Legends ZIne
From Storybook to Heart
Pre-orders are OPEN!
Get your copy here!
About
From Storybook to Heart is a zine that will feature a collection of art and writing by Asian creators. Each piece will be inspired by a fairytale, myth or legend that's close to the creator's heart.
Don't be afraid to ask us questions! You can reach us via Twitter (@Storybook2Heart) or by email ([email protected])
Hello everyone! We are the two person team behind “Legends Zine: From Storybook to Heart”, and we are so excited to work with Asian creators from all over to bring this idea to life!
We are both currently university students in Canada, and we have known each other for three years. We quickly bonded over our shared love of the arts and the zine community. Although we’ve never participated in a zine before, we have done extensive research prior to applying to the Head & Hands project funding (see our zine info doc for more details).
We have chosen our zine manufacturer (North Print, a Canadian based printing company), researched shipping prices to different parts of the world, and carefully budgeted the $1,000 funding we received in order to make this zine run as smoothly as possible.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via a Twitter Direct Message (@Storybook2Heart) or by email ([email protected]). We want to be completely transparent with our contributors and potential buyers, and we strive to be organized, efficient and honest throughout this entire project!
In addition to being mods of this zine, we will both be contributing art and writing pieces. We’re super excited to work with other artists and writers on this project, and we’re incredibly grateful for all the interest and support our idea has received! Thank you for taking time to read this :)
Hi friends, I’m AJ (she/her), and I’ll be handling the social media and most of the graphics/layout responsibilities of this zine. Additionally, I’ll be helping Will with shipping when the time comes.
I was born in China; however, I was adopted by a non-Asian, American couple at age one. Growing up in a 99% white, suburban town, I was fairly sensitive about my race and generally rejected my Chinese heritage. I often felt “too Asian” for my white peers and “too Americanized” for any Asian people I met. I felt caught between two worlds. During the last couple years of high school, through art and writing, I slowly became comfortable with the fact that I didn’t have to “belong” to either world. I began to build my own identity that wasn’t reliant on where I came from or what my ethnicity was, and I’m learning to be proud of that identity.
You can find me on Instagram and Twitter (@aunejoii for both). Be aware that my personal accounts are very new and fairly empty! Although I’ve followed the zine community very closely on Twitter for a while, I never actually had social media accounts until recently when I decided I wanted to be more involved online and got the courage to actually share some of my art!
Howdy folks! I’m Will (he/him/his) and I am the finance mod for this zine project. I also occasionally contribute graphics, though this isn’t as convenient for me as I’m currently not using a tablet/digital art pen (though I hope to, soon!).
I was born in China, and my family moved to Canada when I was three years old. The city I grew up in was very multicultural— with Canada also being quite diverse and culture-embracing— so I had the opportunity to connect with both Asian and non-Asian peers. But, while I was able to make good friends and embrace my Asian Canadian identity, I struggled with something else. My sexuality isn’t something that I have defined yet (and I appreciate that I do not need to), though the fact that I am not ‘fully’ straight was alone enough to produce the internalized shame and the disconnect between my culture and my identity. Despite non-heteronormative behaviour having been documented in Asia since ancient times, the present is characterized by stressful racial and sexual standards. It is important to recognize our shared experiences despite perceived differences, and creating art/writing are some ways that I choose to do so :)
You can also find me on Instagram and Twitter (@willpower_8 for both).