July 19th is Zine Distro Appreciation Day according to this awesome poster Alex Wrekk of the Stolen Sharpie Revolution made. [For more details, see post from a couple weeks ago!]
For the occasion, we are highlighting a few zine distros. Zine Distros distribute zines! They are usually small operations that will sell zines either in person or online. Here are a few zine distros to follow and support:
Brown Recluse Zine Distro – Oakland, CA
Brown Recluse is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit zine distro for and by queer and trans, black, indigenous and people of color. They were established in 2013 as a direct response to the lack of support in the zine community for non-white creators. Brown Recluse exists to strengthen our ties and highlight our intersectional, relatable experiences.
Portland Button Works – Portland, OR
Portland Button Works is a distro and shop that is deeply rooted in a DIY and punk ethos. They focus on zines that reveal how the personal is political. The shop also carries buttons and books on witchcraft, paganism, and the occult.
Bluestockings Cooperative – New York, NY
Bluestockings Cooperative is a worker-owned community space and bookstore guided by the principles of abolition, feminism, solidarity, and transformative justice practices. They carry zines from new and established authors, and those on abolition and political education, disability justice, DIY and how-to, perzines (memoir), and other educational and creative non-fiction titles.
You might also discover new zines and support zine distros by checking out your local zine fests. I was astonished to find a quick online search “zine fest” yielded a ton of upcoming zine festivals from Bonita, CA to ones in Cambodia and New Zealand. Chances are there will be zine fests around you too!
What are some of your favorite zine distros? We would love to hear about them in the comments.
