A few days ago I received an email that included the PDF for a fanzine titled Intermission, #83, by Ahrvid Engholm.
It was by way of helping to promote the Electronic Amateur Press Association, as well as a recruitment drive.
APA’s have been around since the late 1800s (predating fanzines even!). Essentially, individual contributors produce their content, reproduce it in a set number of copies, mail those to a central organizer, who compiles the individual contributions into a collection and then ships them out to all of the members of the organization. Since the majority of members are avid “amatuer” publishers, writers and editors, it’s a sure way to receive guaranteed readers, good, focused feedback and LoCs (Letters of Comment, a coin of the realm in APA and Fanzine land).
I’ll let Ahrvid do the pitch for EAPA:
“…I also want to promote the Electronic Amateur Press Association. Join us for more Intermissions! EAPA is the oldest PDFzine APA but needs new blood, new members. Think about it! It’s free, and all you need to do is to scribble something interesting, choose “Save As PDF” in the word processor and contact EAPA.”
I did write a LoC to Ahrvid (it’s the right thing to do when someone sends you a zine) expressing my pleasure over the content of his Intermission #83 – it was chockfull of cool history stuff regarding Swedish magazines that featured “fantastic” content, some dating back to the 1700s!, and I love learning about the history and origins of our genre, especially from places (Sweden in this case) that I am unfamiliar with, as well as a front piece providing details of the author Stieg Larsson’s (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) space advocacy club, a con report on Okon and other goodness. Sadly, I have to beg off of contributing to an APA as I have other publishing committments.
However, EAPA is eager for new recruits and this could present an entre for someone looking to get their fingers inky. At the very least you’ll get to read cool stuff you probably had no idea existed on the face of this or any other planet.
Here’s the opening page of the Okon con report; Intermission has some nice page layouts –
Check out the Electronic Amateur Press Association, send an email inquiry today!
