fedizinefest/src/years/2026-2027/guidelines.md

---
title: FediZineFest 2026-2027 Guidelines
---

## What

A zine sharing and distribution project for the fediverse.

## Who

### Artists (cap of 25)

Provide physical and/or digital zines; receive payment and physical and/or digital zines.

We are again testing an artist waitlist. Additional artists will be added to the pool as funds allow and to cover for drop-outs.

### Backers (cap of 25 for physical zines; no cap for digital)

Provide payment; receive physical and/or digital zines.

## When

2026/2027 dates yet to be determined. Deadline structure as follows:

### Deadline 0

Artist sign-up closes.

### Deadline 1 (deadline 0 + 2 weeks)

Backer sign-up closes. Artists are informed of the number of physical zines needed.

### Deadline 2 (deadline 1 + 10 weeks)

Art submission deadline. Digital zines are submitted to digital drive; physical zines are in the mail.

### Deadline 3 (deadline 2 + 4 weeks)

Physical zines arrive at distributor (Lee).

### Deadline 4 (deadline 3 + 4 weeks)

Physical zines packaged and ready for shipment. Digital zines are organized and ready to share.

### Deadline 5 (deadline 4 + 4 weeks)

Physical zines arrive at recipients. Digital zines shared.

## Where

Anywhere that can ship to/from the US.

### Tariffs and duties

Per [US Customs and Border Protection](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/gifts), "gifts worth up to $100 may be sent, free of duty and tax, to friends and relatives in the United States." In artist's customs declarations, please value zines at the equivalent of USD1/zine or thereabouts and mark the package as a gift.

## Why

To bring folks together and share art.

## Artist information

**Zines do not have to be newly created for this event.** You may absolutely share zines you have previously created. However, please do not share zines that are already freely available in the same format - we want the backers to get a good deal.

Please feel free to share or sell your zine outside of FediZineFest after the event ends.

While you may submit more than one zine, I ask that you limit **physical** zine submissions to only the number of zines requested (this may all be one zine, half one/half another, or some other combination). This is to ensure that shipping doesn’t become too unreasonable (for you *or* me).

It is gently suggested, but not required, that zines be accessible to an English-speaking audience.

No generative AI content is allowed.

### Physical zine restrictions

No larger than one of:

- 21x14.9cm (a sheet of A4 paper, folded once)
- 8.5"x5.5" (a sheet of 8.5"x11" paper, folded once)

### Payment

As an artist, you can:

- **receive pay** by giving me Venmo or PayPal information when you sign up
- **waive pay** by choosing to opt out of payment when you sign up
- **pay in** by being a backer in addition to being an artist
  - By being a backer, you waive your artist payment regardless of whether you have chosen the payment opt-out or not
  - If you are a physical zine backer, you will receive *one* zine bundle regardless of whether you have opted out of your artist zine bundle or not (if you are a digital-only backer, you may still choose to receive a physical bundle as an artist)

**This is not a get-rich-quick scheme for anyone involved.** In [2025](/years/2025#statistics), the artist payout was between USD95 and USD135 per artist.

Last year, I adjusted the payment scheme to more appropriately compensate physical zine artists for the costs of printing and shipping. Artists who opted out of receiving physical zines also received a small bump in pay. I'll do this again this year. Exact payouts won't be determined until zines are collected to account for any artist drop outs.

Payment will be done over Venmo or PayPal. **If you cannot use either of these services, you must talk to Lee before signing up as an artist.**

## Backer information

Buying physical/digital or digital-only zine bundles will be done via [Lee's Ko-fi shop](https://ko-fi.com/inherentlee). If you've filled out the [interest form](/signup#interest-in-2026-2027), you'll get an email when bundle purchasing goes live. Otherwise, monitor the #fediZineFest and/or #fediZineFest2026 hashtags on the fediverse.