Myzine project

The Myzine project (2001) was created by the Caboolture Library service, who maintain the Caboolture Library Zine Collection, to foster self-publishing and self-expression within the Caboolture community. The project was designed to allow the participants to gain information and skills so they could develop and create their own zines.

The project was made up of seven workshops held over seven weeks, and included introduction to the world of zines, skills development and a variety of guest speakers. The workshops were held in a very informal and friendly way with all participants involved urged to partake in open discussion based on the session’s subject.

The first workshop was a basic introduction, as all but one of the participants had never heard about zines before the my-zine project. This session was entitled ‘So what’s a zine’.

The second session dealt with writing styles and getting contributions for ‘your’ zine. The discussion was entitled ‘Writing for zines’. The speaker for this workshop was Mark Hatchman a long time zine writer living in Brisbane.

The third workshop was entitled ‘Copyright, Censorship/ Censorshit, Copywrong’, dealing with the issues surrounding censorship and media ownership. Kath Williamson, zine maker from Brisbane held this session’s discussion.

The fourth discussion was on distribution and how to get people to read your publication. Riva Scott from Electrocution Distribution talked about getting your publication out there and various tricks of the zine trade. This workshop was called ‘Getting it out there, Distribution of your monster’.

Ben Eltham professional writer, one time student magazine editor and assistant coordinator for the Newcastle youth writer’s festival came in to talk about where you can go once you have discovered the world of self publishing for the fifth session. This session was entitled ‘Where to now - The Internet, media stunts & writer’s festivals’.

Week six consisted of ‘Catch up’ and one on one work with the participants in readiness for the opening of the Caboolture Library Zine Collection and their zine launch. The final workshop in the series focused on the Internet and how emerging zinesters can use the technologies to their full advantage. This workshop introduced the participants to the resources of the library, such as computers and Internet access. This work shop was entitled ‘Da internet’.

External Links

• State Library of Queensland Innovation Grant: 2001 Innovation Grant Project, Caboolture Shire Library Service, MyZines