APA - Fanlore

APA stands for Amateur Press Association, and an apazine (also APA zine) is a kind of zine in which all the materials, generally letters, would be sent to a central person, who would simply copy the entire packet in the cheapest possible way (e.g. mimeograph, spirit duplicating, xerography, offset printing; APAs far predate the photocopy machine.)^[1] Sometimes each of the contributors sends as many copies of their submission as there are subscribers to the central mailer of the zine, who then collates and mails these, and does not have to take care of the printing.

APAs were important media for fannish conversation, discussion, and interaction: sort of a fannish mailing list or LiveJournal in print sent by snail mail.

Many apazines require a minimal amount of submissions from their members, like the dues some mailing lists such as for example the Sentinel Angst List have for membership, so that no lurking is allowed.

Examples

• APA Enterprise (Star Trek: TOS, 1980s)
• APAritions (Real Ghostbusters)
• APA-VCR for video tape exchange
• Dandruff Droppings (Blake's 7)
• On the Wing (Blake's 7)
• Rallying Call (Blake's 7, 1990s)
• Terra Nostra Underground (multifandom slash, 1990)
• Trelainia (Anime, 1983-?)

External Links

• Amateur Press Association at Wikipedia
• Horvat apazines at the University of Iowa

References

1. ↑ Francesca Coppa, "A Brief History of Media Fandom." In: K. Hellekson, K. Busse (eds.) Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet. New Essays McFarland, 2006. p 43.