In times when touch is prohibited, the tactility of a handmade zine might provide an antidote to quarantine loneliness. From documenting the crisis in street view screenshots to confessional letters chronicling lockdown life, to photographic surveys and explorations of everything from insomnia, illness, style and post-punk, these indie publications are a testament to imagination and ingenuity in spite of the current gloom. With many of the below publications making their past issues available for free or donating proceeds to charity and the NHS, there’s no better time than the present to support indie mags.
Paradise by Desire Press
Desire Press’ talent for elevating the mundane (see its photo project Ordinary Fragments) takes narrative form in Paradise, an ode to street signage. Born from a yearning for “the usual onslaught of signs before Lockdown Life,” Desire Press’ “poem for the times” portrays wanderlust from the safety of Google Street View. Void of context and location, Paradise allows the “aesthetics and stylistics of the typeface to be appreciated in a different light.” In assembling found words,“Prime Health 2 All, Taste World Unity” Paradise communicates a need for intimacy and care that goes beyond enshrining screenshots displaying desolate roads.
Immediately available to read here.
Isolate Zine
With a brief to “be creative and use what you have at your disposal,” this fundraising zine consists of 100 photographers “staying in and shooting out” from across the globe. An extensive study of the photographic medium under restraint, Isolate presents achingly personal depictions of confinement. Chronicling creativity in lockdown across 64-pages, Isolate Zine is available to pre-order now, with all proceeds going to the NHS front line.
Order here now and support the NHS.
Worms
Uniting literary style with style of dress, Worms investigates their mutual influence through thoughtful pieces by and about phenomenal female writers such as Kathy Acker and Natasha Stagg. Balancing in-depth essays with poetry and monochrome illustrations, this bi-annual journal probes themes of identity with an open mind. Produced in quarantine, the forthcoming Worms 2 has been a “blessing in disguise” and point of focus for Worms’ furloughed editor. “In the hope that people will be in need of reading material more than ever at the moment”, the second issue, ‘Revolting Women’ is now available to pre-order and features a tantalising line-up including Maggie Nelson and Tilly Lawless.
Issue 2 is available to pre-order here.
Alternative Strategies by Another Subculture
London-based post-punk and DIY newsletter Another Subculture have put together Alternative Strategies, a regularly posted bundle of “all the information a housebound punk will ever need.” Providing a printed platform for independent music happenings, Another Subculture has previously contained crossword puzzles, agony advice, exhibition reviews and guidance for safe nightlife. Made to “tide us all over until there’s gigs again”, the Alternative Strategies bundle is set to be just as broad-ranging, including interviews, columns, reviews, illustrations and some all-important lockdown animal crossing codes (!).
Sign up here.
The Civilization Letter Service by Civilisation
This New York-based publisher has deviated from its usual format of a manic broadsheet in light of the pandemic. Instead, Civilization is sending intimate letters about lockdown life to anywhere in the world. A mere $3-worth of irreverence, the previous letter included a 24-page book containing “broken hearts, butt stuff, better conditions, and stove top nachos.” Hand-written, photocopied, stamped, torn and adorned with stickers, Civilization has returned to the resourceful, cut-and-paste zine archetype. Amid so much social-distancing, it is reassuring to hold something so palpably hand-made.
The Civilisation Letter Service is available to buy here.
How to Sleep Faster by Arcadia Missa
An interdisciplinary journal series by South-London Gallery Arcadia Missa, its most recent winter issue investigates the notion of sleep under late capitalism. Pondering as to whether sleep is “an act of self-care, a chance for disavowal or a moment of defiance?,” this expansive publication includes contributions from artists and writers such as Eileen Myles and Penny Goring. A perfect read in the midst of Covid-induced insomnia, all ten editions of How to Sleep Faster are also available as e-publications, with 50% of all proceeds will be donated to The Trussell Trust and Covid-19 Akwaaba Emergency Fund.
Available to purchase and download here.
Good Press
The Glasgow-based champions of independent publications hold an incredible selection of books and zines, and although their physical shop may be closed currently, monthly tailored subscriptions ensure a fresh supply of reading fodder (as well as a tote bag, badge and occasional freebies.) Following the coronavirus outbreak, Good Press have been making a series of riso-printed bootlegged bookmarks, each paired with a specific charity, such as Women’s Aid, food banks and the campaign for phone top-ups for asylum seekers. Not only do all bookmark proceeds go to these charitable funds, you’ll also receive a “reading is sexy” bookmark truism free of charge.
Subscribe here.
Things we Liked This Month by Shy Bairns
A Manchester-based collective specialising in DIY publications and workshops, Shy Bairns’ collaborative practice explores the “the accessibility and interactivity of contemporary art.” Whether considering fan culture, or promoting Northern artists, their distinctive risograph design is colourfully accomplished. In the struggle to maintain a studio and remain independent, the collective have been printing exclusive monthly zines for subscribers in the form of Things We Liked This Month and Things we Didn’t. A joy-filled collection of “bits and pieces from the month gone by and gifting them back to you in a weird messy clump,” this limited edition booklet is brimming with recommendations to keep you occupied in lockdown.
Become a member here to receive their subscribers only zine.
Hate Zine
100% independent and ad-free, Hate Zine harnesses writing, photography, art and poetry to grapple with heavy topic—for example, its most recent issue tackles the taboo of death, resonating with the current crisis. Be it the destructive nature of gentrification, the death of a beloved cat or the demise of the planet, Hate’s playfulness and political-prowess makes a comprehensive case for accepting mortality. During lockdown, editor Luisa Le Vogeur Couyet has been hosting a weekly music party Hate the Haus and has co-founded The Artists and Freelancers Hardship Fund.
Available to buy here.
Ache Magazine
Entirely volunteer-run, Ache is an intersectional feminist magazine exploring pain, ableism, gender bias and health. Ache’s accounts of isolation and sickness are all the more pertinent against the backdrop of pandemic prejudice. Featuring fiction, interviews, art and poetry, this illuminating magazine skilfully depicts illness without melancholy. The third issue of Ache has just been published, whilst Issue One has generously been released as a free pdf to aid those in need of comfort whilst social distancing.
Order issue 3 here.