From zines to ezines: Electronic publishing and the literary underground

Gauging how electronic publishing technologies may affect literature in the future, this project examines how publishers in the underground literary world of zines are utilizing electronic publishing. I argue that the relationship between print and electronic publishing is complex, and that despite claims of “the death of the book” and that hypertext transforms writing, literature will continue to flourish in the future in both traditional and new forms, in print and on screen. Research is based on a body of 512 ezines and zine related websites and interviews with 54 people involved with zines and ezines. The first chapter introduces the study and explains the background, organization, and methodology of it, laying out the argument that by studying how zine publishers are experimenting with electronic publishing in the present, a better understanding of how electronic publishing may affect literature and literary culture in the future can be achieved. The second chapter details the origins of print zines, arguing that their historical development has resulted in characteristics of personal communication, opposition to the mainstream, noncommercial ethos, and the use of affordable and available technology. The third chapter traces the development of hypertext, the Internet, and the World Wide Web, the technologies that have made electronic publishing a viable alternative to print publishing for zine publishers, presenting claims and questions that have revolved around these technologies and their use. The fourth chapter explores the history and characteristics of online media such as textfiles, ASCII text-only ezines, home pages, online journals, online magazines, and weblogs, arguing that their legacy influenced the work of zine publishers online. The fifth chapter explains what zine publishers are doing online by analyzing 512 electronic publications, placing them in the major categories of promotional websites, archive websites, online co-publishes, and ezines, arguing that print publishing exerts a considerable influence on their activities but that electronic publishing has opened new possibilities and challenges. The sixth and final chapter explores how readers and society have responded to the online work of zine and ezine publishers, and offers conclusions and conjectures on the future of zines, literature, mass media, and publishing.