MENA Indie Zines & Platforms 2020

We have continually questioned the barrage of research, commercial trends, and click bait articles that have called ‘time of death’ on our respective field of publishing. With our collected knowledge, network, and experience in what is seemingly a “dying field,” we set out to formulate our own research focused on the global MENA publishing scene—namely, niche and independent publishing platforms.

As a platform that strives to amplify the voices of creatives and activists alike, we are dedicated to sharing our findings on a burgeoning field amongst creatives of the MENA region and beyond. As traditional publishing houses increasingly diminish, these independent platforms are paving the way for a new movement—heralding a cultural paradigm shift towards an egalitarian voice in publishing far from the constraints of traditional print and online media.

How many MENA indie platforms are there around the world? What motivates them? How do they work? Where do they get their funding from? Our research digs deep into all these questions and more to understand the inner workings of indie platforms and how they're reflecting, and shaping, our communities.

This feature is a work in progress. To independent MENA zines and platforms, we welcome your participation. For more information, please contact: info@khaleejesque.me

Research and textual content by Malak Al-Suwaihel, Khaleejesque Managing Editor

Our Main Findings:

The majority of indie zines are bilingual online platforms run by self-funded women volunteers who work remotely in the MENA region.

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List of MENA Indie Zines
and Platforms from Around the World:

Independent publishing is so important—it gives you the freedom to publish what you want to see and read, which is so special. I think we can all agree that we wished we had a publication like AZEEMA growing up, so it holds a special meaning to each of us in different ways. 

Azeema

The creative industries have been identified as the fastest growing driver of world economy. This is because they rely more on an unlimited global resource—human creativity. […]. There is a need for a platform like ours that aims to provide insights, develop infrastructures and create initiatives to inform the creative workforce about avenues of collaboration so that the sector can develop sustainably and be a contributor to the overall growth of their communities.

The AJALA Project

In this politically tumultuous and media-intensive age, we believe strongly in the power of narrative agency. Our aim is to construct an international network of artists, intellectuals, and cultural practitioners that work together in the realms of media to champion a changing world order.  

Barakunan

Daftar Asfar has been an interesting and important project to all three of the co-founders […]. For Lena, seeing artists with different backgrounds and styles connect, work together, and explore their own practices has been such a special part of what the platform offers. […]. For Nahla, it has been very much the idea of building a project that is a balance between play, representation, professionalism, the local and global. […]. Sarah thinks that in the age of digital and social media, it is really important to create tangible artwork on paper. 

Daftar Asfar

THE DAS MAG's mission is to cultivate creative self-actualization and discover one's true self through communicating perspective, understanding, and emotions.

The DAS Mag

We have reached over 1,000 users and followers in our short amount of time, worked alongside 10 various artists across different mediums, and shared the work of over 100 Muslim artists on our virtual platform.

Deen Journal

Being the carrier of and publishing such great artwork with the intention of it reaching and impacting others tethers us to the present fabric weaved together by all of these stories relative to Kuwait and to the greater region that will one day be a reflection of our history.

Ink & Oil Magazine

Jaffat El Aqlam is an independent platform that celebrates artistic creations by humans from/based in the MENA region, establishing its digital existence through zines, open calls, workshops, and collaborative dialogue. […]. Jaffat El Aqlam is an Arabic phrase that loosely translates to ‘Dried Out Pens,’ a name derived from the gradual disappearing use and consumption of traditional media.

Jaffat El Aqlam

The most beautiful thing to me about running Jahanamiya is getting to know our contributors, especially our writers. […]. They allow me to nurture their pieces to their full potential, a vulnerable and brave act that requires a lot of trust and patience on their part.

Jahanamiya

Above all, Safar seeks to give agency to graphic design as a field that plays an integral, important role in cultural production. Safar asserts this agency by contributing to and affecting culture itself. For example, the journal re-writes false, simplistic narratives about ‘the Middle East’ by demonstrating the intricacy and strength of design, thought, vision, and voice in the region.

Journal Safar

Khabar Keslan arose out of a perceived need to shift the representation of the region, both inside and out. There are some rather difficult boundaries that all publications from the region face: censorship, funding, etc. However, by exploring/pushing these limitations, we attempt to broaden the Middle East’s image.

