Meet JC, Author of tributaries

Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is JC and I’m a public librarian living in Maryland. This is only the third place I’ve lived in my life, the previous two being Illinois and Mongolia. My favorite things to consume are tea and popcorn.

Who or what are your influences?
I read a lot of non-fiction and memoirs, so I’m definitely influenced by the candor and frankness of those genres. I like learning about people, which makes my job as a librarian a great fit. My friends and fellow zinesters are my greatest influences, for being so brave and honest and amazing.

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
My zine tributaries is about my experiences growing up with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA). I’ve had a physical disability my whole life, and I touch upon how that affects work experiences, relationships, and daily machinations.

What is your most recent work?
Tributaries #4 is my newest issue, which discusses my diagnosis after several years of illness and is aimed at informing people about what JRA is and how it affects children and young adults.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
Seeing friends and making new ones! I also really like the drive between where I live near DC and Scranton. Pennsylvania knows its scenery. Last year I also remember going to eat some amazing vegan food afterward, so I’ll need to repeat that.

Meet Tony Majorino, Author of Chasm

Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Tony and I’m a full-time high school English teacher and part-time zinester. I love life (except when it sucks), people (except the mean ones), and new experiences (all apply). My zines function as a way of expressing things that weigh heavily on my mind or interest me at the time of writing.

Who or what are your influences?
The key influences of my zines stem anywhere from the aesthetics of the hardcore/punk scene, to a nostalgic projection of the things I grew up with, to a general love for creation and art.

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
I mostly discuss music, education, and anything personal that I feel the need to flush out of my system.

What is your most recent work?
My most recent work was the first issue of my gore-zine Spew which I co-created with Jessica Meoni this past summer.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
I am most looking forward to getting my third issue of Chasm out to the public and reading new zines from awesome people.

Meet Jeremy Chapline, Owner of Ink Plate Press

Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a self-taught letterpress printer with a BFA in Graphic Design from The College of Saint Rose, who has a passion for hand crafted, quality printed materials. Using 100% cotton paper and running my letterpress with a treadle helps decrease my environmental impact.

Who or what are your influences?
To me, life is all about the experiences and connections we make with others. I honestly believe sending someone a hand printed piece off cotton paper is one of the best ways to achieve these desired experiences and connections.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
I can’t wait to meet other artist and people from the community to create such connections.

Pennsylvania Printers

Hello everyone! This is just a quick update. I was just making a note of how many more zinesters from P.A. we have this year in comparison to previous years. Keep up the great work! We now have seventeen people signed up for the fest and it’s getting bigger every week. We’re so excited to see old friends and to connect with new ones. As usual, we are gradually assembling some badass care packages for you to oogle over so just hold tight!

Meet Lauren Geiger, Author of Minutes to Millenniums

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m from a small community called Salisbury Township, right outside the city of Allentown.  Writing is my playground.  I am thrilled to be part of such an empowering event!

Who or what are your influences?
Sandra Cisneros is my favorite.  My loved ones inspire me, as do all of thoseparticularly poignant, joyful, sad, and juicy tidbits found day-to-day in observations, conversations, and passers-by.

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
Sunny moments, blunders, inner conflicts… perzine stuff.  I once wrote a zine that tried to instruct (i.e. militantly command) the reader on how to be cheerful.  Lately, I’ve been having fun with fictional stories.

What is your most recent work?
A collection of short stories, poetry, and watercolor illustrations that I made for my high school graduation project.  I’m not giving away the title yet, because I’ll probably end up changing it!

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
Admiring such a broad variety of creative minds and works!

Meet Dave Gurz, Author of Usual Suspects

Tell us a little about yourself.
I live in a little borough south of Scranton, and I’m originally from around here though I’ve lived other places far away. Writing and photography are my main interests nowadays. I read my first ‘zine when I was 13 or so years old, and duly inspired have experimented in the medium a few times over the years.

Who or what are your influences?
My influences are mainly punk/hardcore subculture, as well as the issue of Cock Fight #1 I stumbled upon back in ’85. I’m also heavily influenced by Maximum RockNRoll columnist Mykel Board, Charles Romalotti, ‘zinewriters Ryan Mishap, Mike Antipathy, Al Burian and the photography of Christine Boarts-Larson. Plus, the typicals like Burroughs, Bukowski and the Situationist International.

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
I’ve tinkered with standard punk fanzine and photozine subjects in the distant past which didn’t get far at all, even by D.I.Y. ‘zine standards. My current projects are a continuation of the ‘zine I did while in prison (which ran a few years over about seven issues in the early aughts), as well as a collection of my writings that originally appeared in other formats. They’re all just collected photos, screeds, stories and observations, maybe too personal to be political ‘zine fodder and maybe too political to qualify as perzine.

What is your most recent work?
My most recent work is Usual Suspect #8, and Local Anesthesia — both of which will be finalized and available by the end of February.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
I’m looking forward to appreciating the work of other people’s ‘zines, and to exchange ideas and stories with folks.

