July is International Zine Month. It is the perfect time to connect with audacious authors publishing content not widely available in many periodicals. Zines are collectible, shareable, and, most of all, they’re entertaining to read.

Zines provided socially and culturally relevant content to readers at a time when the internet was just a concept. They were independently published and penned by writers who had something to say but wanted control over the creation and distribution of their work. This made zines especially popular with musicians and other artists who didn’t trust their work to the establishment or couldn’t find support among mainstream publishing outfits. Zines are inexpensive to make – they’re typically just pieces of paper folded together and stapled in the middle. They can be produced by hand or with basic computer equipment and a home printer. Many zines are handed out to passersby, but libraries, book stores, and even blogs provide excellent ways to deliver these works to the public. They say so much and offer their readers a chance to connect with creators and material that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

“From A to Zine” author Julie Bartel once wrote about zines, “…if we as librarians do not give authority, respectability, and support to new ideas and new voices, who will? If we do not provide our patrons with access to revolutionary ideas and methods of communication, who will?” This is precisely the intrepid spirit that zines give the world. Creators decorate their zines with collages and other original artwork. Occasionally, they take liberties with the layout of their zines, writing in the margins or alongside printed text. Zines challenge. They haunt. They titillate.

The animal rights movement and other social justice initiatives have provided rich content for zine creators. Rabbits Road Press offers an entire library of printed material for eager readers. The studio and publishing press released its Animal Themed Zine Pack – 3 Zines, including the title, “What Animals Think.” Farm Sanctuary’s Youth Leadership Council even produced its own zine called “YLC Zine,” created by students to inform readers about the perilousness of factory farms.

For anyone looking for a new and creative way to speak out against animal abuse, factory farms, and animal agriculture, zines are a fantastic way to do so. Zines spark change and inspire a revolution. They also offer parents and guardians a unique opportunity to pull young people away from their game consoles and engage them in a creative medium that challenges them to think and advocate. 

Sources: Rabbits Road Press, Goodreads