year in review so far & what’s next!
RIP to five zines…making way for new ones!!!
Hello from a finally-sort-of-cooling-off Chicago! I have returned from my most recent zinefest in Grand Rapids, MI and am only just now starting to feel back to normal almost a week later. Travel is usually stressful for me as a major homebody and introvert, but I enjoy seeing new places and saying yes to cool opportunities- so it’s become an occupational hazard. We are now well into the second half of the year, and I have been looking back on the past eight months as a working artist. I truly can’t believe everything I’ve been able to do this year already and I’m just so grateful for everyone’s support and for these opportunities being granted to me. I went back through my calendar and list of stuff I’ve done, and here is the count so far.
Since the start of this year, I have…
Popped up as a vendor at twelve total markets or events across four states
Tabled at six zinefests (!!), including Chicago Zinefest which is really just a life goal met tbh
Was the Featured Artist for the Records Department’s pride booth (!! still in disbelief over how incredibly cool that was)
Released my debut poetry collection & read from it as a feature in That’s Poetic Chi’s August open mic (!!)
Made 6 new zines and LOTS of other art/collage
Moved to a new city with my wife!!!
When I actually see it all written out like that…it’s pretty wild. No wonder I’m so tired!
Don’t get me wrong, though- I love this work. I’ve worked a lot of jobs in my life, and the work of being an artist is the most fulfilling and rewarding so far. I am privileged to be able to set my own hours, work on projects that I want and that interest me without really having to answer to anybody, and this flexibility means that I can offer my skills to help support my wife in her business as well. I’m able to share art from my perspective in a time where perspectives like mine are being actively silenced. I’m able to connect with fellow artists and Queer humans and go places I never thought I’d go. I don’t run my business as much of a “business” in the sense that I am not so concerned with profit as I am with sustainability and visibility. I’d rather 100 people read my work for free than 20 people pay me for it. This means that the support of the people who read, distribute, recommend, and yes, sometimes purchase my work is significant to my ability to continue to make and share things. I am grateful to everyone who has supported my work and I plan on continuing to make as many creative projects for a Queer future as I possibly can.
That being said, as I look ahead to the rest of this year, I am planning on shifting gears somewhat. Doing on average 2.25 markets and zinefests a month, while great for getting yourself out there and/or making money sometimes, is quite taxing on the human body! It’s expensive and very physical work to prep inventory, pack, load in and out, drive sometimes across states, set up a table, talk to people for hours, film, promote yourself, make content about it, etc. etc. etc. I can do all that stuff, but it doesn’t really come naturally to me and I have to give myself time away from the forward-facing aspect of the job in order to have it be sustainable. In years past, I’ve divided my time between the two halves of the year pretty evenly- spending the spring and summer outside selling my work, and using the fall and winter to make more stuff to sell. This is my goal again for this year. I will likely do a few local markets around the spooky season and I have a few dates held for markets that I’ve already applied to, but I plan on dedicating my time as the days get colder on writing new poems, adapting and updating current zines, and doing workshops for folks who want to make stuff hands-on IRL! I want to make sure that my work is of the highest quality for you and that there is plenty of fresh new work to share. And as always, my shop will be open online for your gay zine needs 24/7!
I also want to share that I will be retiring several zines at the end of September. The bad news is, September 30th will be the last day that you can purchase the following zines:
The good news is, until September 30th these titles are 25% off in my shop!
Why am I retiring these zines, you may be asking? A few reasons. It’s kind of a lot to prep and carry a 15+ zine inventory to every market, and I hope to consolidate my offerings and offer a rotating stock of smaller print runs for one-off minizines. The poetry minizines here now have their poems included in my larger collection, so I will be phasing out the individual versions. I don’t really want to deal with getting sued by Gordon Ramsay or Jon Taffer, so I’m going to preemptively stop making the Kitchen Nightmares/Bar Rescue zine (although I would argue that it falls under fair use…but what do I know).
The zine I fear will cause the most controversy by retiring is my Many People Perzine all about my legal name change. Folks have told me how meaningful this zine is for them, how it has helped them understand and connect with a Queer person in their lives, how it helped them feel less alone. That was why I wrote it to begin with, and those stories warm my heart and make me happy that it exists. But I have had many interactions with people that are not so positive about this very personal and vulnerable zine. Some folks have said uncomfortable things to me about what they’ll “do with that information” (my birth name) and far too many people have cried in front of me about their own guilt around chronically deadnaming a trans person in their lives. Sometimes people laugh at my photos (in a not-nice way) or change the way they speak to me after flipping through the zine. Moms will get a little weird about this zine too– they tend to project their own children onto me and it is not my favorite. After one too many weird encounters, I’ve decided to retire this zine from regular sales rotation. However, if you or a Queer person you know would like a copy, I will still have it available for free digital download by request.
Get these zines before it’s too late! On sale all this month for 25% off, with free shipping!
All in all, this has been an incredible year so far and I’m so grateful to be able to go around sharing my work with people in this way. I’m excited to spend the second half of the year writing, making, and honing my wares. If you are interested in having me pop up at a Chicago-area market or event, or if you’re interested in a fall/winter IRL workshop, feel free to reach out via my Contact form! Otherwise, watch this space and my Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and new works in progress.
Thanks for being here!
In solidarity,
Wynter