Meet Rachel, Editor of Word Fountain

Tell us a little about yourself.
Word Fountain is a literary magazine founded by some creative minds at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  We strive to bring attention to creative voices of all types and ages.  Occasionally, we feature a special themed issue, such as our Flood Issue to help recovering flood victims.

Who or what are your influences?
Obviously, the library and literature of all kinds.  Music and Shakespeare are two main passions of the editors of this magazine.

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
Subject matter varies and can be heavily music-related in some issues.  Not surprisingly, a lot of the content is about love and loss.

What is your most recent work?
Our most recent issue is a special flood issue to benefit flood victims in Northeastern, Pennsylvania.  The content features themes from Hurricane Agnes and Hurricane Irene.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
It is always good to network with other creative minds.  There is always a positive vibe at these festivals.

Two Days Left

Attention zinesters, artists and readers alike! We are only two days away from reaching our $500 goal on Kickstarter. We have $120 of our $500. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed. It means a lot! Here is an explanation of the pledge amounts and incentives:

If you pledge $5… you are entitled to one food option from our delicious local caterer. You also get some neato bragging rights for supporting our cause and a sweet handwritten thank-you note sent to your home with love!

If you pledge $10… you will receive all the aforementioned rewards, along with a handcrafted, letterpressed certificate of our finest approval. We recommend framing it and putting in your office, or your make-believe office at in your bedroom, next to your boy band posters.

If you pledge $15… you will receive all the aforementioned rewards, along with a sweet handmade patch and button set. Every stitch is made with 100% pure love. Honest!

However, if the goal is not fulfilled, no one gets these awesome items delivered to their homes! (Fear not though, we’ll probably have them at the fest, anyway.)

Meet Rachel, Author of Vital Signs

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 22-year-old student, feminist, lesbian, Puerto Rican (and an amalgamation of other labels, I’m sure) who has lived primarily in Boston, MA and Frederick, MD. I’ve been reading zines since I was 13 but only started making them about a year ago. I love cat videos on the Internet, dresses with boots, and the People of Color (PoC) Zine Project.

Who or what are your influences?
I played a lot of video games (especially RPGs) when I was growing up, which first got me interested in storytelling. More recently, the perzines I’ve read, punk rock music, and the works of radical women of color like Angela Davis have helped encourage me to talk about my experiences and analyze how they’re situated in the larger picture.

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
Racism, weird things people say on the Internet, the intersections of aspects of our identities that make us who we are, my mother and her influence on me, assimilation/resistance… basically whatever I’m having deep thoughts (or not) about at any given time.

What is your most recent work?
Vital Signs – it’s a perzine about leaving nursing school and the factors that led to that decision, as well as what has been happening in the aftermath. I’m hoping this becomes a multi-issue thing instead of a one-shot like all my other zines.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
Well, this is the first fest I’m tabling at which is really exciting! I’m also looking forward to visiting Scranton (I don’t think I’ve ever been) and seeing the scene there, and couchsurfing for the first time. All sorts of firsts!

Meet Matt & Kseniya, Brooklyn Zine Fest Organizers

Tell us a little about yourselves.
We are partners in almost everything we do, though Kseniya is better at most of it. As the organizers of the Brooklyn Zine Fest (second annual is Sunday, April 21st 2013 at Public Assembly in Williamsburg!) and in our own zines like I Love Bad Movies, we’ve gotten to work with so many amazing writers and artists that it’s almost embarrassing. And every time we get a new bookcase, it is immediately filled.

Who or what are your influences?
Matt: I’m interested in the places and stories you don’t usually see and hear. Davy Rothbart tells the untold tales in his own writing and as the editor of FOUND Magazine, and his work has long been a spirit-guide in my own.

Kseniya: Julia Child, for her zest and spice of life more than her cooking. She took a few decades to figure out what she wanted and loved to do, which is comforting since those things aren’t immediately clear for everybody. As she wrote in My Life in France, “The pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite – toujours bon appétit!”

What subjects do you touch upon in your work?
In an abstract way: dedication and (healthy) obsession about art and other people.

In a straightforward way: good movies, bad movies, game shows, geography, body parts (mostly human), Internet dating, and cultural history.

What is your most recent work?
Matt is putting the final touches on Come on Down, a zine of essays by game show contestants, writers, producers, and viewers, about a whole slew of shows that you’ve watched many times.  It’s a collection of glimpses into a very polished world that doesn’t normally open itself up to the curious.  Every piece is revealing and fascinating in different ways.

Kseniya just finished Fig. 1, the first in a zine series that celebrates weird, bold, and occasionally uncomfortable diagrams collected from a huge range of books and pamphlets.  This one is themed “Human Bodies,” so there’s plenty of awkward situations.

What are you looking forward to most at the fest?
Mostly, we want to incite a terrible rivalry between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre that turns brother against sister and frenemies into actual enemies.  But once that’s done, we (lacka)wanna meet new folks from the northeast reaches of Penn’s Woods and read the stories they’re telling.

Photo credit by Anna White.