Microcosm Publishing: creativity released

If you’re interested in zines, books or related creative scribblings, Microcosm Publishing is a Bloomington mainstay you won’t want to miss.

Popular among the DIY crowd and artistically curious, Microcosm has been making waves in Bloomington for almost four years.

While the publisher, situated in an old Victorian house near the south side of town, mostly handles distribution, its sister store in Portland, Ore., deals with merchandise.

Creator Joe Biel founded the publishing collective in 1996 from his bedroom, as a zine distributor and then-record label.

Microcosm is now one of the largest zine distributors in the world.

Though the Bloomington branch does not hold a commercial space, Sparky Taylor, who works for the distributor, says readers are welcome to get involved.

“We’re always willing to provide help and suggestions,” Taylor said.

Catalogs of upcoming releases and popular titles can be found at Boxcar Books.

“Edible Secrets: A Food Tour of Classified U.S. History” by Michael Hoerger and Mia Partlow covers a history of declassified CIA memos, debriefings, and transcripts — all of which involve food.

“Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas” by Shaun Slifer and Bec Young, which was co-published by Justseeds, an online artists’ cooperative, is 192 pages of illustrated, mini-poster biographies detailing the lives of radicals and dissidents.

Justseeds divvied up the illustrations to different members of the collective, while Microcosm designed the book’s cover.

“We do more than just distribute,” Taylor said. “We do all the layouts, editing and covers. It’s as hands-on as you want it to be for our authors. There are some people who just hand us everything and say, ‘Do it.’”

Author Ayun Halliday, who draws the zine “East Village Inky,” has been active in the editing process for Microcosm’s new book, “Zinester’s Guide to NYC.”

Everyone around Microcosm is excited for the guide, which is based on its predecessor, “Zinester’s Guide to Portland,” and is scheduled for release this summer.

Zine lovers all over New York have contributed their knowledge to make the book travel-friendly and fun.

The company is run by Taylor, Chris Lynch and Steven Stothard. Taylor said they all divide their time between Microcosm and other interests.

“I feel that it’s important to say ... because we’re all really involved community members,” he said.

Lynch started the Deeproots Animal Sanctuary in 2007 as a last-chance place for animals that would have otherwise been put down. He recently organized a rescue for a closing shelter, he said.

“There were about 200 cats, and we took 17 of them,” Lynch said.

Taylor works at Rhino’s Youth Media Center and All-Ages Club four days a week, helping to run after-school art programs for teenagers as well as leading youth radio and mural-painting.

Taylor is also an illustrator and has drawn pages for anthologies distributed by Microcosm.

“One of my favorite things is being exposed to so many creative people and their projects on a regular basis,” Taylor said. “It’s the immediacy of getting mail — comics or personal journals.”

An internship application is available at the Microcosm website, www.microcosmpublishing.com. In the past, interns from France and Australia have lent their time and support to the group.

An open submission policy stands for distributed work, and Microcosm holds submission meetings every two weeks. Comic artist Nate Powell is one of the locals Microcosm distributes.

“Anyone can submit anything,” Taylor said. “A lot of the people we publish start as a distribution. The zines become really popular, so we turn it into a book.”

Bill Daniel, the author of “Mostly True: The Story of Bozo Texino,” will be screening his documentary about hobos, freight riders and rail workers for $5 July 12 at The Bishop.