Free Range Zines (a new project)

I love zines. For those who don't know, zines are self-published little booklets. The term "zine" is short for "fanzine" because many of the early zines were homemade magazines created by science fiction fans.

Zines are scrappy little things. They're as varied as their creators, containing anything from comics to recipes to manifestos. They're usually low-tech, often hand-written or -drawn on printer paper, then photocopied and folded. And they're often free or low-cost and distributed outside of traditional channels.

I think my love of zines stems from my desire to make analog work and to get my voice out into the world in an immediate, unmediated way. I love writing picture books, plays and musicals, but there are so many steps (and gatekeepers!) between me and my audience. I got this idea that when I had an idea I wanted to get out into the world right away I could put it in a zine, then send that zine out into the wild. And so, Free Range Zines was born.

The first few I've made could be classified as political (about AI use, the Luddites, and resistance), but who knows, the next set might be more whimsical. I plan to print a few copies and leave them around for folks to find, with the hopes that they'll be left for others (or transported to a new location and find a new audience).

If you'd like, you can be part of the process by printing out your own copies of the zines and leaving them someplace out in the wild. Just go to the "Free Range Zines" page of this website.

And, as always, my work is proudly: