My first zine library submission got rejected for being 'too personal'

Dropped off a stack of my zines at a local DIY space in Austin last Tuesday. The owner called me the next day and said she couldn't take them because it was "too much about my own life" and not enough of a "broader theme." I thought the whole point of zines was sharing personal stories. Has anyone else run into gatekeeping like this from a vendor or library?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt86216d ago

Start with the thing they said about "broader theme." That's the same excuse people use to push out anything raw and real. Happens everywhere, not just zine spaces. Art shows, open mics, even blogs. They want stuff that's easy to sell or doesn't make anyone uncomfortable. Personal means you can't just copy-paste the same format. You actually have to sit with someone's real feelings.

the_miles16d ago

Curious what you think the ratio is between people who actually want uncomfortable work versus people who just say they do? Feel like the second group outnumbers the first by a lot.