Cape Town's Freshest Zines To Pay Attention To

There’s something magical about picking up a freshly printed zine. Be it the smell of ink on the paper, the tactile nature of the pages, or simply the fact that it’s obvious an immense amount of love and care has gone into the small package you hold in your hands. In spite of the rise of digital, there are a slew of printed zines arriving on the shelves of independent bookshops, bars and cafes around Cape Town. Here are some worth seeking out:

Recipes for Self Love

Recipes for Self Love is a visually beautiful zine with an uplifting tone. Alison Rachel created this zine (along with a beautiful Instagram account) in order to help readers drown out the trolls and negative voices in the media and online worlds. Recipes for Self Love has a strong emphasis on providing an alternative voice to the sexism, racism and LGBT+phobic sentiment out there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWU-O7AgftC/

Any Body Zine

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV7RDbwgayp/

Ja. Magazine

This mainly electronic, but sometimes print, zine is one of the country’s most decorated when it comes to awards. It’s a well-designed, thoughtful zine that cuts straight to the heart of what a good zine should be — honest, beautiful and insightful. It’s a non-profit venture run by writer Dave Mann and photographer Niamh Walsh-Vorster, and provides a valuable platform for local artists and writers to publish their work.

The Lake

The Lake has been around for long enough now to be considered an established zine, and yet it hasn’t lost an ounce of freshness over the last 15 editions. It’s a free print zine, with strong online presence, that covers photography, art, lifestyle, fashion, music, and film. The articles are thoroughly researched, entertaining and always on point. The team takes no shortcuts on the photographic and design sides either, which ensures it’s always an engaging read.

BAEK

BAEK is a zine that proves that with passion and determination, there’s no restriction on what you can make your zine about. This stunning food-focused zine takes recipes and baked goods to a new level, often with its tongue firmly in its cheek. It features a range of appealing recipes with incredible photos to match, which means that even if you’re not inclined to stick your fingers in the dough, you’ll find this a pleasing read. BAEK also has a blog to compliment the print version.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ2bai4B69Y/

A New Kind of Problem

This zine by artist Sebastian Borckenhagen is a doodler’s dream. It’s a visual masterpiece crammed full of his vibrant drawings. Though on first glance the artwork may appear light-hearted, Borckenhagen’s illustrations almost always have a deeper meaning which makes his zines well worth engaging with. The zine is available in print version at the Book Lounge in Cape Town.

Prufrock

Prufrock is a zine that has built up a large following based almost entirely on its written content. They publish non-fiction, fiction and poetry in all of South Africa’s languages. Though they’ve been around for some time, a recent break in the printing schedule has had fans excited about the fresh print version to hit the shelves in the coming weeks.

Bikini Shark

Cape Town artist Hugh Upsher is a man in demand. His quirky drawings that somehow cut to the heart of real issues in the city, while never getting too serious, have popped up around the web in recent years. Fans of his work know that he also has one of Cape Town’s hottest zines, which comes out every couple of months. If you can’t wait that long, you can stay up to date with his work on the Bikini Shark Facebook page.

Born Out Of Boredom

Even as one of the newer zines on the publishing block in Cape Town, Born Out Of Boredom (BOOB) has managed to garner a good following and lots of critical appreciation. The zine targets young South Africans who are “careless and laid-back” with a gritty zine that available in print, Instagram and Tumblr.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUgblPyAyTq/

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.