New Zine – Letters To A Sister

Hey kids,

It’s been about a year since we last posted on this blog. I’m sorry if you’ve tried to contact us or have been checking back but a lot of things happened just after our last post which has meant that the fetus and I have kind of disappeared from zine making and trading. I have though just finished a new zine which is pretty much about this disappearance (from my end at least)

 

Letters To A Sister, A5, 36 pages, bw & colour

So this is the zine. It has a colour cover and centrefold (not that kind!) and is pretty much a personal zine written after the death of my little sister last February. I’ve given some to Sticky for the 2012 Festival of the Photocopier (see below for details) and some will be going out to Take Care Distro but other than that I guess it’ll be a pretty small run. It has been a tiring year, and I feel as though the energy I had when I first started writing zines is pretty rapidly dissipating. If you want to trade though, please email tinypapermail@gmail.com for my address (the PO Box expired while I was overseas and I was too late to renew it). I’ll be checking the email address again, I promise.

xx Amanda

I am Typewriter 2011, or Yes for Melbourne Fun Times

Once again I am at work sans boss and listening to a combination of The Magnetic Fields and Electrelane (surprise, surprise), all of which indicates that it is time to update Tiny Paper Hearts. No new zines yet for me and the fetus, however based on the excellent times we had at Sticky’s 2010 Festival of the Photocopier we have decided to once again descend on Melbourne for the I am Typewriter: The Triumph of Continued Usefulness Festival.

The festival runs from the 3rd to the 13th of February, with the zine fair taking place in the Degraves Subway on Saturday the 12th. Hopefully some other interstate zinemakers will attempt the trip as I cannot recommend it highly enough, and there’s plenty of other events for those who don’t have zines to sell/trade. Plus Sticky has organised an official typewriter soundtrack, so there’s that.

Ok, the demands of administrative work are calling. Catch you in February.

x Amanda

Zine trade: Blue Floral Gusset and Death of a Scenester 2

I’ve been a little lax with my paper correspondence (amongst other things) but in the last couple of weeks we’ve received some interesting mail that I thought I would share.

First was blue floral gusset by Spurzine, which was written for the TINA 2010 Sticky challenge (I think).

I’ve got to admire such dedication to a deadline, since I on the other hand have absolutely none. And this is a continuation of the themes he raised in his earlier zine Travesty, but without repeating itself – it’s honest and awkward in its intimacy but that’s what I like about personal zines.

The second zine we received was Death of a Scenester Issue 2: Boys.

I have an admission to make – I don’t usually seek out collaborative zines, or zournals as Death of a Scenester prefers. But I was pleasantly surprised by this issue when it popped up in our PO Box, especially the opening article which constituted the most spirited defense of the Pet Shop Boys I have ever read (or possibly the only defense of the Pet Shop Boys I have ever read).

So that’s it. Both zines should be available from Sticky or Take Care, or email us if you’d like their contact details. Keep sending us zines (if you’d like) and I’ll keep writing this zine that has taken me the last 4 months to start, simply so I have something to trade.

x Amanda

TiNA 2010, or Casual Work Has Some Timetabling Drawbacks

So you know it already but the This Is Not Art Festival, and more specifically the National Young Writers’ Festival, kicks off this Thursday 30th September til Monday 4th October in Newcastle. I’ve attended the last 3 years, and wrote about last year’s experience here, but I think I’ve filled my quota of zine fairs for 2010 + I’m really tired + I can’t get the time off work. So unfortunately this unholy trifecta (as well as some other inconsequentials) means that the fetus and I won’t be having a Tiny Paper Hearts stall at The Sunday Fair.

But it behooves me to recommend the NYWF program, as there is some plenty interesting stuff being done by plenty interesting people – Bastian Phelan, John Stevens, Leigh Rigozzi, Lisa Dempster and Vanessa Berry to mention a few. Can I also make a couple of musical recommendations? Grouper will be playing as part of the TiNA Showcase gig on the Saturday and kyü will be playing at Soundclash on the Sunday. Both should be excellent shows that I’m pretty bummed at missing (although luckily Grouper’s playing at the Sandringham the following weekend).

