About Zine World

About Zine World

Zine World is a source for reviews and information about zines, comics, self-published books, chapbooks, and other DIY stuff. Often called the best review zine being published in the U.S., Zine World is an extensive guide to zine culture.

For more than 10 years, Zine World has been written, edited and published by an all-volunteer staff who believe free speech is for everyone, not just for giant corporations. We’re excited about the potential of the free press, and we want to tell you everything we know about it - which zines are terrific (and which aren’t); how you can find information and resources on exactly the topics you’re interested in; and the latest news of people being threatened, sued, expelled from school, or jailed for what they’ve said or written. (See a selection of content from recent ZW issues.)

Zine World covers culture outside the corporate confines. We review zines, books, comics, newsletters, one-shots, DVDs, posters, spoken word recordings, or anything else in almost any media on any subject — except music. Our focus is on material that’s not available through normal commercial channels, so you’ll find reviews of hundreds of handmade magazines, newsletters, and independently published books you won’t find anywhere else. Every review includes ordering information, so you can get this material direct from its publishers.

In addition to the reviews, Zine World covers news nobody else does: When publishers are brought up on charges for what they’ve published, when kids are kicked out of school for creating a zine, we try to spread the word, letting our readers know what they can do to help. In every issue of Zine World, small publishers let each other know which stores and zine distributors are trustworthy, and which aren’t. We run free announcements about upcoming events, and other underground projects worthy of your support. We offer free classified ads for DIY or counterculture projects (up to 50 words; limit one free ad per issue) and display advertising for ridiculously low rates.

Walk into virtually any corporate-owned bookstore in America, and you won’t find anything on any shelf that wasn’t designed, mass-produced, ordered, delivered, and stocked primarily for the purpose of making a profit. At its best, the underground press is the opposite of that. It’s not about how much money can be squeezed out of publishing. It’s about how much of the writer/artist’s soul he or she can squeeze onto the page. That’s why nobody on Zine World’s staff gets paid; we do this because we love it.

If you’ve published something, and you’re wondering how to get the word out to potential readers, please consider sending it to us. We’re interested in almost anything that isn’t corporate-controlled crap. Our pledge — to ourselves, to our readers, and to you — is that we’ll give everything a fair read and an honest review. Our circulation is small, but we’ve been told that a good review can result in dozens of orders.

If you’re a lover of zines, the DIY ethic, or underground culture, we hope you’ll consider ordering a copy of Zine World.