It’s finally done, the first edition of ‘OL13 Bacup Zine’! I started this community (maga)zine late 2025 and organised two workshops for it. People could also send me their contributions digitally so that I would get a good mix of arts/crafts as well as written contributions.
Not only is the zine available for free online HERE, Rossendale Borough Council were generous in awarding me a grant for the printing costs so that I was able to have 250 copies printed at A4-size (36-pages):
For this first edition I made a fair few of the contributions myself, but my hope is that now that people see what it’s all about, I will have more people contribute to future editions (I’ve already received the first poem to go into the next edition!). I created a list of some ideas people could take inspiration from if they’re looking to write something, I share it on the zine website HERE.
My aim is to organise one workshop for the Spring/Summer edition of Bacup Zine, probably in July. If I can get printing costs covered again, I will hopefully have printed copies of the second edition available in September. I would be open to selling some advertising space to local businesses as this will help cover the printing costs. So if you are a local business and are interested in this, please contact me at almalauha AT gmail DOT com .
If you’re looking to get a free printed copy of the first edition of the zine, please visit The ABD Centre or Bacup Library.
I really enjoyed working on this, although towards the end it got a bit stressful/tiring to do the final bits, haha. But I’m proud of what we have been able to do as a community because we have such a wide range of contributions. I am also proud of what I was able to do myself as I had not yet done something of this size. Besides initiating this project, running the workshops, and making a few contributions myself, I also did the graphic design for the zine. I really enjoyed doing this design, and it’s something I’m looking forward to doing again. I think I enjoyed it so much as it combines arts/design with writing/content creation.
Please do check out the website I made for the zine for more information HERE. Almost any contribution is going to be welcome: you don’t have to be an adult in order to contribute; you don’t have to be a professional whatever to contribute. Amateur art, amateur poetry, amateur story writing, it’s all of value for the zine. Even an anecdote, a haiku, a doodle on a piece of scrap paper, or a photo of something related to Bacup (and nearby areas) are all greatly appreciated.
I’d like to specifically share one of my own contributions as I am trying to get in touch with local artists and landlords:
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the zine, and thanks to The ABD Centre in Bacup for facilitating the workshops. I can’t wait to do the next edition!
