Zine Crush

In August I went into the main Powell’s Books downtown with copies of Zine Crush. I showed them to Kevin, who manages the small press and zines sections, and expected I’d have to explain the premise. Instead, he saw the title and immediately said, “I’ve heard about this! You’re the one behind it?”

I said I was. “But don’t list my name. I’m keeping it anonymous for now.”

Kevin agreed, and then requested twice the number he’d bought, in the past, of my personal zine. Over the next couple weeks, they all sold. My feelings toward this were ambivalent.

Shortly after I started this website, I created Twitter and Facebook accounts for Zine Crush. The friends and followers soon came to surpass my own in number. I joked with my friend S. that, in the beginning, I decided to publish Zine Crush anonymously because it’s fitting to the theme. Others would be encouraged to submit their own anonymous confessions, if they so chose. But my intention was to keep the intrigue light. If someone were to learn that _____ is the person behind Zine Crush, the expected response, in the beginning, was, “Of course, that makes sense.” As I joked to S., now I think the most common reply would be, “Who is _____?”

I’ve let on to a dozen folks my identity. Two contributors to Vol. 1 guessed it correctly via email. I revealed my authorship to a few zine friends in asking for submissions. All of my own zine crushes that I’ve written about could surely figure it out, but to my knowledge, only K.J. has noticed. I’ve even used Zine Crush as a means to impress new crushes (L.P. and A.L.G.), because isn’t that the point. I’m not certain, but my goal in creating Zine Crush might have been to receive a letter about me, _____. Unless there is a note waiting in my PO Box, it hasn’t hapened yet.

So what about the rest of you? Would it change Zine Crush to know who edits it? Is my anonymity an unnecessary affectation, or does it add likable mystery? I’d appreciate your input.