MCA Zine Fair Review 2009

Stall 16 was buzzing. There must have been 15 people waiting to buy a zine. Dom was at Stall 17 and glancing at the crowd beside him while he tidied his pile of untouched zines.

Usually one of the perks of zines is the lack of rivalry, but the Zine Fair 2009 was a competitive event. Set up in a large hall at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art were zinesters drawn together in a busy environment battling for readers.

The Zine Fair was just one of the many events of the Sydney Writers Festival. And, like every other event, the Zine Fair was an opportunity for artists to sell their latest products to consumers old and new.

I was one of the new. I was welcomed in the foyer of the MCA by a table of women handing out the fair program. On the first page was a handy definition for new comers like myself, ‘A ‘Zine’ (an abbreviation of the word ‘magazine’; pronounced ‘zeen’) is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work or minority interest.’ I had heard of zine’s before, but this was the first time I had seen them for myself. They are usually found in independent art, record, book, comic, video or clothing stores.

When I entered, the hall was packed with hundreds of people squeezing their way around the stalls. There were 52 stalls all together and couple of last minute entrants set up on the floor. Usually 2 people –the producers of the zine - were seated at each stall. Every time I picked up a zine I could feel their eyes on me waiting to see if they had another fan. Some of the zines were professionally made boasting of glossy paper and seamless magazine binding. Others were back to basics, printed on A4 paper in black and white and stapled to open like booklets.

Most of the producers were laid back. If they were anxious to make a sale it hardly showed. Some on the other hand, had decorated their stalls and even themselves for attention. My friend's graphic design zine called Burrow had a very edgy and elaborate stall complete with a rabbit hatch filled with hay and their zines for which you had to burrow, and a girl in pink bunny ears giving instructions from behind the table.

There were lots of fanzines, graphic design zines, and personal journal zines around. I ended up buying two: Emma Davidson’s ‘Fairytales in the Supermarket’ which is a list of Davidson’s pet hates about work, and also ‘Just Like Candy’ - a zine that discusses current fashion, music, and art. Burrow gave their zine away free of charge on the condition we literally burrow for the zine in their display or sign it as a symbol of support. My self conscious nature got the better of me, and I chose to sign.

Zine writers seem to be at the bottom of the heap when it comes to writers. They put in their time and money to produce a zine that may never be bought, and even when it is, they often only make a humble 3 bucks. But, for most people making zines is a hobby more than anything, even though the Zine Fair paints a different picture. On the way out, I passed by lonely Dom at stall 17. I found out Dom was a newbie zine producer. He was surprised at how competitive the fair was, too. He hoped to sell upwards of 5 copies. But so far, not so good.