Notes from the underground

‘Zines and self-publishing are a bone of contention in my house. “I don’t have much time for self-publishing,” says my flatmate who works for Bloomsbury, “if it was any good it would have been published properly.” I, however, am in love with the idea that if anybody wanted to make a book or zine themselves, they could, quite easily, and control every step of the publishing process.

So on Saturday I left her reading ‘proper’ books and took myself to the Publish and be Damned ‘zine and self-publishing fair at the ICA. Self-publishing is an inherently self-indulgent pursuit, and I will concede to my flatmate that it is not unusual to find inane haikus spread over five pages, essays with titles like “On the essence of whimsy”, and straight-faced ‘zine readers grumbling “This is SO funny”; but it is also a platform for innovations too brilliant and daring for the world of mainstream publishing.