Update–End of January

Sorry for the lack of update! Things have been a bit crazy since the holidays and have gotten a bit backed up, but I’m still here and still zining! I have a coffee date with a friend later today, but after that, I plan to sit down with a list of topics I brainstormed this morning and my handy typewriter and start pushing myself to work on RatBrat #12. I’ve been feeling a bit creatively drained recently, but hopefully once the typewriter keys start going, the words will come.

Not much else to update on right now, but check back soon for something lengthier and more interesting!

Mad Hatter Distro

Mad Hatter Distro, my new distro opening in March 2010, is offically accepting submissions! (I told you I’d announce it in the very near future!)

Mad Hatter is a distro that pays by consignment, which carries perzines, fanzines, literary zines of imaginative fiction, minizines (1/8 size or smaller), and more. While I am interested in well-established zines by veteran zinesters, I also aim to help newer zinesters gain more readers and friends in the zine community. For full submission guidelines, information on the distro, and contact info, please visit the Mad Hatter website. It’s a bit sparse and, of course, there’s nothing in the catalog yet, but I will be updating it soon and posting in the Mad Hatter Blog. I will have the catalog up and running and begin accepting orders March 1st.

And in case you’re wondering what’s kept me so busy today (yes, I know you’re just dying to know), I am doing a massive cleaning and reorganizing of my bedroom, including creating these low-budget, but functional areas to store zines and distro supplies. And yes, that is a cabinet just for zine stuff. I. Love. My. Life.

Feeling Positively Productive

I’ve been feeling completely zine-y the past few days, and positively productive in general! It feels great to be getting so much done!

I’ve been simultaneously working on RatBrat #12 and RatBrat #13. The former is a little difficult (emotionally) for me to write at times, so I had to start working on #13 (a fun, eclectic alphabet zine) in order to balance it out. Here’s an excerpt from “A is for Alice in Wonderland,” which talks about my love for the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, various movie incarnations, and my Alice-themed tea party that was held for my birthday in November:

We had a Queen of Hearts and a Lewis Carroll and Alice. My mom, who loves to decorate and plan parties, went all-out on the party instead of giving me a gift this past year. We moved all the furniture out of the basement and she decked the entire space out in lights and fake flowers. We rented tables and linens that matched the floral arrangements and ordered a custom-made, intentionally-lopsided “topsy turvy” cake. Cookies shaped like tea cups and tea pots read “eat me” and all the actual tea pots said “drink me” in bright, bubbled letters.

I’ve also been making flyers for various projects (my own and others), planning a zine workshop, which I’m hoping to teach in early February, and doing a bit of outside-of-zines writing. Not to mention…

I am planning to open a zine distro, run on consignment, in early 2010, which has been consuming my time with planning, making promotional materials, and web design. It’s simultaneously thrilling and intimidating to finally be taking that leap, but I think it’s going to be rewarding and help me to be more active and involved in the zine community. Watch for the official announcement and website launch in the very near future! I’ll be looking for zine submissions!

And on that exciting note, I’m off to bed. Insomnia has been kicking my butt the past two weeks and tonight I’m taking advantage of my drowsiness. Sweet dreams, zinesters!

New blog and zine update!

Yes, I finally decided that RatBrat has lasted long enough to merit its own little space on the web. The purpose of this blog is to keep all my lovely readers updated on my zine happenings, new issues of RatBrat, and my other zine projects (which are few and far between these days).

Here is what’s been going on lately…

Eager to use my new typewriter (“Hannah”) and in an attempt to squeeze in my last zine hurrah of 2009, I finished RatBrat #11 over the course of a few days. This issue features musings on friendship, growing and changing within zines, art journaling (with pages from my most recent art journal!), Christmas, optimism, bipolar disorder, and more! I also wrote about my experience at my first zine event (Philly Zine Fest 2009). While I don’t think the writing shines as my best ever (isn’t there always room for improvement?), I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and I had a lot of fun doing my first typewriter/cut-and-paste layout.

I’ve only been able to print one copy at this point due to money constraints around the holidays. However, after Christmas I am planning on doing a major reprinting of RatBrat #7-11, so copies will be up for sale ($1.00) or trade. Keep me in mind if you’re looking to do a zine trade around New Year’s!