Spotlight: Ethelzine

donor to the crowd funding campaign

i am pleased that EthelZine is donating publications to the crowd funding campaign for the second year in a row. If you support the campaign, the wonderful bundle of Ethels along with other perks could be yours.

I had the pleasure of talking to publisher Sara Lefsyk on a recent episode of the Small Machine Talks.

“Sara Lefsyk is Head Ethel over at Ethel Zine & Micro Press.  She has a book—We Are Hopelessly Small and Modern Birds (2018, Black Lawrence Press) and some publications here and there.  Besides hand-making books and books in general, she likes hanging out with dogs, following pig sanctuaries on Instagram and sleeping.” (periodicities, 2022)

I am thoroughly impressed by how prolific Sara is, putting out 24 chapbooks and 2 issues of the zine and handstitching them to boot. In an essay on periodicites in 2022, Sara writes, “I usually will start off the year saying, I’m only going to do 12 chaps this year, and then I start reading submissions and end up with double that.  I’m also the type of person that, in order not to sink into an incomprehensible depression, needs to be busy constantly.  I’m always tinkering and making things.  I found that getting to design and hand-make covers using a sewing machine and a variety of paper, fabric, photos, sequins, buttons and whatever else I can attach, was both something fairly original in the world of publishing, and completely enjoyable and fulfilling on my part.”

Ethel Zine and Micropress’s  handstitched covers are colourful and inviting. The handbound books are tactile. The press is a welcome space for marginalized writers and has a queer and feminist focus. When reading the zines and chapbooks, I enjoyed the variety of styles, which ranges from translation and language play to surrealist prose poems. I also love the sense of whimsy of the press. The work published is delightful and serious. I’m impressed with the level of work and commitment of the publisher. Ethel Zine and Micropress’s values are in line with my own for AngelHousePress. It is a caring press that is also community-building with a goal to publish marginalized voices.

Check out the vast variety of wonderful publications from Ethel Zine and Micropress.

Help us pay our contributors by supporting the AngelHousePress Caring Imagination Crowd Funding Campaign.