with bare hands,
we reach

A zine dedicated to telling the stories of Asia, both past and present.

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about the project

With Bare Hands, We Reach is an upcoming zine that tells the story of the people of Asia. It is dedicated to the concept of Asian mythology and aims to connect our history and our old folk tales with the present.The purpose of With Bare Hands, We Reach is to create a space for the voices of all people of Asia. This zine welcomes Asian immigrants as well as people of Asian descent who reside in Asia. The only requirement to apply for this zine, is, well, to be Asian!Whether you are deeply connected to your cultural roots or are just discovering/rediscovering your background, we welcome all people of Asian descent. We want your voice to be heard and your story to be told, through the medium of Asian mythology.

FAQ!

WHAT IS A ZINE?A collection of varying types of artwork that includes but is not limited to: digital/physical art, prose, verse, etc. centered on a theme, topic, or event.WHAT IS WITH BARE HANDS, WE REACH ALL ABOUT?With Bare Hands, We Reach is a zine that focuses on the different types of mythology and folklore present in the continent of Asia, and how it connects to the present day, Asian culture, and stories both personal and mythological. The primary intent of this zine is to provide a stage for Asian voices, stories, and experiences, and the uplifting of Asian creators in the zine community.WHAT TYPE OF WORK IS ALLOWED?We encourage contributors to create what they see fit for this zine. It is completely up to the contributors and will showcase as many parts of Asia as we possibly can. As long as it can be printed in a pdf format, we will accept it. We will also be creating some small physical merch!Fanwork is a bit more dubious, as we encourage original work from our contributors. Please try to submit your own work, or your own ocs in a fan-universe at the very least!If you are a writer or artist who wants to create a work about personal experience, you have the option to remain anonymous in the final product.WHAT IS THIS ZINE'S RATING?Seeing as there will be all types of mythology and folklore involved as well as real and personal stories told by Asians, we cannot guarantee that the zine will be General-themed; however, we are aiming for a PG-15 rating with the main zine.There will be a separate, additional subzine involving more mature content (ie. horror, gore, non-sexual nudity) with an 18+ rating. Contributors have the option of working for both zines, or only one.IS THIS ZINE FOR-PROFIT, NON-PROFIT, OR FOR-CHARITY?This zine will currently be 100% for charity. While we would love to provide monetary compensation to our contributors and mods, we believe that unless we could provide them with a significant amount of compensation ($10 USD+), the compensation would not be significant enough to warrant doing a charity-profit split.Should we pass a certain threshold in profit from pre-orders, we would consider switching the zine from 100% for charity to a 50-50 charity/profit split. Charities focused on supporting Asian communities are currently being researched to determine which will be supported by the zine’s profits.WHAT CAN I APPLY AS?You can apply as a contributor! Currently, contributors apps are for: page artists, cover artists, writers, as well as page-fillers (which is the fancy term for those who want to apply as an artist but is hesitant on the concept of a whole page or two of work, so they will be working with the writers and the graphic design mod/s!)!Contributor opens are now open! You can apply by filling out this form!WHO WILL BE ACCEPTED/DO I NEED PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE?Our goal is to try and accept as many people as we can for this zine. The only requirement is for you to be of Asian descent, regardless of where you're from or where you are right now! To those who will be worried that we cannot guarantee that everyone who makes it in is Asian, we have a thorough application that will be difficult to fake if you're not Asian. And if we do find out that someone lied, they will be banned immediately, no questions asked.You do not need previous experience to apply as a contributor or a mod! That being said, we would prefer to have at least a few mods with experience on the team. Certain restrictions apply.HOW CONTRIBUTORS WILL YOU BE ACCEPTING?The rough estimate we are looking at right now is roughly:- 20 writers (subject to change)
- 35-40 page artists (subject to change)
- 1-2 cover artists
- 10-15 page fillers (subject to change)We want to try and accept as many people as we can so that we can give everyone an opportunity to share their stories; however, we are limited by the fact that we do not want this zine to become too large to reasonably manage.WHAT HAPPENS IF A CONTRIBUTOR OR MOD HAS TO DROP OUT?We strongly encourage people applying for the moderator position to be certain they will be dedicated to this project throughout its entirety, as it will be difficult to find new mods, especially if they drop out mid-project. With that said, to those who are planning on applying for mod positions, there will be an option regarding the potential of being a mod pinch-hitter if this were to happen, as an emergency plan.For contributors who need to drop out, we will be slightly more lenient. There'll be the same process in the contributor apps for the option to be a potential pinch-hitter, and if you need to drop out, please discuss this with the head mod. Thank you!CAN MODS CONTRIBUTE TO THE ZINE AS WELL?If they find that they have the time, yes. If they choose to contribute, they will be held to the same standards as every other contributor and will need to follow the check-ins regardless of their mod position. They are only allowed to contribute one piece of work, or be a pinch-hitter!CAN I APPLY FOR MULTIPLE POSITIONS?You have the option of applying to multiple moderator positions, but you will need to answer multiple questions and sections if you choose to do so. You will only be accepted for one position.If you are applying for multiple contributor positions, you will be asked to provide different portfolios related to each position. If you are accepted to one contributor position, you will have the option of accepting the pinch-hitter position of the other position you applied to, but officially you can only accept one position.
note: Page artists can only apply to be a Page-filler pinch hitter as well, and cannot apply for both/apply to be a writer, and vice versa.WHAT DO I INCLUDE IN MY PORTFOLIO/APPLICATION?All information relating to contributor applications can be found here!There will also be a section in this link dedicated to any FAQ pertaining to contributors.WHAT FORMAT WILL THIS ZINE BE IN?This zine will consist of the main digital pdf, the 18+ side zine, digital merchandise, and some small physical merch. The specifics and existence of the physical merch are subject to change as best fits the needs and capabilities of the mod team.HOW WILL CONTRIBUTORS BE COMPENSATED?We will provide all contributors with a free copy of the pdf and all digital merchandise, and all merch artists with copies of the merch they designed. If finances allow, we hope to provide all contributors with physical merch. In the event we switch from 100% for-charity to a 50-50 split between profit and charity, the profit will be split between contributors after the moderator team is provided their compensation.I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN THIS FAQ/PERTAINING TO ME SPECIFICALLY.Contact us via Twitter DMS, Tumblr, or send us an email to [email protected]! We'll try to answer your question as soon as possible.