WHAT'S A K/S ZINE?

Long before the internet was anything more than a gleam in the eye of Scotty's great-great-many-times-great grandfather, fans wanted to share their visions of the special relationship between Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock of Vulcan.  Not content with the "hurt/comfort" Gen zines that were a staple of Star Trek fandom in the Seventies, some fans took the emotional resonance between human and Vulcan a step further:  they saw Kirk and Spock as lovers.

The first Star Trek fanzine was published in the very late Sixties.  The first stand-alone K/S zine came along several years later.  In 1976, the late Gerry Downes published Alternative:  The Epilog to Orion. (Still available from JJ Downes, see Other K/S Editors)  Since then, about five hundred K/S zines have been lovingly produced.

A "zine" is typically an amateur publication published not-for-profit by fans.  It can range from 50 pages to as many as 300 pages long.  (There are exceptions:  the famous novel Courts of Honor is over 600 pages long.  Many of the Nome series are in the 400 page range.  Beyond Dreams 3 tops Jenna Sinclair and D'Anne's page count at 298 pages.)  The typical zine today is from 150 to 200 pages long.

Zines are printed in small quantities, so the publishers don't get a break on price.  The zines are variously stapled, punched or perfect bound.  In the U.S., the pages are usually 8 ½ inches by 11 inches, although occasionally they're half that size in digest form.  In the UK and Australia, zines are usually printed on A4 size paper. 

Zines typically include a collection of short stories, vignettes, and novellas, accented by poetry and art.  Sometimes a zine is a complete novel.  Some concentrate on "first time" scenarios, that is, the first time that captain and first officer share a sexual experience, while others focus more on the continuing relationship once that first time has been accomplished.  There are zines that explore alternate versions of Kirk and Spock;  those are the a/u zines such as Scattered Stars or Otherwhere/Otherwhen, where Kirk might be a mercenary and Spock might be a prince, or the captain might be a wandering salesman and Spock might be an innocent farmboy.  There are even zines where every single story is about Kirk and Spock in the Mirror universe. Some authors write mostly about Kirk and Spock during the first five year mission, while others look at the events of the movies, and others move to their lives beyond their retirement.  There are as many different visions as there are authors, as many characterizations as there are visions.  After twenty-five years of exploring the characters and world of James Kirk and Spock of Vulcan, authors are still telling new and fascinating stories. 

K/S zines are strictly meant for the eighteen-and-over crowd, as they will usually contain explicit sexual material.  Editors require an age statement from those who order, so don't forget to send a signed note saying "I am over the age of eighteen" when you pay for a zine.

Many K/S zines that were originally printed in the Eighties are still being kept in print by their editors/publishers.  You can buy them now as if they were being published for the first time.  (See Other K/S Editors for information about contacting other K/S editors besides Jenna and D'Anne.  You'll find information on zines published by Merry Men Press, Kathleen Resch, Village Press, Dorothy Laoang, JJ Downes, and Mkashef Enterprises.)  Other K/S zines, even classics like Thrust, the Out of Bounds series, the novel Choices and many others, are unfortunately now out-of-print.

But….  There is still a way for you to read even the out-of-print K/S zines.  All subscribers to The K/S Press can borrow from The K/S Zine Library for the cost of postage only.  For more information about the Library, click here.

Have a question?  Write to kszines@aol.com and we'll be happy to help you.