I’m the creator of the popular zine Sonic Chihuahua, which I started back in the summer of 1992 with a couple of friends. It then went on a twenty-nine-year hiatus, and in 2021 (for various reasons) I started it up again. I’m not still in touch with those friends, unfortunately, but I hope they would like what I’ve done with the zine. And who knows? Maybe one day an issue will find its way to one or both of them, and we’ll be in touch again. You can read the full story of the zine’s genesis in volume 2, issue 1.

To get onto the Sonic Chihuahua distribution list or to order back issues (available in limited quantities), contact us at SonicChihuahuaZine@gmail.com for details.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The Sonic Chihuahua would love to have submissions of your original art and writing! We’re looking for:
*  B&W art (must photocopy well)
*  a regular comic (email us about content/vision)
*  poetry (under 2 pages)
*  prose (fiction or creative non-fiction, under 750 words)
*  recipes
*  Top 5 lists
*  themed bingo cards

We do consider longer work up to 1,200 words, but shorter pieces fit better. We’re open to almost any genre, but nothing hateful. Also nothing sexually explicit: no shade, this just isn’t the right venue for it. Please note: submission is not a guarantee of publication.

Payment: 2 copies of the issue your work appears in and token payment. (We wish it could be more, but the zine just isn’t profitable yet. But we insist on paying something.) Submit your work at SonicChihuahuaZine@gmail.com with a short note explaining that you’d like it to be considered for the zine.

2023 ISSUE THEMES (which you may adhere to or not):
* Spring (deadline March 1st)
* Summer (deadline June 1st)
* Fall (deadline September 1st)
* Winter (deadline December 1st)

AD SPACE

That’s right, we’re selling ads! Do you have a book, album, podcast, or event you want to promote? How about a comic or even another zine? (There’s room for everyone in the zinester community.) Would you like to get the word out to a bunch more people? (Note that we won’t include ads for anything hateful; the same content guidelines as for other submissions apply here, too.) Deadlines for ads (content and payment) are the same as other submissions.

ad rates:
*  full page + interview $30 (you’ll also get 2 copies of the issue you’re featured in)
*  full page $20
*  half-page $12
*  quarter-page $7

SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Here are formal subscription details for 2023: the zine comes out quarterly (every 3 months). Subscription rates per issue are $5 (1 copy), or $20 for a full year. A paperless option is available via subscription-only basis: a .pdf in your email inbox, rather than a print copy, paid in advance for a minimum of 4 issues (1 year) at a discounted rate of $16. Subscriptions can be paid via Venmo, PayPal, and cash. To subscribe, email us at SonicChihuahuaZine@gmail.com. 

What happens when the zine reaches 100 paying subscribers (per issue)?

Wouldn’t that be awesome?? First, our contributors would get paid more. Woo-hoo! Second, I would write brand-new fiction just for the zine, not published anywhere else first. Yay for exclusive content!!

 

VOLUME 3 — 2022

issue 1 (January/February):

* Embracing My Inner Goth (part 4)
* monsters and how we deal with them
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* guacamole (seriously!)
* convo with Kristen Bird
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 2 (March/April):

* Embracing My Inner Goth (part 5)
* the LLS campaign
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* egg salad (seriously!)
* convo with artist and teacher Anthony Suber
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

issue 3 (May/June):

* Embracing My Inner Goth (part 6)
* update on the LLS campaign
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* one-pot pasta meal (seriously!)
* convo with author Tanya Aydelott
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* rants, poetry, and art

 

 

issue 4 (July/August):

* Back-To-School Bingo
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* mashed potatoes (seriously!)
* convo with author NeriSiren herself
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* fiction and art

 

 

 

issue 5 (September/October):

* The Pep Rally I Cannot Forget
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* pumpkin cream cheese muffins (seriously!)
* convo with renaissance man Olen Rambow
* voting information
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* fiction and art

 

issue 6 (November/December):

* exciting changes coming in 2023
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* lasagna soup (seriously!)
* convo with poet Melissa Huckabay
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* fiction, poetry, and art

 

VOLUME 2 — 2021

issue 1 (May):

* Why “SONIC CHIHUAHUA”? What Does That Even Mean???
* The Year of Living Pandemically
* apple pie (seriously!)
* convo with author Sarah Warburton
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 2 (June):

* A Graduation Message: The Fundamental Lies of Our Culture
* Chocolate Disaster Cake (seriously!)
* convo with Jamie Portwood of Writespace (wide-ranging, and it gets DEEP, yo)
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 3 (July):

* Vacationing in Purgatory: The Spice Lady of Maine
* fiction and bingo
* rainbow trout (seriously!)
* convo with author Adam Holt
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 4 (August):

* The Twi-Moms’ Lament
* yet more fiction
* chocolate chip cookies (seriously!)
* convo with Vali Reinhardt (frontwoman of Black Market Tragedy)
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 5 (September):

* an essay about the day this country shifted
* kittens and fiction
* pasta sauce (seriously!)
* convo with Sean Fitzpatrick (executive director of The Jung Center)
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 6 (October):

* Embracing My Inner Goth (part 1)
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* zeitunes (seriously!)
* convo with renaissance woman Christa Forster
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

issue 7 (November):

* Embracing My Inner Goth (part 2)
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* turkey (seriously!)
* convo with Aaron Herrick
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry, fiction, and art

 

 

issue 8 (December):

* Embracing My Inner Goth (part 3)
* NeriSiren’s Coffee Grotto
* salad (seriously!)
* convo with David Jón Fuller
* a Top 5 List not to be missed!
* poetry and art

 

 

VOLUME 1 — 1992

I don’t still have any copies of the original Sonic Chihuahua, which I printed on a dot matrix printer, taped onto blank paper, and xeroxed at my uncle’s grocery store. But hey, if you do have a copy from way back then, I would love for you to share it with me!!