Microcosm Publishing

COMING MARCH 15! “I dream of a better world,” writes zinester and How and Why author Matte Resist in the intro to his new book. He continues, “To me DIY culture is about grabbing a little piece of that dream.” What follows over the course of the next 281 pages is Matte doing what all dreamers must do—waking up from his dream, opening his eyes, and confronting what roadblocks and hurdles lie between him and his goal. Matte does this by laying down chapter upon chapter of blueprints for a better world. A sequel to our do-it-yourself handbook Making Stuff and Doing Things, How and Why gives us detailed, engaging, easy-to-use info on bicycles, home and garage, gardening, educating children, musical instruments, and the all-inclusive “everything else” section. If you dream of taking back your life and building a better world, How and Why might be your new best friend.

OUT NOW! Over the last fifteen years, Plan-it X Records helped foster a huge cultural revolution -- uniting geographically divided DIY punk communities under one umbrella. With a united ethic and common goals, this scene has grown to a critical mass while some bands flirted with mainstream success and others choose to remain firmly rooted in the basement punk scene. This original documentary climaxes in the 2006 Festival where punks from all over the world met up in Bloomington, IN for a week of music and skillsharing. Original footage of This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Japanther, Defiance, Ohio, Ghost Mice, One Reason, Operation: Cliff Clavin, Soophie Nun Squad, and more!

Look at our Youtube for more preview clips!

We've been cutting some boards, painting some signs, and doing some moving things around at the 'cosm store. It's also of note that we grew by 133% in November, so it's no longer abysmally small and crowded. New shelves! New merch! New love! It's at 833 SE Main St. #108 (at 9th b/t Hawthorne/Belmont) We have tons of unique discounted, damaged, forgotten gems from the past, and used stuff; much of it for half price or less! Take a gander at the $2 table! Everyday 12-7 PM

OUT NOW! Raleigh Briggs, author of the popular Microcosm title Make Your Place, is back with another pamphlet on better, healthier living. This time around, she tackles soap-making basics, and teaches us how to create silky handmade soaps at home. How To Make Soap contains basic directions, recipes, a list of resources, and assorted tips and tricks to make your homemade soaps special. Raleigh takes a seemingly arduous task, and makes it breezy and fun, with her charming hand-drawn illustrations and easy to follow directions. How to Make Soap is a great guide (and gift!) for the beginning soapmaker, looking for a place to start.

OUT NOW! Xerography Debt's new issue features even more of the beloved "review zine with perzine tendencies" wherein your favorite zine writers become zine reviewers, columnists, and news hounds! Wred Fright wrote an amazing history of zines that begins in 1929! 64 pages of new zines to fall in love with, collect obsessively, and tell your friends about. They want to review your zines in future issues; yes, you! We know you are out there! Now you should send it to: Davida Gypsy Breier / PO Box 11064 / Baltimore, MD 21212 USA. Now offering subscriptions! 

OUT NOW! Heck yeah, it's the new issue of Burn Collector! Here, in Burn Collector #14, zine superstar Al Burian lays down 156 pages of truth, trouble, and everyman blues. Whether battling the cops in Chicago, essaying the frenetic nervous breakdown of city life, spilling the secret truth of all religions, or talkin' comix and punk shows, Burian does so with class, humor, and a timeless feel for language. Burn Collector 14 is heavily illustrated, dense with stories, and ripped right from the headlines of Burian's hard, hilarious, rowdy life.

OUT NOW! Unemployment is the newest zine by Aaron Lake Smith of Big Hands fame. "There's nothing quite like the nagging doubt that accompanies a period of unemployment," begins the zine and for the next 44 pages Aaron brings us along on his dark journey into the heart of the failing American empire. Whether touching on the allegorical implications of the Spider-Man/Peter Parker character symbiosis, dreaming about a shameful meeting with a Christ-like Crimethinc author, or just roaming the recession-era streets, Aaron applies everything to the current economic slump and does so in prose that is tight, engaging, and downright hilarious. This little primer/per-zine is some timely stuff.

UPDATED FOR TEN YEARS LATER! Doris 15 starts by stating "there is nothing wrong with a little depression.  It is a reasonable response to this fucked up world and you don't need to hide or deny it."  That's what makes this anti-depression guide so great.  It doesn't treat depression like a disease that needs to be hidden and suppressed with the latest trend in drug therapy.  Instead, it offers fun, real-life advice from someone who had dealt with depression. New edition!

