Zines might seem like an odd fit for that old high-toned workhorse of publishing, the literary short story. But Ben Spies, author of zines and all-around participant in the Chicago zine community, has succeeded in fitting his work to this intimate, handmade format. The result, No More Coffee, tells quiet, spare tales of ordinary lives that, just like our own, are often touched with mystery or tragedy.
With such a large body of perzines, political zines, how-tos, and comics already being published, Spies decided that fiction needed a bit of a zine makeover as well. “I’ve always thought that if we have a thriving culture of DIY bands, art galleries, et cetera, why can’t we have more DIY fiction?” Spies says.
No More Coffee came about in 2007 after Spies had a bit of a revelation. He recalls, “I think I decided to make my own because it became clear to me that zines are a lot more like a telephone than a radio. They’re a two-way street. Anyone can make one, and just anyone making one is kind of the point. They’re meant to be shared by everybody.”
No More Coffee is based around the concept of sharing, so it makes sense that Spies supplements his newer work on zines (he has published three issues of No More Coffee so far) with a longer history of participation in the zine community, primarily with the Chicago Underground Library. Active since 2006, this library collects zines, chapbooks, and other works of independent publishing, regardless of quality or importance, for the general education of interested Chicagoans. Spies began working with them last year as a volunteer.
“They are a solid and friendly group of people with an impressive collection of under-the-radar Chicago literature, and I think anyone the least bit interested in this kind of thing ought to go check out their space on Belmont.”
Interest in zines, even from people not directly involved in creating them, is on the rise. Along with the CUL, Spies was also involved in a Columbia College zine event last spring, and says, “I’ve found a bit of academic interest in zines, in that university libraries often have special zine collections. DePaul is one of them, among a few others in Chicago.”
The other component of zine production is, of course, publication. Spies hopes that the move toward independent publishing continues. “For me, ” he says, “the goal is the day when anyone and everyone can make something with their own hands and chooses to read and consume media like this instead of profit-driven mainstream garbage, and I think this attitude is spreading and the culture is growing.”
It’s not all easy, though. As he says, “Zines are a labor of love, not a business, and even if you’ve got some way to mitigate printing and postage costs, you probably will still not quite break even. If you’re looking to make money, go apply for a job at Random House, because you’re in this for the wrong reasons.”
With some willpower and willingness to break from the mainstream process, however, it can happen. Spies explains, “The only thing stopping people from making zines are themselves.”