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  • Call for Contributors: Authors and Artists for a Community Zine Book

    Engage Week at MTSU has opportunities for students and employees to be published authors in a community zine!

    Applications open September 15-28, 2025.

    What is this about?

    Become a published author! For Engage Week at MTSU, we are looking for creative contributions with an engagement theme to publish in a community zine book. The theme of engagement encourages explorations of our connections to the histories, landscapes, and people on campus and in our wider communities.

    What is a zine?

    Zines (pronounced “zeens” like in magazines) are a type of publication that can represent various viewpoints, narrative styles, and artistic media. Zines come in many different formats and styles: from computer-printed text, comics, and collages to handwritten/drawn text or images.

    Zines are:

    • Self-published works with a limited print run
    • Focus on sharing one’s lived experiences or theme-based collections
    • An expression of Do-It-Yourself culture, typically made by hand
    collection of zines of varying sizes, themes, and colors

    To learn more about zines, watch the two videos below that briefly describe the history of zines and show some zine examples.

    Overview of our community zine project 

    For our community zine compilation, contributors will select from two possible formats (traditional or single item), either of which can be created physically (with art supplies) or digitally (with software but do not use copyrighted material). Below is an overview of format options (see the Instructions and Examples page for details).

    Traditional Zine (two size options, using 1-3 pieces of paper only)

    • Mini-zine: 2.75 x 4.25 inch folded booklet, one-sheet book
    • Folio/Digest-zine: 5.5 x 8.5 inch folded booklet or pamphlet

    Single Item Zine

    • One textual or visual item from the list of approved content types (no folding)

    Our goal: We will make a compilation zine that includes both formats, where the end product is a digital compilation zine like the Big Red Zine 2023 and NYPL Zine 2023.  Plus, we will also make the community zine available as a paperback book!

    Send us your engagement-themed ideas, which could be an one-page essay, poem, short story, image, drawing, comic, puzzle, or other creative textual and visual ideas (see theme prompt, zine format, and content type below).

    Eligibility

    Open to MTSU students and employees.

    You do not need to have any experience making zines to submit. All experience levels are welcome.

    Each author may submit up to two different contributions, no guarantee that any or all will be selected.

    Submission Information

    Through the theme of engagement, students and employee submissions must align with the submission requirements by selecting 1) an engagement prompt, 2) a zine format, and 3) a content type.  All submissions must follow the instructions for the selected format.

    1) Example prompts

    • Reflection on engagement in the classroom
    • Engagement through service or volunteer experience
    • Local history, legends, or myths about MTSU
    • Healthy living tips that are possible on campus or as a college student
    • Favorite spot or event at MTSU
    • A memory from last year at MTSU
    • How to be more engaged at MTSU or in the community
    • How to be successful at something (e.g., research, hobby, job interviewing, being a friend, etc.)

    2) Format: Traditional Zine (mini/folio) or Single Item (see instructions and examples)

    3) Example Content Types

    • Reflective essay
    • Poem or short story
    • How-to-guide
    • Textual/visual lists
    • Comic or artistic drawing
    • Community, engagement, or MTSU-themed puzzle (e.g., crossword, word search, connect-the-dots, mad lib, etc.)

    Make sure you follow the instructions for the specific format you choose. 

    Benefits

    A collection of zines created by the MTSU community (students and employees is a way to capture thoughts, reflections, and experiences. Plus, this shows engagement across disciplines and encourages students and employees to be creators and participants in the growth of a campus community. Other benefits include:

    • Free print paperback copy (for authors whose submissions are selected for publication).
    • The experience may help authors improve their reflective thinking, personal and professional development, and communication or artistic skills.
    • Authors can also take pride in publishing their creative works in a book! That authorship role can be added to resumes and portfolios as these contributors continue to engage with the world beyond MTSU.
    • Students who submit a zine can be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a PlayStation 5 (PS5)!

    Copyright

    It goes without saying (but we will anyways), that you should be the original creator of your work—be it written or otherwise (do not use images created by someone else). Additionally, content must be unpublished elsewhere. Authors retain copyright of their work and give MTSU a non-exclusive right to publish, commercialize, and preserve the work as part of the community zine book.

    Process

    The library’s imprint, MT Open Press (https:/openpress.mtsu.edu), will manage the editorial, marketing, and distribution through its publishing press expertise. We will select the zines to work with and publish as community zine book. The selected topic prompt and format is up to the author, but we reserve the right not to include a submission if we feel it harmful in any way or does not follow the guidelines. The published community zine book will be available online for free as a PDF and available for purchase as a paperback (helps recover the cost of production). A free paperback copy will be available for zine authors to pickup in October-November 2025.

    The zine book is co-sponsored by Engage and the MT Open Press at Middle Tennessee State University.

    Submission deadline is September 28, 2025. (Submission Instructions)

    Apply Now

    If you are ready to submit your completed traditional zine or single item,
    apply using MTSU’s Single-Sign-On system via this button