Anyways, have an excellent time if you’re heading to Newcastle. Catch you on the flip side.

x Amanda

Prolonging life

Hello, it’s been a while since I have visited our blog, but Amanda has been doing a fantastic job of keeping it updated. However, she has now departed our land (she is not dead, she is on holiday overseas) and so I feel I should update on some zine news.

This Sunday past (July 18th 2010) there was a wonderful zine show and tell event put on at Urchin Books in Marrickville. I managed to make the end of it and it was a lovely civilised event filled with tea, cake and most importantly lovely people (both zine makers and those who wish to make zines.) I certainly hope another one of these happens again in the future, it was very refreshing.

Well, I haven’t checked the spam trap, but I have moved on to collecting unsuccessful job application in my own personal inbox. Today, however, I was lucky enough to trap a passive-aggressive job e-mail. It annoyed me soooo very much that I had to retaliate (yeah I know, bitch bitch), its the tiny acts of empowerment that keep me going.

Anyway, back to the drawing board.

fetus

What shall I do with a life turned to memory?

The last time  I went photocopying was in May, just before the MCA zine fair, and afterwards, even though I meant to do another run so I could post the new zines on Etsy and send them to distros, I felt so sandblasted that I could not handle the sight of the Officeworks photocopiers (snazzy as they now are) without experiencing a mild panic.

I’ve  calmed down a little bit now and, as always is the case with me when it comes to times of stress, I’ve found myself turning back to the typewriter and to zine-making and -reading. Plus I’m going on a month long holiday tomorrow, and have put the Etsy store on hold for the duration, so if you’d like to get any of our more recent issues (including Sutures, Shy #2 and Ampersand after Ampersand #3) I’ve sent out a big box of zines to Sticky, and there should also be some available on mail order from Take Care as well.

And I’ve also sent out the first copies of my new zine COME BACK (home to me).

A6 (quarter size), 16 pages. There is no picture, because I haven’t taken one.

This is my first limited edition zine, mainly because the paper for the covers comes from a tiny old newsagent in Melbourne’s Chinatown (a town that I’m unlikely to visit again any time soon), and it’s a mix tape love letter to Electrelane. It’s also about repetition, perfect dreaming, Springsteen covers, and a little tiny bit about when Nietzche met Groundhog Day.

So I’m off to reunite with some of the people I call home, and will be back when the winter weather does not match my temperament so well. Until then, to quote Phil Connors quoting Coleridge, remember that “Winter, slumbering in the open air, wears on its smiling face a dream of spring”.

x Amanda

P.S. The fetus will still be checking both real and internet mailboxes so keep up the trading!

Winter activities for winter people

So a little update about some ziney things coming up that I wish I could attend (but regrettably can’t).

As we’ve posted before, the Canberra Zine fair is coming up on the 3rd July. If you’re in Canberra, hurrah! If not, what are you afraid of? Take Care zine distro will be making the pilgrimage from Sydney as well as a number of other Sydney/Wollongong zinemakers so why not, give it a whirl.

Secondly, and if you’re on the Australian Zines and Small Press Google Group you’ll already know about this, but there’s a zine reading slash show and tell at Marrickville’s Urchin Books on the 18th July. It’s being put together by Vanessa Berry and promises a delightful afternoon of tea and mutual zine sharing and appreciation away from the hectic and often stressful (for me at least) world of zine fairs and markets. So take your zines, if you have any, or just take yourself to Marrickville for the day, week, rest of your life. Also Urchin Books is looking to stock some more zines so check with them the why’s and how’s on the day.

Thirdly, and this is not strictly zine related, but a friend sent me a link to the screening of Strange Powers  at the Chauvel on the 4th of August that I wish wish wish I could go to, but unfortunately I’ll be separated from Oxford Street by an ocean, several land masses and the supposedly linear nature of time. BUT, if you have ever read any of my zines (or possibly only the titles) you will have realised that I have a ridiculous love for The Magnetic Fields, one that is all encompassing and indefatigable. So if you are in town, and feel like watching a documentary on my favourite songwriter/musician, then go with my blessing.

And I guess that’s about it. Happy holidays kids (if you’re on them), soldier on if not.

x Amanda

The Past

Last night was the opening night of The White Room, or, Astronauts are not excitable. It was really amazing. Emma’s artworks were incredible, her zine was incredible, the food and the sangria was incredible. The space shuttle was also incredible, well built (as strong as an ox!), cosy and inviting for all. I felt instantly safe when I was inside, like I had drawn a giant circle of salt around me and no angry ants could get in an bite me.

