RPG Zine Exchange

[Christian Walker]

Christian here,

I ran this post by Clinton before posting, just to make sure it was ok.

Basically, I'm trying to give RPG print zines a kick in the pants. There has been lots of discussion here about an indie press rag and how it might best be done. I've been mulling it over and I think that individual zines would be great! Your zine could feature mini-games, rule variants, supplemental material, reviews of other folks' work, and so on. I think I've devised an apparatus that will - aw heck, just read the proposal. ;)

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I'm looking for gamers who are interested in publishing a zine, have published a zine in the past, or are currently publishing a zine. I'm looking for print zines, specifically. I publish a zine of my own, Scrollworks, and have dabbled with another called Iron Rations. Also, I'm currently assisting a few folks in the creation of their own zines - John Toppe's Gaming Chrestomathy, for example.

If you are unsure of what a zine is, exactly, here's a definition I really like: “Sort of a cross between a magazine and a long letter, mailed to whomever, whenever. The average zine publisher is a loveable nerd with no life. Like Urkel.” Heh. Zines are often published in "full size" (8.5" x 11", double sided, B&W), or in digest format. (5.5" x 8.5") They are published for fun, simply because an author enjoys sharing his or her ideas with others.

Print zines are in sad decline these days, although I really feel that the format has some life left in it. Personal zines (perzines) are still going strong, so maybe there's hope?

I have set up an exchange on my website to facilitate the production and distribution of zines. Basically, I want to help folks create their own zines, then assist them in getting their creations out to the gaming public. Since time, effort, and cost are often prohibitive, I've tried to spread the labor and expense between the creator, sponsor (me), and reader.

In a nut shell: A zine publisher will handle the printing of his or her zine. If necessary, I will do the printing and assembling for them, after a bit of PayPal compensation. ;) I will host the zines at the site, paying for web hosting, fulfilling orders, and pitching in money whenever necessary. Readers will be able to purchase the zines at a very low cost - just enough to cover postage really. The site operates on a not-for-profit basis.

You can learn more at the site, which I've dubbed the "Zine Exchange." There are submissions guidelines, compelling reasons of why zine publishing is worthwhile, tutorials, a forum for feedback, and a few zines for purchase.

Even if you are only slightly curious, I encourage you to check out the site, or to send me an e-mail. Zine publishing is a lot of fun. The exchange of ideas and the thrill of finding honest to goodness snail mail (other than bills) in one's mailbox can't be beat.

Take care and happy zine publishing!
The RPG Zine Exchange: //www.scrollworkspress.com/exchange.htm