Research Guides: Zines: Physical and Digital Zines

Digital Zine Archives

Digital zines are zines that are created digitally or handmade and scanned to be distributed digitally. The goal of zine making is to distribute as much as possible, so many digital zines are offered for a low price or free.

You can find these on artist/zinester's websites and/or social media sites, Etsy, Big Cartel and other online shopping platforms, and zine websites among other avenues.

There are also zine archives that preserve and make zines from various decades and topics freely accessible through their website. Selected list below.

Black Zine Archive
The Black Zine Archive is a freely accessible site linked to a Google Drive with numerous PDFs of zines, newspapers and magazines. The goal of this project is to preserve black art and in turn, black history.
Feminist Zine Archive, Chapman University
Chapman University's Women's Studies department hosts a Feminist Zine Archive where anyone can browse a collection of writings and artwork depicting feminism and women's issues by a variety of creators. Each entry contains zinester information, publication date, a recommended citation and a download link.
The Small Science Collective
"Spreading science through our free printable library of mini-booklets -- zines! Made by seriously curious folks." Contains a zine library with various topics such as ecology, creatures, food and space + physics as well as make a zine and classroom support information.
Sherwood Forest Zine Library
This virtual zine library from Austin. Texas, includes hundreds of free downloadable PDFs and links to online readable zines. There are a number of different zine categories, including art, photo & design, BLM, comics, feminism, film, tv and theatre, gaming, literature, music and various culture's politics and pop culture categories.
UVA Zine Bakery @ Scholar's Lab
The University of Virginia's Library published a "Zine Bakery @ Scholars' Lab" project from 2018 to present, curated and maintained by Amanda Visconti. The Zine Bakery includes zines of feminist approaches to technology, digital scholarship tutorials, creativity and making and social justice advocacy. Linked is their digital catalogue focusing on culture, tech and justice.
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To learn more about the project and see the full site, visit zinebakery.com
TAMU Sandy Hereld Collection
The Sandy Hereld Memorial Digitized Media Fanzine Collection includes thousands of digitized images of media fanzines, letterzines and club newsletters from the late 60s through materials published online or in print in 2013. Productions chronicled particularly well include Beauty and the Beast, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter and more. Scroll down on the page to browse issues available for free.
Papercut Zine Library (Virtual Collection)
Click "View Catalog in New Window" to see the collection of zines that are available online as PDFs or other digital versions, through LibraryThing. Based in MA, the Papercut Zine Library contains an extensive, 16,000+ amount of zines free to browse onsite. Their virtual catalog contains about 1,021 zines.
The Corroseum Heavy Metal Fanzine Archive
This online repository of heavy metal fanzines notes the theme of the site as "anything from the earliest NWOBHM-pamphlets to late 80's/early 90's Thrash-rags". Scroll down the page and click on any thumbnail to immediately read the hundreds of zines collected and made freely accessible on the site.
Sprout Distro Anarchist Zines Archive
Sprout Distro is an anarchist zine distro, or distributor, and publisher with an online zine archive containing hundreds of anarchist zines. Zines are organized by topic, including anti-oppression, prisons, theory and accountability and consent among other topics. Zines are available in PDF to download, print and distribute.
Internet Archive: Zines
This is a collection of zines that can be found on the Archive. Zines are self-published, non-commercial publications with typically small circulations. They cover a wide range of topics with many focused on politics, art, creative writing, and personal theory. Zines are available to view and flip through directly on the site for free.
Library of Congress Zine Web Archive
The Library of Congress has a growing collection of zines. The Zine Web Archive was created to supplement the physical zine collection. The independent nature of these publications allows for an unprecedented freedom of expression, and as such, these materials are incredibly valuable primary source materials. The collection dates from November 2018 - present (ongoing).
Quarantine Zine Club
"Due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, it was with a heavy heart, Sticky Institute temporarily closed its doors in 2020. In response to this period of isolation, our volunteers created Quarantine Zine Club (QZC) - an online hub for zine enthusiasts! Our aim was to create an online space for people to engage with the spirit of zines and the zine community in these troubled times. As of April 2021, we are no longer accepting submission for QZC but would like to encourage you to have a read of the zines that have been donated to our Zine Library."

Physical Zines

Dallas College Zine Collection

Dallas College currently hosts a digital archive for student zines right on this guide, on the "Digital Student Archive" tab. Are you a student, faculty or staff at Dallas College? Contact us to inquire how we can add your zine!

Physical collection coming soon!

Where to Find Physical Zines

The best place to find physical zines are at local events! This includes zine fests, zine workshops and pop up art shops and markets and even some comic book stores and traditional bookstores. Some art houses and galleries will also offer zines for viewing and/or purchasing. Zinesters and artists will also host their own events, so you can follow some zinesters or dedicated zine accounts on social networking sites to stay up to date.

Zinesters will sell their zines through online platforms as well. Search for "zines" on online shop platforms like Shopify, Big Cartel, or others.

Here's a search for zines on Etsy.

Here's a blog post featuring zines on Big Cartel.

Here's a search for zines on Shopenvy.

Some libraries and archives will also offer zine collections, though some may not let you check out materials and will be "in library use only" so be sure to contact them beforehand to know what to expect.