When you look up inside the shuttle there are a ring of lights looking back at you, almost like a safety lamp.

By the end of the night a group of us had squished into the shuttle while more people gathered outside of it like we were at a little camp site. I think we did discuss Ice-T and his film and music career. He was once in a heavy metal band and he was in that movie with Wesley Snipes where that chick where’s double underwear, which I think is also known as ‘Mummyism” of undergarments in fashion. My night ended when I spilt sangria everywhere and the shuttle camp dispersed.

Check out the exhibition on the weekend. All the details are in the previous posts.

Spam just hasn’t been doing what it use to do for me, but this lifted my brows and made my lips turn duck shaped.

I don’t really have a point to writing this blog post, I mainly just wanted to clog up cyberspace with jibberjabber just to piss off anyone who is piss-offable. It’s fun to pretend that you’re saying something even though you really aren’t saying a damn thing at all.

Well, – bless.
Fetus

Greetings Earthings!

Tomorrow night is the opening night of The White Room Or Astronauts Are Not Excitable, a beautiful and exciting exhibition by Emma D. I’ve already talked about this a couple of posts ago, so this is a reminder that you should make your way to Chrissie Cotter Gallery at 6pm! There will be beverages and snacks and Emma’s brand new zine which is part of the exhibition and a space shuttle. That’s right, I said SPACE SHUTTLE, not MACE CUDDLES. And yes you must crawl inside of it and have a sit down and gaze at the world outside.

The details:
Chrissie Cotter Gallery
Pidocl St, Camperdown (Behind Camperdown lawn bowls)

Opening night: Thursday 3rd June pm
Exhibition opening times: 2 – 13th June Wed – Sun 11 – 4pm

More info here at Flying Machine

Map

Hope to see you there!!
Fetus

Autumn Ruminations, or We Have New Zines

Salutations,

So the MCA zine fair was yesterday and both the fetus and myself launched new zines. I think it is always a little difficult to put out a new personal zine, and these two were dealing with issues to do with health (mental and physical) and learning new ways of living with (and possibly outside of) medical diagnoses. As proud as I am of my zine, and as happy as I was whenever someone picked it up and bought it, I still felt the almost uncontrollable urge half way through the fair to track down every person who had purchased the issue and snatch it out of their hands. But the moment passed, and at the end of the day both the fetus and I had sold out of almost all of our zines.

She had the foresight to put aside a few for Sticky, so they should be available soon from either the shop or Sticky’s mail order department, but I will have to make another photocopy run sometime this week and send out a whole bunch to the distros (usually Sticky, Format and Take Care) and put them up on our Etsy.

Until then, a little write up on our zines (and in time I will also review some of the excellent trades we received).

Mind Dump by fetus

Dumped from my mind onto some paper. Comic-ish style zine. Made of images from my artwork from Underdiscovered Press Exhibition. 40 pages/ A6 / B&W.

Shy 2: When Shy Got Sick by fetus

Following on from Shy Like a Punched Pie is the next installment of my perzine on being Shy. 40 pages/ A6 /B&W.

Ampersand after Ampersand #3by amanda

This is the third in what has become an almost biannual perzine series. Although it overlaps chronologically with my last zine Sutures, this issue is mainly about being diagnosed with PCOS last December (and other related conditions) and how this is has affected how I think about myself and my health. It’s not meant to be all negative nancy (so I hope it doesn’t come across that way), rather a way for me to talk about the changes that this diagnosis has brought and how confusing it can be to try and deal with body-image and health issues. And, also, how fucking annoying it is to be told that you shouldn’t/can’t eat sugar (For Your Health).

Thank you once again if you talked to me during the day, I had some really lovely conversations about zines and films and surprise mutual friends and it was wonderful to hear back from people who have read my zines before. It can sometimes feel as though zines are a one way form of communication, made in my room and sent out anonymously over the internet, so it is nice when that communication comes the other way as well.

And if you stopped by our table towards the end of the day and it looked like I had been mindwiped, it’s probably because I had been. Til next zine fair,

x Amanda