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Revision as of 22:10, 27 May 2004 by 128.223.218.5 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)A zine is a low-volume, periodic publication distributed to satisfy the publisher's whim (desire) rather than for profit. While 'zine is obviously a contraction of the word magazine, some 'zine writers like to believe otherwise and the exact etymology is therefore controversial.
The exact origins of the zine and the moment when the word was first used are likewise controversial. It appears likely that zine was invented independently by several subcultures, among them political groups, science-fiction enthusiasts, poets, and literary writers.
Topics covered are broad, and continue to include political, social, or sexual content sufficiently far outside the mainstream to be published in more traditional media.
Zine Guide is a contact list available at some news stands that lists titles and publishers of 'zines. Factsheet Five was one such contact list but has been on hiatus since 199a8.
Zines have continued to be popular since the early 1970s. Recently galvanizing social issues such as globalization, environmentalism, media conglomeration and consumerism have been addressed by zinesters. (Blog culture also provides a forum for such issues.) Though some zines live on, some believe that the widespread adoption of web browsers starting in 1996 marked the end of the classic period for print zines. Zines enjoyed a brief period of attention from conventional media in the 1990s, when a number of zines were collected and published in book form.
See also fanzine, samizdat.
Zine (zeen) listing: http://www.undergroundpress.org/infoshops.html