Since I started working on Surge in July 2021 and Peregrine Coast Press in June 2022, I've been incredibly interested in the zine format and its history in countercultural movements, as well as the realm of independent and self-publishing.
So, I decided to create a zine! I wrote everything (though there are a few reprints) and also designed the zine myself. While this is a bit fancier than the cut-and-paste handwritten DIY zines of yore, it's still independently made.
In short, I wrote about death, though there's more to it than that. Often in my creative writing workshops and works-in-progress the themes of death, decay, and rebirth take center stage. This has never been intentional, but it has happened anyway and it seemed silly to prevent myself from writing about the macabre. Really, though, it's not that macabre. More meditative, if I do say so myself.
So why am I crowdfunding on Kickstarter? The $700 I'm looking to raise (and I'm nearly there, or perhaps have made it by the time you're reading this) will go completely to funding an initial print run with Nelson Print in Charleston, SC. I want to keep my business local and sustainable and Nelson Print checks both of those boxes.
If I reach over $700, the extra funds will pay for supplies and (my own) labor so I can hand bind every copy of the zine myself. Then, if I receive enough funding, I'd like to pay an artist to redesign the cover of the zine (because the one I created is not great).
It's a big step for me to share this in a permanent (internet-wise anyway - I can delete or archive this at any time) place because I often remain tight-lipped about my writing. I don't know if I'm embarrassed or afraid of criticism or what, but I'm coming to realize that it doesn't matter. There's no sense in living in fear and shielding my creative projects from the world.
(I also say this because my wonderful partner Kimberly took it upon herself to share the Kickstarter with folks we know because, in her words, if I never reached out to anyone and it didn't fund, I would be sad. And that conversation made me realize what I said in the previous paragraph).
All that said, if you’d like to support my zine (which is nothing more than paying for a copy of the zine and shipping to your location), the Kickstarter will be live until March 28!
