Blueprints for Survival: Zines, Self-Publishing, and Community Building

The power of zines in a digital surveillance age and why I think you should start making and sharing zines today

Hi Friends,

Welcome to all my new subscribers! Thank you for your support <3

I posted a note recently about how I was really loving the growing excitement around zines and self-publishing. It garnered quite a bit of attention!

I think this reflects a mutual and growing sense of urgency and desire to document the present moment—our personal experiences, our collective resistance, the various ways we’re finding joy in this moment, and everything in between. Especially now, as we face heightened surveillance and censorship online, reclaiming our own spaces feels more vital than ever.

But as we look ahead, I want to also take a moment to acknowledge the long history of zine-making and its deep roots in our communities. There is such a rich legacy to tap into. Keep an eye out for more of my zine spotlights on notes and deeper dives into more of my favorite radical queer zines in upcoming newsletters.

Enjoy this essay on how zine-making and self-publishing can be powerful tools for survival, helping us reclaim autonomy, building community and resist control in an age of digital surveillance.

— Queer Archivist

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Pile of Zines by Liz Henry

The Power of Zines in a Digital Surveillance Age

I've been noticing a growing interest in zines and self-publishing, both online and in my personal and professional life. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. In a time of heightened surveillance and censorship, creating physical media feels more urgent than ever. We’re all feeling the need to create and engage with something raw, unfiltered, and made by human hands.

This resurgence has me thinking about what it means to create radical queer physical media today. What role does it play in our movements? In community building? In shaping our future? I want to believe that zines are pathways to liberated futures. Not because they are magic (though some might argue otherwise), but because they are tools of liberatory praxis. We can dream up new worlds, document our most brilliant ideas, share critical information and knowledge, and mobilize people to take action.

Zines have the ability to spread like dandelion seeds (I love dandelions), spreading without interference from corporate stakeholders or manipulative algorithms, just the wind guiding them where they must go, where they are most needed. I truly believe that zines are tools for resistance, truth-telling, and survival.

Here are some reasons why I think you should start making and sharing zines today:

1. Resist Censorship

Zines bypass corporate-controlled platforms and keep our voices from being silenced. They offer the freedom to write under a pen name or form a collective, creating space to say what might feel too risky elsewhere. Write about your desire to build intentional webs of care in your community, your dream of joining a worker’s co-op, or the struggles you and your neighbors face just to afford rent and how you can be working together to change that.

Queers Read This (1990)

These ideas shouldn’t be radical or under attack, but they are. Zines allow us to share critical ideas and information without exposing ourselves to surveillance, harassment, or digital obscurity. Being strategic about how we move forward means considering how we decide to share this information. Not every platform is a safe space, but through zines, we can create those spaces and communities for ourselves.

2. Document Activism + Organizing

Zines and self-published media provide a safer way to share details about protests, mutual aid, and grassroots movements, especially in a time when digital spaces are heavily monitored and censored. A zine can be a guide to direct action, a toolkit for community care, or a historical record of resistance.

Gay Activist Alliance Flyer (1977)

With intentional planning, you can create impactful zines, flyers, or informational sheets that educate, mobilize, and empower others. These materials can be distributed in person, left in community spaces, or mailed to those who need them most—ensuring that critical information reaches people directly, without interference. This helps us be less dependent on social media, avoiding the risks of digital surveillance.

3. Build and Strengthen Community

Zines create direct, unfiltered connections between people, free from corporate interference or digital gatekeeping. They allow us to share knowledge, experiences, and creativity on our own terms. A simple way to foster engagement is by including an anonymous email or PO box in your zine, inviting readers to contribute artwork, poetry, or personal stories. This kind of participation transforms zines from solitary projects into ongoing conversations. It strengthens zine culture and reminds us that we’re in this together.

Collaboration is just as important as individual zine-making. A collective zine on a shared experience, whether it’s queer nightlife, tenant organizing, or navigating trans healthcare, can weave together multiple voices into a single, powerful document of lived realities.

Community-centered zines can also serve as practical tools. You might create a mutual aid toolkit explaining how to start a local network, a resource guide listing community fridges and free meal programs, a know-your-rights pamphlet for immigrants who are at risk of facing harassment from ICE, or resources for workers facing wage theft or discrimination.

Zines are whatever you need them to be. If you see a social issue you wish you could address, consider how a zine might be part of the solution. Whether it’s uplifting marginalized voices, preserving local history, building a creative network or simply fostering joy and solidarity, zines remind us that we are not alone.

4. Express Yourself Without Limits

Faggot: Discover The Orgasm (Unknown date)

You don’t need to make your art or writing “marketable” or easy to digest. Zines are a space where you can be as raw, freaky, or unfiltered as you want. Use all the profanity you need. Call out the system. Make something messy, deeply personal, or completely absurd. Share your unedited thoughts, your most niche obsessions, your favorite personal photographs. There are no rules, no algorithms, no gatekeepers. Just you, your creativity, and the people who find meaning in what you create.

5. Joy and Creative Freedom

In a world that often demands so much from us, indulging in creativity for its own sake is a radical act. Zines offer a space where we can embrace playfulness, joy, and all of your wildest ideas. Having fun while making zines is the whole point! Throw a zine making party with friends. Run a zine making workshop at your local library. Teach your chosen family how to make zines and unlock a world of creative potential for them. Making and sharing art is an act of joy, connection, and resistance.

6. Preserve Queer and Trans Histories

A comment on my last post, “Our History Is Under Attack!”

So much of our history has been misrepresented, obscured, appropriated or even deliberately erased or destroyed. Even by those within the community who seek to rewrite the past. Zines and other self-published media are powerful tools to document our movement, ensuring that the contributions of trans, queer, and nonbinary people cannot be denied. By remaining in control of how our stories are told and shared, we safeguard the truth for future generations. Whether you hand a zine to a close friend, leave it on a park bench, or tuck it into the stacks of a public library, every act of distribution is an act of resistance. Being mindful of where your zines end up matters, but it is always up to you. Do what feels right.

7. Accessibility

Digital content can disappear overnight, but a zine has the potential to last forever. Well, maybe not forever, but with proper care and preservation, they can survive for many years and have the potential to impact so many. Beyond its longevity, zine-making is also incredibly affordable, especially when using found materials or recycled paper from magazines or old books. The tools and materials needed to make a zine are minimal, making it one of the most accessible forms of art and information exchange.

How we create and distribute our zines should also consider accessibility. Mailing and hand-delivering zines are just a few ways to ensure they reach people beyond our digital bubbles. Physical distribution offers an alternative for those who cannot access digital spaces due to surveillance, lack of internet access, or personal choice. There is so much more to consider in terms of accessibility and I will definitely be writing more about this in the future.

Final Thoughts

Zines and self-published media offer us autonomy, allowing us to document, express, and share freely, outside the constraints of corporate control, algorithmic influence, and digital surveillance. Zines provide a platform to document activism, strengthen community ties, and express ourselves without limits.

Whether you're crafting a zine fueled by political rage, preserving community history, weaving poetry from personal truth, or sharing a niche obsession, know this: what you create matters. It deserves to exist, to be held, to be read. Make it. Share it.