What is a zine and how do I make one?

A zine (pronounced 'zeen') is most commonly a handmade publication often made in small circulations, printed and bound using various methods and sizes. The topics are on absolutely anything you can imagine. Zines have historically been a platform for marginalised people to engage, express their ideas, document experiences and create alternative DIY methods of making, sharing, and community building. There are no specific skills required to make a zine, typically just a pen, some paper and an idea! 

We run zine-making workshops. If you are interested in creating your own zine for the first time we recommend attending one of these. 

Can I donate my zines to you?

We accept donations of zines, and we would love to add yours to our collection. Please see information about donating zines here.

Do you sell zines?

We do not currently sell zines, we operate as a reference library. You are welcome to come and browse our selection of zines during our opening times.

We do, however, have an shop in the library which sells a number of GZL, and zine-related products to help fund our costs.

Visit our shop here

How do I share or sell my zines? 

Zines can be shared for free or sold for profit. Many people choose to run their own Etsy (or similar platform) shop to sell their zines. We recommend donating your zines to your local zine library for their archive and for communal enjoyment.

There is a comprehensive list of zine libraries here

If you are selling them, we recommend contacting a zine distro, or applying for a stall at one of the many zine fest events throughout the country

A list of zine distros and zine fairs can be found here

Why does GZL catalogue its zines?

We catalogue our zines to keep track of them, to highlight gaps in our collections, to ensure we are getting as diverse a representation as possible in our collection, and to allow visitors an additional way to find and interact with our zines.

The zines are organised into categories. These categories are not fixed, and we hope to build upon them in the future with input from you.

We ask anyone donating a zine to us to choose the category they would like their zine to go in. We try to be as radical, inclusive and collaborative in our cataloguing as possible, encouraging anyone working on it to challenge how their experiences, identity, and privileges may impact their cataloguing decisions.

We are indebted to the work of Queer Zine Library who have informed much of our approach.

What is the online catalogue, and how can I access it?

The online catalogue can be accessed here.

We are still in the process of adding the titles of our zines in our collection to the online catalogue. We are also working on adding more information, including authors, descriptions of the zine, and images of the front covers of some zines.

If you see your zine in the catalogue with any gaps in information, please get in touch.

We are conscious of our responsibility in the processing of the personal data within zines; will avoid adding data to the online catalogue if we feel it could have an impact on the zine-maker, or if it is clear the zine was created with the intent of anonymity or being circulated only in a smaller, off-line context.

If you would like your zine removed from the online catalogue or if you would like your zine removed from the collection completely, please let us know.