What is the 24 Hour Zine Thing?
The 24 Hour Zine Challenge asks zinesters to create a 24-page zine from conception to final product in 24 hours straight. Zines should be of suitable size and technical difficulty so that this truly is a challenge for individual zinesters. Feeling adventurous? Make an oversized zine! With collage material, anorexia all typewritten, more about with a blockprinted cover! Coptic-stitch bound with silver thread!
What is a 24 hour zine?
A 24 hour zine is a zine completed during a consecutive 24 hour period, hemorrhoids start to finish. Yes, this means that the entire zine must be planned, written, photographed, folded, illustrated, cut, pasted, copied, stitched and bound within
Is there an official 24 Hour Zine Day?
No. The 24 Hour Zine Thing Challenge takes place during the entire month of July so that zinesters may choose a 24 hour period sometime during July that works the best for them. Even though there is not an official day on which the zine must be completed, many zine libraries, festivals, and book stores host 24 Hour Zine Thing events that are a great way to find motivation to complete your zine and network with others in your community!
Do I need to sign up to participate?
Technically you don’t have to sign up to participate, but it will help you be accountable for completing your zine! To sign up, complete the
Sign-Up Form here. Once your form is received, your information will be added to the Participant Page on our blog, and you can tell all your friends to check it out and cheer you along!
Can I think about what my zine will be about?
In the past, the rule was:
“Nope! You can have goals–“I don’t want to be political” or “I want to make a perzine,” but you can’t have your specific theme or have anything written or collages made for this. Spontaneity is part of the challenge. You can get your materials ready–your typewriter ribbon changed, your collage
magazines piled up, your scissors oiled–and have prompts or music or something around that will inspire you to come up with an idea, but the entire conception should happen inside those 24 hours.”
and that raised a lot of questions, mainly, “So if I think about a theme before the big day, I can’t use that idea anymore?”
So the rule has been updated: You can think about general themes that may be of interest to you, or find inspiration for a theme from things you encounter the days or weeks before you begin the challenge. It is encouraged that you have goals (check out the Participant page for some great examples of zine goals), but you cannot have anything on paper before your selected 24 hour period begins.
Really, the point of the 24 Hour Zine Thing is to challenge zinesters to create a zine within 24 hours. The main component of your zine must be created during your selected 24 hour period.
So … we can choose our theme now and then build our 24 Hour Zine around that theme on our day, right?
Well, I reckon you could. The point is to have a completely spontaneous zine. If you pick your theme now, you may as well be writing it in your head for the next three weeks before the day. By the time your day comes along, you’ve got the layout planned, half the writing done, and all your pictures and whatnot picked. Where’s the challenge? Where’s the fun? What’s the point? This is going on the honor system, but I do know that some of the greatest things have been created on the fly, and that’s what we wanna see–stuff made on the fly, whether it sucks or is amazing. When Julie did a 4-hour test drive, she started by choosing a picture out of a magazine and pasting it onto the cover. Then a title. And it went from there.
How many copies should I make?
You should make at least one to send it, but you can make as many as you like. They don’t have to be photocopied, either. Remember, you just need to have a final folded and bound product at the end of the 24 hours, and can worry about making copies at a later time.
Can I work with other people on my zine?
In the past, this has been an individual challenge, but working with a partner may be a great way to motivate yourself (and others!) to complete a 24 hour zine. To keep things fair, in order for a zine with multiple authors to be counted as a 24 Hour Zine Thing submission, it must have 24 pages per author. Working with one other person? The zine must be at least 48 pages. Working with five partners on a huge collaboration? That’s a whopping 120 pages!
I’ve made tons of zines before, so 24 pages will be easy peasy!
It’s up to you to make it challenging. If this is your first time making a zine, start small and have fun with it! If you have been making zines for years, try some of these tips:
I’m not in the U.S. Can I still participate?
Absolutely! Every year there are zinesters from all around the world participating in the 24 Hour Zine Thing! Check out the Participants Page to find others that are located near you.
What happens to the zines when they’re finished?
Once we receive your finished copy (and send your Participant Pin), we’ll scan the zine covers and an inside page or two (or you can submit your own scans) and showcase them on the blog. You can find examples of how the zines will be displayed (and read reviews of zines submitted during past challenges) on the Reviews page.
As for the other copies that you create, you are free to do whatever you choose! You can sell them in your Etsy shop or on your blog, trade them for other zines, submit them to distros, leave them in public places, anything you would like!
What do I get out of this?
Mainly, the satisfaction of knowing that you created an original zine from conception to finished product within a 24 hour period. But once your zine is received, we will send you an awesome 24 Hour Zine Thing 1″ Participant Pin to show off to all your friends!
Okay, so everything we do for our zine has to be done within those 24 hours?!
Just about. I mean, if in the course of your conceptualizing during those 24 hours you think of an old photograph you want to use or a picture out of a magazine you saw awhile back, then use it. If you’ve got an old poem that just happens to fit … well, it would be preferred you wrote something fresh, but that’s up to you. If you just pull a dozen essays off your hard drive, then we’ll frown, shake our heads, send you your button, and tell you that we hope you come back next year. Do you want inspiration? Read one of the 24 Hour Comics anthologies and see just how much one person can come up with entirely withing a 24-hour span. It’s fan-friggin-tastic! You can also check out the Reviews page for examples of zines submitted for past challenges.
When’s the deadline?
The 24 hour zine must be completed by midnight on July 31st, 2014, and a copy of the zine must be received by us by September 6, 2014.
Where do I send my finished zine?
Send your finished zine to:
Raven / 24 Hour Zine Thing
PO Box 2001
Abingdon, Va 24210
USA
Please include the following information:
Where else can I find you on the web/connect with other participants?
There are tons of places to stay up to date with the 24 Hour Zine Thing and interact with others.
1. The Official Website is the best place to stay up to date. You can sign up to participate, check out a list of the current Participants, and read a bunch of reviews of completed 24 hour zines!
2. If you are on Facebook, check out the 24 Hour Zine Thing Facebook page.
3. Follow us on Twitter! Follow @24HZT
4. Tweet about the 24 Hour Zine Thing using #24HZT Tweet #24HZT
5. There is a great We Make Zines Group with lots of members who post pictures and information about their completed zines. Usually a discussion thread is also created on the site to discuss upcoming 24HZT workshops/events, finished zines, and anything else 24HZT related! Not to mention it is on the We Make Zines site which is extremely active.
6. There’s a Livejournal Community that has been active in the past. If you have a Livejournal account, hop on there and revive the conversation! If you do not have a Livejournal account, you can sign up for one here.
How did the 24 Hour Zine Thing start?
The creator, Julie at rockscissorspaper, was inspired by Scott McCloud’s 24 Hour Comics Day and decided to run with it. Julie hosted the event from 2005-2006 over here, and this site took over in 2007 and has been hosting ever since.
Are you forgetting something?
Possibly. Probably. If you see something that needs attention, please let us know!
Once upon a time, search there was a zinester named Julie. She came up with the brilliant idea of the 24 Hour Zine Thing, having been inspired by 24 Hour Comics. She has singlehandedly hosted and ran the 24HZT for the past two years.
Have a question?
Email it: 24hourzines@gmail.com
Tweet it: Tweet to @24HZT
Post it on the Facebook wall: http://www.facebook.com/24HZT
Send your finished zine to:
Raven / 24HZT
PO Box 2001
Abingdon, VA 24212
USA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/24HZT
Use #24HZT to join the conversation and share your process and finished zine!
Tweet #24HZT
Become a fan on Facebook!
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