATCHPRESS/

Beatriz F. Fernandez is a Miami area poet and University Reference librarian. She is the author of three poetry chapbooks, the most recent of which is Simultaneous States (2025) by Bainbridge Island Press. In 2025, she became a member of the Old Scratch Press writing collective.

(Pictures are of FIU students’ handcrafted zines and used with permission of the professor.)

Join us for a fun online mixer. March 28, 2 to 4 Pacific Time. Door Prizes, Activities, Free to Attend, Register today at currentwords.com/events.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7eRgLvBPSkuyhpUtgLlkdw#/registration

Want to Get Published? Where & How to Submit Your Work

Published on November 16, 2023 by Nadja Maril1 Comment

By Ellis Elliot

Sharing your work by submitting it for publication can be a daunting task in many ways, not only because it causes a vulnerability hangover, but also because it can be overwhelming and hard to figure out where to start. I’m hardly an expert, but I have submitted dozens of poems to literary journals and contests, and found a good bit of success, and this is what I’ve learned.

First, begin by stalking online and print literary journals. Find some you like and respect. Consider the type of writing you want to submit. You would not submit your Southern Gothic short story to a literary journal for Christian Sci-Fi (yes, that’s a thing). Find the right kind of “fit”, as far as genre and theme, for your work. See if the journal resonates with you. And while it is never wrong to “shoot for the stars” and submit to the New Yorker or another of that ilk, it also makes sense to spread your net wide, over a variety of journals, big and small.

How do you even find these journals in the first place? Maybe your school has one, or you can broadly search online for ones in your genre, and then read some. Read to get a sense of specific journals, and what all is out there.

Also, there are numerous free and paid websites that have lists of journals, and some can even narrow it down for you based on your preferences. A few I use are: Submittable, Duotrope, Poets and Writers magazine, Writer’s Digest, and Authors Publish. (See links below) These provide lists of publications, along with dates and details. Always check if there are fees involved, and choose wisely. I’m the first to admit, it is a lot of work to wade through the sea of lit journals in order to filter down to the ones you want, but once you find them, your list has begun, and from there you can only add to it. Plus, once those algorithms get in your computer, you’ll be getting all sorts of lit-related stuff, like it or not.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to the journals you want to send your work to, be sure to read the guidelines carefully. You don’t want your work tossed because you sent five poems when they asked for one, or sent a 500-word bio when they asked for 50.

Be prepared with a good cover letter, short biography, and a photo. Your cover letter should be addressed to the editor of your genre in that publication. It should be brief and can include references to the journal you’re submitting to, like how you enjoyed their recent issue on butterfly migration, but don’t overdo. They are there to read your writing, not your cover letter. Be sure to thank them for their time and effort, because it does require a lot of both.

The bio should also be matter-of-fact, including salient facts, like where you live, what job you have, or family and pets. Include any writing-related experience you’ve had, whether it’s school, workshops, or clubs. If you’ve been previously published, be sure to include those titles.

You can always throw in a little personality and add things like, “in my spare time I like to taxidermy butterflies and run on the beach.”

Finally, the photo. I recently paid for a headshot, but that was only after years of using shots I made my husband take of me immediately after I got home from the hair salon. Just be sure you have something ready to go.

Once you’ve sent your best work in the best way you can, you wait. Most lit journals get a boat-load of submissions and turn-over time can take months. When you get an inevitable rejection, know that the process is entirely subjective. If it is your best, then it is art, and no two people necessarily will see your art in the same way. If you get accepted, let that feeling cover you like syrup, do a happy dance, then get to work withdrawing from all the journals you sent that piece to. Most journals allow “simultaneous submissions” with the caveat that you alert them if it is accepted elsewhere. It’s a good problem, but necessary to maintain good

I write all of the above only after having made every conceivable mistake and had innumerable rejections. But, I have learned a lot along the way. Like anything, submitting is work, and a job unto itself. It is also well worth it when you have the satisfaction of seeing your work in print.

Ellis is one of our founding collective members. Her poetry collection, Break in the Field, is available for purchase here.

Below are some links to get you started on sending out your work.

https://www.submittable.com/

https://duotrope.com/

https://www.pw.org/