This publication was prompted by an invitation from Mariame Kaba to join her in a discussion titled: Why Make Zines in 2025: Information Control Under Fascism, which is being held at the space Walls Turned Sideways on 2717 W. Madison street in Chicago on May 22, 2025. Also in conversation are K Reynolds and Lewis Wallace.
To write words and print images and make creative decisions that a corporate newspaper or publishing imprint would never allow to see the light of day under fascism.
There are an incredible number of young people that are making zines right now, alongside older people like myself that never stopped self-publishing. For some people, this will likely be a phase and something they age out of when it stops fulfilling whatever it is doing for them now. Others will keep going, as I have, and change their approaches to publishing, or the themes of their work, as their lives change and as our world is transformed by dramatic ecological, political, and social shifts.
As the US becomes increasingly repressive, and as libraries, universities, and schools suffer constant threats and attacks, our freedom of the press cannot be taken for granted. Self-publishing has long thrived in the margins. In our current climate it’s more important than ever that people consider owning the tools and developing the skills to spread information, messages, stories, documentation, ideas, and art in tactile ways that they can produce in multiple.
I hope this collection of reasons to self-publish under fascism motivates others to be bold and continue making things in a public way, no matter how bad it gets. I hope that self-publishing helps others find a strong supportive community. My personal and group work in publishing has helped me connect with countless people everywhere who have chosen this creative path, as well as generous readers who offer help, kindness, and encouragement in their own ways. Self-publishing is life-sustaining.
— Marc Fischer / Public Collectors
Public Collectors is a project of Marc Fischer, based in Chicago, IL. This was printed on salvaged paper from the deceased. May their memory be a blessing and a booklet.
Dimensions: 5 x 8", 8 pages
Materials: Riso, paper and stapled bound
Half Letter Press
(Avondale)
Half Letter Press is a publishing imprint and online store initiated by Temporary Services—Brett Bloom & Marc Fischer, who have published booklets as an element of their collaborative work since 1998. Half Letter Press was created to publish and distribute book and booklet length works by themselves and others, and to use this endeavor to build long-term support and expanded audiences for people that work creatively in experimental ways.