Khabar Keslan

Our vision is to produce and disseminate a multilingual publication of stories from Palestinians living all over the world in a way that moves beyond rhetoric and discourse surrounding current affairs. We want to engage Palestinian artists, poets, writers, architects and designers that working sincerely in the world today.

Lifta Volumes

We strongly believe that it is necessary to have a platform that centers the Sudanese experience and caters to it within the regional context. We create projects with the understanding that there is not a singular common Sudanese experience and that it is our job to validate, amplify, and create for all of them.

Locale

For LOS GATOS MAG it was imperative to reopen the cross-cultural dialogue, to shift from a culture in which the arts of imitation and repetition are valorized, into a culture in which the notion of authenticity becomes of primary value. I always knew there were different kinds of art-making, different ways of thinking and existing, but it was important for me to showcase that under one platform.

Los Gatos Mag

Our impetus for founding and running Maamoul Press is to support and foster storytelling for us, by us, when it comes to our own and other communities of marginalized backgrounds that often do not find spaces for their stories in mainstream avenues. When we tell our own stories, we write our own histories, analyze our present realities, and imagine our collective futures.

Maamoul Press

We strive to empower women through advocating for Fertility Awareness, body literacy, recognizing the menstrual cycles as the fifth vital sign of health, and making informed consensual choices regarding their reproductive health and the environment.

Niswa

One of My Kind (OOMK) is a collaborative publishing practice led by Rose Nordin, Sofia Niazi, and Heiba Lamara. […]. OOMK Zine is a highly visual, handcrafted small-press publication. Printed biannually, its content pivots upon the imaginations, creativity, and spirituality of women. […]. With a focus on self-publishing and education, we founded and run a community Risograph printing press in East London, Rabbits Road Press.

OOMK/Rabbits Road Press

Sail really aims to instigate conversations about things that matter to all communities, and also bring said communities together by shedding light on matters that might not be commonly discussed even when and if they are points of concern to a greater majority. Through our magazine and books we touched many hearts and souls, whether through our mental health focus, parenting issues, youth life matters, poetry books, kids books, and so on.

Sail Magazine & Sail Publishing

I find it incredibly gratifying to introduce our readers to stories that they would have otherwise not known about, to introduce them to new ideas that inspire them and make a difference in their lives. The publishing industry is not an easy field, especially as digital magazines are now dominating the field, however nothing compares to the touch and feel of paper, holding a magazine or book in your hands and carefully flicking through the pages is incredibly gratifying.

Shawati' Magazine

It’s important to share and document the stories and art of the Arab-speaking world alongside the stories and narratives of the people who live in this part of the world, whether or not they identify as Arab or are of Arab descent. […]. It’s important to talk to each other, find each other and support each other, and to build more platforms and open more channels that give voice to our stories, through our own unique perspectives.

Sukoon Magazine

We intended for it to be an online scrapbook, a little virtual bubble outside the toxicity within social media platforms, and we managed to successfully do that through highlighting young voices and talents. Our journey has been nothing but beautiful and we’re growing every day.

Sumou Mag

For us, the importance of this publishing platform lies in the social and political potential of an active and critically engaged print community. 

TABAAN Print Platform

Since its very beginnings, TAP has focused its efforts on facilitating art interventions in physical and intangible public spaces; fostering debates around social themes, and positioning communities at the core of the reception of contemporary art, while providing artists with unique production and creation opportunities. 

Temporary Art Platform

What brought me to this publication is my love for physical goods, for the haptic sense of paper and the love for timeless things, and for things with  value, which lasts longer (contrary to the fast paced reality on the web). I want to share artists from the MENA region with  people in the West and vice versa. It is interesting and essential to have this exchange.

This Orient

[Our] vision for Unootha has been the same since the very beginning: we are working to ensure that Unootha is and continues to be a safe space for MENA womxn to express themselves, a place for them to tell their stories and to share their thoughts and opinions without fearing any judgement.

Unootha

My vision for 3asal was to create a space where Middle Eastern and North African women could celebrate each other’s beauty, talent, and resilience. […]. 3asal is important to us because we are creating the very images that were absent throughout our lives- Images of loud, visible, non-conforming, talented, beautiful MENA women. 

3asal Mag