Announcing the release of Sanitary and Ship

What is it? Sanitary and Ship is a collection of written work honed by Chicago authors and presented to you by Diatribe Media. The zine is half-letter (5.5x8.5), 24 pages, saddle-stapled, with a glossy two-color cardstock cover. The writers in this volume consistently appear at free-to-the-public readings in Chicago, sharing their new work each month. For more information on any of the writers, contact them as noted in the zine or show up to a reading with a placard bearing the name of your target.

Who is in it? Contributors include Aaron Cynic (Diatribe), Emerson Dameron (Wherewithal), Jeff Disler (Time All At Once, Four Way Window Pain), Alicia Dorr (Random Life In Progress), Andrew Mall (Living Proof), Leonard "The Ludic Kid" Pierce, Kate Sandler (Brainiac), Grant Schreiber (Judas Goat Quarterly), Rachel Slager, Matt Vacant, and Brandon Wetherbee (Foul).

When was it published? We held a release party for Sanitary and Ship at Quimby's on February 19, 2005, where many of the contributors read works (see the flyer). Everyone in attendance got a copy of the zine, and we left the rest for Quimby's to give out to their customers. The final print run was delivered and prepped for distro four weeks later. There are more compilations of Chicago area writers planned for the future.

How can I get a copy? Sanitary and Ship is practically free. If you're an individual, send two stamps to Diatribe Media at the address below. If you're a zine library, email Kate Sandler at info@diatribemedia.com with your contact info, and she'll zip out a complimentary copy to you ASAP (if she hasn't done so already). If you review zines for a publication (online or print), contact Kate as well. If you're a distro, copies are available in batches of one or two dozen at a time for the cost of postage, please contact Andrew Mall at livingproof@atm4.net. (Please note that distros are welcome to give the zines away for free/postage or sell them for any price up to $1.)

Why are you doing this, aren't you losing a ton of money? Um, yeah, we definitely are. But in this day and age of corporate prose and commodified media, self-publishing is increasingly becoming simply a better and more direct way of getting your thoughts and ideas out to your audience. Our goal is twofold: 1) to expose new writing and talented writers to as many people as possible for as cheaply as possible, and 2) to promote awareness of self-publishing in general and zining in particular.

I'm a Chicago area writer, can I get involved? Definitely! We're always welcome to new writers. Information about the monthly readings is usually disbursed through the normal web-based channels, drop us a line and let us know you're interested in attending, reading, writing for the next issue, etc. We'll start thinking about a new issue of Sanitary and Ship after we've run out of these.

Hey! I'm a contributor, don't I get free copies? You certainly do. Contact Aaron Cynic about your complimentary batch.

Isn't Sanitary and Ship also a canal? It sure is, smartypants. For more information on the manmade waterways of the Chicago River system (San-Ship Canal, Cal-Sag Canal, etc.), please visit the website of the Friends of the Chicago River.

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