Shoutout to my friend Stephanie V. for that quote.

Hello, it’s me again and I’m back! I’ve clearly given up on trying to make this e-mail newsletter monthly, but I’ll settle for “when I have news to share” which hopefully will be monthly.

2025 is extremely terrifying, I won’t lie to y’all. But I decided post-election day that I was going to center creativity, self-expression, and community this year, so here I am.

I have a new zine!

So I think the best news right now is that I really am back on my bullshit, making stuff and doing creative projects via Wild Ramp Publishing, trying to cling to joy where I can. Last month I released a collaborative zine called “Act Your Age” with essays from fans over age 35 (please remember to include your mailing address if you buy it from Gumroad, thanks!)

“Act Your Age” was a lot of fun to do, and the spirit of The Learned Fangirl lives on here. I think about TLF a lot, and sometimes think of bringing it back since there’s SO much discourse around fandom that I still have a lot of interest in, as social justice and pop culture still remain so intertwined. But I think I can do a lot of that through Wild Ramp and indie publishing, it’s kind of full circle for me.

Anyway, putting together “Act Your Age” was so much fun I am already planning a 2nd volume, this time focused on essays (or art) with the theme of “dark,” which is very open to interpretation. I’m accepting submissions until April 1 so please check out this form and consider sending your work in!

Also, if you’d like to pick up a copy of “Act Your Age” or my other long-form zine “Fangirl Confessional” (which was 3rd Runner Up for the Chicago Reader Best of Chicago, BTW) I’ll be at DePaul’s Spring Zine Fest on March 15th, tabling with my buddy Fred Sasaki and Sasaki Family Zines. Come see us at 2250 N. Sheffield Ave, 12pm-4pm.

Disability Justice Microgrants

Also! Wild Ramp Publishing is giving out Disability Justice Zine Microgrants! Why? Because I want to read more zines focused on DJ and zines from disabled people, especially newbies. With the help of a small committee of Wild Ramp friends, we will give out four $250 grants total, two in May and two in October.

I would absolutely love to give away more grants, so if you have a few coins you wanna donate (or you know a wealthy bored person who really wants to spend their money), you can donate via Flipcause. Wild Ramp is fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts and Media so it’s tax deductible!

Fangirl Corner: Concerts!

I have not been to concerts the way I used to since the start of the pandemic, being COVID-conscious, but recently there have a few shows that made my heart ache to miss so I slapped on my N95, sprayed some Betadine in my nose and hoped for the best. I saw Apocalyptica, an all-cello symphonic metal group best known for covering the music of Metallica and it was so much fun. I forgot how much Metallica was a part of my formative years and how much I still love “And Justice For All,” that album will forever slap.

I also saw Taemin (SHINee) last weekend and I have literally been crying ever since. I always knew he was a fantastic live solo performer but seeing it in person was mindblowing, amazing dance, powerful vocals, he is K-pop’s very best, full stop. It was also a big moment for me as a shawol, because it’s the first time I’ve seen any member of SHINee live since 2017. I still wasn’t sure if my heart was healed enough, but I am so glad I went. If you have an opportunity to see Taemin live in any capacity (including a live stream) DO IT.

Please say hi!
I am very serious about staying focused on creating and community this year, it’s really the one thing keeping me from crashing out, so please shoot me a line if that’s of interest to you too. Whether it’s collaborating on something or just me boosting something cool that you are doing, I want to stay connected: keidra@gmail.com or for writing/zine/fandom specific stuff wildramppublishing@gmail.com

xoxo

• Keidra

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