For those interested in zines… Microcosm is a publisher out of
portland, OR.
NEWS:
Our new website is online. It's catalog searchable by author, title,
subject, or keywords in the descriptions. We have just over a thousand
items in the catalog right now and the database makes them all a lot
more manageable. Check it out at
<http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/>www.microcosmpublishing.com and
keep in mind that Feedback and bug reports are still VERY welcome. We
can take credit cards over the phone or our new webpage! This means you
can call and place orders over the phone or by fax with a credit card!
503-286-1038. Just make a list of what you want to order and give us a
call!
Car Needed for October Tour - We are planning a tour for October to
share our Portland zine love with lots of little pockets of people. The
tour is a month long and we are hitting one major hitch - we have no
transportation. We are mostly bicycle commuters and while a few of us
have driver's licenses we don't have a car to use between the three of
us. If anyone has an idea or a car to offer or would be potentially
interested in accompanying us on tour with their automobile please get
in touch and we can talk about it. The tour lineup is Dave Roche (On
Subbing Book), Joe Biel ($100 & A T-Shirt Video), and Nicole Georges
(Invincible Summer zine).
Things Are Meaning Less (2nd Edition) - The new edition of this Al
Burian book is back from the printer. It's got a new cover, thicker
paper, and a funny biography. $7.00
Maximum Rock n Roll Interview - There's an interview with Joe about
Microcosm in the April issue of Maximum Rock and Roll (#251). This was
a pretty exciting prospect because my friends and I used to read MRR in
high school and I located new zines that way
On Subbing: The First Four Years Book - On June 25 we'll be releasing
the first book by On Subbing's Dave Roche. It's his tales of woe from
working as an substitute education assistant in Portland's school
system. He helps kids who can't function in normal classrooms focus on
their work and keeps kids from fighting while they tease him or
adorably flirt with him. It's a real heartwarming ticket to putting a
smile on your face or developing a good feeling to turn your day
around. Contains illustrations from Clutch McBastard, Nicole Georges,
Keith Rosson, Nate Beaty, Shawn Granton, and Aaron Renier. It's a
rewritten "best of" collection from issues #1-4 (The stuff Dave isn't
too embarrassed about) plus his most recent year of Subbing. It'll be
128 pages and $4. It's at the printer right now.
In July we'll be releasing the long awaited Journalsong #6. Steve
Gevurtz has been publishing this Portland based zine for years about
his personal turmoil. The new 96 page issue shares more of his self
reflective stories like ups and down in relationships, tours with
bands, doctor visits, and other writing that captures life in Portland,
making you laugh, think, and feel. Steve's storytelling just keeps
getting better and better and is accompanied by beautiful and cute
drawings by Nicole Georges of Invincible Summer zine. We've respected
his writing, aesthetics, and ethics for quite some time and felt that
it was our time to work together.
A T-Shirt & $100: A video documentary about zines in the Northwest US -
A cultural analysis of what causes zine makers to tick; what the hell
zines are, why people make zines, the origin of zines, the resources
and community available for zine makers, and the future of zines.
Interviews with about 70 zine makers, ex-zine makers, and readers from
the northwest. Featuring footage of the Portland Zine Symposium, other
zine related events, and activities bringing zine culture to life. An
original documentary with over 64 hours of footage for people with a
new interest in zines as well as pros and novices. The video sparks
untapped creativity and new interest into zine making and reading.
Artwork by Cristy Road and music by J Church! Collaborators include
Rev. Phil Sano, Jon Van Oast, and Joe Biel. We are finished with
filming and now have a quicktime trailer you can download on our
website!. The project is scheduled to be finished for September and a
tour in October. There will be screenings in Portland at the Zine
Symposium and at The Know.
The 2nd Edition of STOLEN SHARPIE REVOLUTION is available as a
paperback book! It's 128 pages, rewritten, and re-edited with updated
information about zines and zine culture including new information on
libraries, going on tour, distributors, zine making processes, dealing
with stores, artistic tips, and ways to promote your zine as well as
the usual advice on block printing, paper making, bookbinding, screen
printing, and layouts that you've come to expect. It has 90\% of the old
version in tact plus tons of updated resource listings and information.
Still be available for $3 from us.
All of our published titles will be available at all Tower Records
locations any day now. This was a very difficult choice for us all. We
feel that it's very important to support independent projects and
distributors but also don't want to perpetuate an insular scene. In the
end it seemed positive to put our politics in a place where new people
could discover them
