zinehistory

toc =History=

The history of the “zine” is unclear because the term “zine” has been used to describe a various number of publications from nontraditional publication sources. (Brent p.15) In America, small pamphlets and newsletters were distributed way back in 1757. The first of which was Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac. (Brent p.15)

The term “zine” is a short form of “fanzine”, which was the name, ascribed to sci-fi magazines of the late 1930s. (Brent p.15) Then with the popularity of “Star Trek” the original series in the 1960’s, a new generation of “zines” rose. These “Star Trek” zines contained content created by fans, like essays and fiction about the shows characters. (Brent p.15)

= = =Technology Drives Zines=

Whenever there has been major reduction in the cost of producing a zine because of technology, there has always been a spike in the number of zines available. (Brent p.15) For example, the explosion in the number of zines available in the 1970s and 1980s can be attributed to the arrival of the photocopier. (Brent p.15) Why? Photocopying may have been a crude method for mass producing a zine, but it was a very effective and cheap.

These days “zines” have exploded on the Internet because of the increased accessibility provided by the net and because of easy to use web-publishing software that makes creating an e-zine less difficult. (Brent p.16)

=Sources=

Brent, Bill. __Make a Zine__. Black Books, 1997.