We Peaked at Paper

Increasingly, as we come to terms with what a cesspit the internet really is, there has been a revival of interest in various artefacts once thought obsolete: vinyl records, analogue photography … and zines. With some zines from the punk era now selling for hundreds of pounds on eBay, and the study of zines a burgeoning field of academic interest, We Peaked at Paper appears at a propitious time.

The book consists of twenty interviews with current and former editors of zines. Authors Hogg and Ironside travelled across Britain to carry out the interviews face to face over a period of five years. They sought to examine the widest possible range of publications, from the science fiction zines of the 1930s to a zine begun by a ten-year-old editor during the Covid pandemic.

This is a volume that celebrates amateurism, and will be cherished by those who favour the local over the global, the home-made over the mass-produced, and Melody Dog over Taylor Swift. After achieving a cult following on its hardback publication in 2022, it is now available in paperback for the first time. In the words of Peter Doherty: ‘A great read – it had me reaching for my Stanley knife and glue!’