OUT NOW! Curated by Doris editor Cindy Crabb, Learning Good Consent looks at the culture of sexual consent from a standpoint both sexy and educational. Over the course of 46 pages, Cindy and friends create a well-rounded consent workshop, with all sites set on healing and helping. In a world of shady abusers, demonized victims, and one-sided dating rituals, Consent has your back. As says Cindy in the zine's intro, "Talking about our experiences with consent, our struggles, our mistakes and how we've learned, these are part of a much larger revolutionary struggle."

Just to yet ya'll know, we've got Slingshot Organizers in stock for 2010! Hurray! We've got both spiral-bound large ones, and the small ones in stock in a variety of colors. The time to organize is now!

We're planning for 2010--if there's something you'd like us to attend, get in touch!

As always, we're working on upcoming tours with The Hold Steady and The Thermals! Definitely doing upcoming tours with our buddies Against Me!, Strike Anywhere, The Bouncing Souls, and Defiance Ohio. See you there!

....okay, well, not really forever...but Just like supporting your local farmers, we now offer a "subscription" to everything that we publish! Every time we publish something new we'll send it to your door! Perfect for people who love to get a monthly package but don't have time to sift through what they want! $10-30/month based on what you can afford. Minimum subscription period is 6 months. Subscription begins the month after it is purchased. To receive more than 6 months, add multiple orders to your quantity.

These packs give you super savings, most of them are only $20.00 -- they're cheaper than if you bought the items separately!

Here's a listing of Superpacks we've released so far!  More to come!  Click on them for more details!

60 Miscellaneous Patches!

125 Miscellaneous Stickers!

Political Zine Pack ($11)

Queer as Punk!

Bicycle! Bicycle!

Go Vegan!

Make Something, Do Something

Nate Powell Superpack #1

Nate Powell Superpack #2

Nate Powell Superpack #3

OUT NOW!  Liz Baillie crafts a Degrassi-style teenage soap opera about queer punks in New York City! Our story resumes with Joey in a coma after an incident of queer bashing and Kate and Desi's relationship on the rocks. Desi's really religious, and Kate's really not, and they struggle to find a middle ground. The boys get caught smoking and uh, other things in the boys room, Kate getting in awkward situations with a hate crime perpetrator at her internship job, and much much more! Will queer teenage romance succeed? Will our heroes prevail over high school principals, skinheads, and a homophobic society?

OUT NOW! "For the past 30 years, Bert and Holly have been cranking this out on a manual typewriter in their yurt. You'll find diagrams and notes on how to make tools, portable showers, find seasonal jobs, stay warm at night while Winter camping; hitchhiking and freight train hopping guides; suggestions from people who live in their car, in tents, yurts, tipis, or nowhere at all. And perhaps my favorite thing about "Dwelling Portably" are the personal stories that surround the helpful information." -Print Fetish

Sick collects peoples' experiences with illness to help establish a collective voice of those impacted within radical/left/DIY communities. The zine is meant to be a resource for those who are living with illness as well as those who have not directly experienced it themselves. Contributors discuss personal experiences as well as topics such as receiving support, providing support, and being an informed patient. These writings are meant to increase understandings of illness and further discussion as well as action towards building communities of care.

Xerography Debt is back with issue #25 featuring more of the beloved "review zine with perzine tendencies" wherein your favorite zine writers become zine reviewers, columnists, and news hounds! 64 pages of new zines to fall in love with, collect obsessively, and tell your friends about. They want more zines to review for future issues! We know you are out there! Now you should send it to: Davida Gypsy Breier / PO Box 11064 / Baltimore, MD 21212 USA

Second edition out now! This 288 page tome collects the entirety of Avow zine issues #11 through 16 and selected entries from the first ten issues as well. Avow is a collection of artwork and stories with a few nods graphically to Aaron Cometbus and a lot of original ink drawings. He has done unique artwork for Glass & Ashes, The T4 Project, Submission Hold, Against Me!, New Bruises, Razorcake, and plenty more. His stories cut into the darker side of life growing up in a small coastal fishing town and the mischief that ensues. He is reminisces about the days when demo tapes were commonplace and CD-Rs were non-existent, puts a good spin on his tales of figuring out how to obtain his next meal, and learns a lot from society, the hardcore community, and college that he employs into the analysis in his writing. While relentlessly self deprecating, Keith is a great storyteller and does a good job of deeply probing his brain to share these stories.