Publishing Practices with Esther McManus

Our Publishing Practices sessions are here to help you shake off creative blockages, spark ideas for your own publishing projects, and explore our extensive print archive and zine collection. Whether you’ve just had a spark of an idea or you’ve already started taking steps on a print project, our August session is for you!

As per usual, we’ll have 3 different workshop zones for you to cycle through, and you’ll have the opportunity to share your current print project — whatever stage it’s at — to a small, friendly group.

If your concept is still in your head and you haven’t made any progress yet — great, bring it!

If you’ve got early drafts, drawings, layouts, or experiments — bring those too.

This is a space to talk things out, test formats, and connect with others who are navigating their own publishing processes, no matter what stage you're at.

This month we have a special guest: Esther McManus. The session will open with a short talk from Esther on one of our latest zines St. Monday - a copy of Esthers zine is included in the price, after which we'll launch into our 3 workshop zones:

1. Archive & Communal Table
Explore our extensive zine collection laid out across a giant table. Browse, get inspired, and talk to others about what you’re seeing. Riso experts will be on hand to offer insights on how you can make your own printed matter.

2. A6 Zine-Making Station
Fold, cut, and paginate an A3 sheet into various zine formats. Use a variety of different papers (including our jazzy printed sheets) and worksheets to mock up your own dummies, and take home a Risograph colour swatch for reference and inspiration.

3. Group Crits
Meet in small groups to share, listen, and reflect — a low-pressure space for sharing work-in-progress. Bring along your drawings, notes, or the beginnings of something you've been working on. It's a chance to speak ideas out loud, get feedback, and develop your project in conversation with others.

This time we have 2 options for you:

Sharing First Steps: Briefly share early zine ideas and get feedback and advice on how to progress.

Sharing next Steps: Present a project already in progress — especially anything you’ve brought to a previous Publishing Practices session!