A Year in Zines

new year, new dreams

There's a lot I'm working on heading into 2024. Some of it has to be kept under wraps for the time being, but there are some things I can announce, right here and now.

The main one is: Instead of publishing one big issue of Reckless Chants in 2024, I'm going to publish multiple mini-zines. Each of them will be a micro-issue of Reckless Chants, which will add up to one 'full' issue, but which can be read in any order. (Think of it as the zine version of what Anne Carson did with her collection Float.)

Each month, I will publish anywhere from 1-3 mini zines. They will all be 1/4 letter size, and will range in length from 4-16 pages. Many of them will be (prose) perzines, but there will also be some poetry zines, a little fiction, and maybe even some (gasp!) art zines thrown into the mix. For some of them, I'm going to experiment with non-traditional binding/cover materials (I've already got one planned with fabric covers); some will come with fun extras like stickers or pins.

To give you examples of what you might find:

Volume 1 is a prose poem which riffs on associations with 'blue' (the color and the word).

Volume 2 will be about mental illness, specifically anxiety disorder, and the panic attack/nervous breakdown I had in December 2023.

Volume 3 (the one with fabric covers) will be a remembrance of an old friend and a favorite band.

Volume 1 is for sure coming out this month, Volume 2 will either be part of this month's mailing, or, if not, it'll be in February, alongside Volume 3.

I’ll still be sending out newsletters from time to time (I plan on continuing with These Fucking Songs, plus I’ll post the occasional updates like this one), but overall, I’m trying to spend less time online, and also reconsidering how I want to get my stuff out in the world, and one thing I’m sure of is I wanna make more zines. A real return to my roots (not that I ever really left them, haha), which is appropriate considering that I have been making zines for thirty years now.

You can find all the nitty gritty of how to order/subscribe right here. I'm really stoked about this project, and I hope you'll consider coming on this journey with me! The more people subscribe from the outset, the weirder I'll be able to get with this thing, and the more zines I'll be able to make. Oh, and did I mention? Shipping is free (i.e., included in the base price), and signing up for 6 or 12 months instead of just one gets you a discount. Six months at once saves you two bucks, twelve months saves you six dollars.

I also got myself a legit pin (badge, button, et. al.) maker, after wanting one for…thirty years now. You can see more of what I’m doing with that here.

That's it, for now. Welcome to 2024.

Got new dreams (got new zines?) and I'm gonna make 'em real.

—JLM

P.S. I will have a handful of copies of every mini zine set aside for trades and the like, I’m just not advertising that on every platform because, uh, I want need money.