Multimedia and poems by Alex Patrick Dyck
Published Spring 2016
56 pages, color cover, perfect bound, b&w inside, 8"x6"
Each book comes in a pink cello sleeve with a rose, anointed with rose oil from The Sword and Rose SF
“The stars have built me in such a way that love flows through me like a river made from pleasure
and pain—”
Help destroy the icy grip of corporate mainstream media by creating your own zine in this hands-on workshop led by Tiffany Sinnot, Levi Beil and Rob Stephens this June at the Ritual Cafe ! Remember, for every zine you make, a celebrity news anchor tears up a little, knowing that the oppressive stranglehold media control has is being eroded. Each zine you make is a political act that speaks truth to power. Plus snacks, and coffee !
Nestled in the heart of
downtown’s Gateway Park, Ritual Cafe is a cultural hub for the city of
Des Moines attracting artists of all walks. Local artists rotate
monthly on the wall surrounding a stage where we host an open mic and
spoken word monthly. Although Ritual Cafe is identified first and
foremost as a coffee house serving locally roasted organic coffee, we
also offer delicious vegetarian and vegan food. For those with a sweet
tooth, we also offer treats from some of the best local bakeries.
I publish comics, music and art books, and so far the biggest problem I have encountered in small & independent publishing is distribution. Starting last fall I began collecting information on every store I could find that sells independent media. Their name. Where they are. Their websites. Email addresses. Phone numbers. What they sell (in the most general sense). Now I have this list of over 1,200 book stores, comic stores and record shops in the United States, and I’m making it available for both public use in hopes that we can work together to find a collective solution. We got all this stuff made, and now what?
On top of the spreadsheet there is a form where you can add information, correct information or throw in general suggestions. If this is something you have a lot to say on the topic please email me at jm@jmcaggregate.com.
I think this spreadsheet is useful, but by no means do I view it as a solution. It is the first of four questions that I hope will lead to a larger more useful way to self-distribute.
1. Who & where are the stores?
That is this spreadsheet. Who are our allies? Where are they? How do we contact them?
2. What do these stores sell? What are they like?
Are they record stores that also sell comics? Are they used bookstores that sell some small press? Are they mainstream comic stores that will sell some zines on consignment? Is it a large chain of record stores based out of DC that has one buyer for all of their stores?
We need to track of all of this information on a spreadsheet in a way that is clean and easily searchable.
3. How do I market my art to these stores?
So we know what these stores are like, but how do we know they will like us? How do we know if we will like them? Really, what we need is a matchmaking service from artists and publishers to stores. Nobody benefits from unsold records and books sitting on shelves.
4. Vibes: what are they?
Questions 1, 2 and 3 come together in a way that works for artists and works for stores. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but I want to figure it out.
Crucial and amazing info on places to try to find small press work or sell you own small press output from the the Ditko! ‘Zine Library’s founder.