You want to see the open road this summer? Gas is expensive — it might just be on a bike. Summertime approaches. El Niño is heating up. This is going to be the hottest year yet, or the coolest going forward, depending on your perspective. Irregardless, the heat is cranking up. Bodies are finding each other on sweat‑soaked dancefloors. The open road glistens with heat, more seductive than any man’s muse.

The indie printing presses keep pressing. More writers than ever before have been imprisoned. The zine represents the ultimate freedom, just like the rumble of a bike beneath you on an empty highway.

Fuck it, we’re living in the end times. This is the era of hedonism, the era of abandon, the era where you can’t win so you might as well take pleasure in losing. There’s never been a better time to make and print some zines.

Zines have had a big revival over the last few years. We want to keep that momentum going. Grow it. Tend to it like a beautiful flower. We feel compelled to encourage people to make these things and just get them out there.

So HOUDINI Magazine is continuing our annual tradition, the yearly Zine-o-Rama returns. This is the second Zine‑O‑Rama. It’s unranked. The goal? Just get people to make something. Low pressure. We want to see all types of submissions.

(We’re using “zine” pretty loosely here, the only rule is it has to be something you can reasonably print at home or the library, fold up, and carry around to give to someone in person. Tuck one into your bike's saddle bag. Leave a few on the bar counter. Hand one to the older woman who let you bum a Parliament. Leave a zine with your tip at the diner. Slip them into library books. Whatever.)

Take a look at last year's submissions for more inspiration!

Your zine could be:

- Poetry and prose
- Informational harm reduction drug education guides
- Pulp fiction, horror, and other short stories
- Comics, flipbooks, and graphic stories
- Political theory, essays, opinions
- Tabletop RPGs, small games, dice zines, playing card guides
- Erotica, confessionals, gender philosophy
- Sketchbook samples, collage, photography
- Literally anything

But if you need a bit of help, the bonus theme for this year is “After Hours”, for all the things that happen when the sun sets, when the shops close, then the rest of the world rests.

We welcome an 18+ audience. The vibe is adventure, night life and summer love in the age of collapse. The theme is completely optional.

Make it in Photoshop. Scan it by hand. Use a tool like Decker for digital versions. Crumple it a little first. However you want to do it. Just make sure your submission includes a PDF file for printing.

We just want to see as many people as possible making zines, printing zines, sharing zines. Self‑publishing thoughts and creations that can’t be pigeonholed into an algorithm. You speak it, you print it, it exists.

Let’s make some zines.

Want more HOUDINI? Want to Discuss your Zines? Join the NEW HOUDINI Magazine discord server HERE!