Dallas Public Library
The Dallas Public Library offers a circulating (for check out) zine collection on their 4th floor, dedicated to the Art, Movies & Music Division.
UNT Special Collections
The University of North Texas (Denton, TX) offers a zine collection as part of their Special Collections found on the 4th floor of the Willis Library on campus. While they are open to the public, they are non-circulating, so you can only view the collection in the library and they will not be available for check out.
Deep Vellum Books
Bookstore and publisher that hosts an annual zine fest in Dallas. Their "independently published" section may feature zines!

Events

Zine events are the best place to find zines, connect with zinesters, grow your own collection, distribute your own work or immerse yourself in zine culture. Here are some local and state-wide events, but you can zine fests and events nationwide.

Dallas Zine Fest
Usually an annual event in the fall, the Dallas Zine Fest is the most well-known zine event in the metroplex. Check the "information" section of their website for more information.
Deep Vellum Zine Fest
Usually an annual event in the fall, this zine fest is hosted by Deep Vellum, a non-profit publisher in the heart of Dallas. Click the link to learn more about them and check their events calendar. You can also check their Instagram for the most up-to-date information on events, including their zine fest, at https://www.instagram.com/deepvellumbooks/
Denton Zine & Art Party
Held annually, the Denton Zine & Art Party is a multi-event, multi-media celebration of all things DIY zines, art, & music in Denton, TX. Free entry, open to all ages.
Lone Star Zine Fest (ATX)
Held annually in Austin, Texas. Lone Star Zine Fest is a free, fun, all-ages event featuring zine creators, collectives, distributors, retailers, libraries, and small presses sharing their amazing work and showcasing the diversity of expression made possible by independent- and self-publishing.
Zine Fest Houston
Zine Fest Houston is an event dedicated to promoting zines, mini-comics, and other forms of small press, alternative, underground, DIY media and art. Free admission, all ages welcome.
San Anto Zine Fest
San Anto Zine Fest (SAZF) is organized by Yanaguana-based Latina zinesters who are dedicated to prioritizing queer and BIPOC independently-published media to grow community and creativity in Texas and beyond. Zine fests took place from 2017-2019 and took a hiatus until returning in 2023. The link will take you to their website, but you can check their Instagram for updates here: https://www.instagram.com/sanantozinefest/

Digital Zines

becoming undisciplined: a zine
becoming undisciplined is a zine that speaks from/to what it means, feels, and looks like to be Black in relation to the university. The zine includes essays, poetry, art, and photography from fifteen black graduate students and artists. Contributors include: Aliyah Abu-Hazeem, Alex Cunningham, Camille Dantzler, Taylor M. Jackson, Ciarra Jones, Timnit Kefela, Y. Norris, Joshua Reason, Josalynn Smith, Tiffany Smith, megan spencer, Amoni Thompson-Jones, J. Victorian, Mariah Webber, and Lauren Williams.
Futuria Fantasia Fanzine by Ray Bradbury
Perhaps better known for his novels, including Fahrenheit 451 and A Sound of Thunder, a young, 18-year-old Ray Bradbury also created a science fiction fanzine called Futuria Fantasia. Though there were only four issues, the zine included a list of notable contributors and retroactively won a Retro Hugo for Best Fanzine of 1940. Project Gutenberg provides access to the four issues, among other works by Ray Bradbury.
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Futuria Fantasia, Summer 1939
Futuria Fantasia, Fall 1939
Futuria Fantasia, Spring 1940
Futuria Fantasia, Winter 1940
Filmme Fatales
A print zine about film and feminism with issues sold through Big Cartel. Based in Melbourne, you can find more information and images of some of the pages on the "news" tab.
Home Zine
Home is a print zine "about the people, places, feelings and spaces that we call 'home'" with issues sold through Big Cartel. You can find images and more information on their social media sites, including Tumblr, at tumblr.com/home-zine
Cherry
Published by Beth Dunne from 2014-2016, this London-based zine is a collaborative, creative project that incorporates photography, poetry, art, personal narrative and more. Issues are available for free on Issuu.
Crybaby
Crybaby is a literary magazine about Los Angeles' physical and cultural landscape by Crybaby Press. You can order an issue online or buy in person at select LA bookstores. The "archives" tab has more information and images of past issues.
Broken Pencil
Broken Pencil focuses on zine culture and independent arts. They include reviews of hundreds of zines and small press books, comics and excerpts from underground presses, interviews, original fiction and commentary on all aspects of indie arts. You can subscribe to view issues online or buy single print issues.

Selected Zine Collections

Collections in Texas (non-DFW)

Alkek Library Zine Collection (San Marcos)
The Texas State University in San Marcos contains the Alkek Library Zine Collection
UTSA Special Collections (San Antonio)
The University of Texas at San Antonio offers a zine collection that is open to all researchers with a photo ID, though they can not be removed from the library.
UH Archives and Special Collections
The University of Houston hosts many zine events, including UH Zine Week and participates in Zine Fest Houston. The Special Collections repository houses various zine collections.
UT Libraries (Austin)
The University of Texas at Austin has three different zine collections at their Fine Arts Library, the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection and at the Poetry Center inside of the Perry-Castañeda Library. Follow their guide for each collection to learn more.
TAMU Library (College Station)
Texas A&M University has a zine collection in storage, so advance notice or requests are required in order to retrieve the collection for viewing.
Austin Public Library
The Austin Central Library houses a zine collection on their 5th floor. They also offer Zine Nights and other events, digital zine repositories and local Austin collections, events and stores.

Collections Outside of Texas (US)