Confessions and the Denver Zine Fest

Sometimes I miss the mark. For years I was skeptical about Do-It-Yourself print projects called zines. The idea that a person would avoid editorial review, print something about their own lives, and then expect other people to read it seemed ridiculous.

I had a thousand conversations with friends about the limitations of the form and even when my friend was teaching a Zine class at a Chicago Highschool, I maintained my skepticism. It wasn't until I moved to Denver and met Kelly Shortandqueer, Anna Inazu, Nia King, and other local zinesters who patiently exposed me to their work that I began to get it.

I am always grateful for forgiving friends who allow me my skepticism, sometimes for years, before reaching an appreciation that a more intelligent person would achieve much quicker.

Now, having mostly recovered from that particular doltish skepticism I am really excited about the Denver Zine Fest put on my the good folks of the Denver Zine Library on Saturday, May 31st. The event will be filled with workshops, talks, and zine sales. Everybody should try to come down for a bit!

Nia King's Borderlands Project

Many of you are probably familiar with Nia King's zine Borderland: Tales From Disputed Territories Between Races and Cultures. Its available at The Queer Zine Archive Project. If not, not you should get familiar. And in the meantime, Nia has put out a call for submissions for Borderlands 2! The call is below:

I am currently seeking personal stories and visual art on the theme of FAMILY for the upcoming issue of my compilation zine about mixed-race, bicultural and transracial adoptee identities. Stories should be
non-fiction and no more than 800 words. No poetry please. Visual art should be black and white and replicate well in a copy machine (minimal grey tones). Submissions are not due until JUNE 1st, 2008, but please don't wait to start writing! Your stories are valuable, and it's time to bring our often neglected cross-cultural and multi-racial experiences from margin to center by telling our own stories!

Send submissions to oxette    (at)   riseup.net. -- Nia King