Staple Guns, PDFs and Photocopier Credits: Turning a Northampton Con Weekend into a Zine, Podcast or Photo Book

There is a specific kind of Monday morning after a Northampton con. Your feet hurt, your phone is full of blurry photos, and you have a very strong opinion about the cosplay competition that you need to share with someone. Most of us let that feeling fade by Wednesday. The makers do not. They turn it into a zine, a podcast episode, a photo book or a small collaborative project that keeps the weekend alive.

This is an opinion piece, but it is also a practical one. I think Northampton's small-event scene is one of the best places in the UK to start a fandom creative project — not because it is trendy, but because it is cheap, friendly and close enough to actually finish something.

The post-con glow is a resource. Use it before it fades

The week after an event is when your ideas are sharpest and your energy is highest. Use it. Make a voice note on the drive home. Open a notes app and write down the three things you actually want to make: a mini-zine about local cosplay, a photo book of the day, a podcast episode about the panel you just saw, a sticker sheet, a fan art print set.

Do not try to make all of them. Pick one. A finished eight-page zine is worth more to the scene than a perfectly imagined ninety-page anthology that never gets printed. The Northampton scene is built on small things that actually happen.

What people are making — and what it actually costs

Local fandom projects tend to fall into a few shapes. Zines are the classic: A5 booklets of fan art, essays, interviews, cosplay photos or event diaries. Photo books are popular with cosplayers and photographers who want something more permanent than an Instagram grid. Podcasts are cheap to start if you already have a phone. Sticker sheets, prints and small charity anthologies also do well at local meetups because they are easy to buy on a whim.

The costs are lower than people think. A short photocopied zine can cost around £20 to £40 for thirty copies if you keep it black and white and A5. A podcast can cost nothing if you record on a phone, edit in free software and use a free hosting tier. A photo book is the expensive one — print-on-demand services can make a single copy cost £15 to £30, so it makes sense to crowdfund or take pre-orders before you hit print.

The real budget line is time. Zines need proofreading. Podcasts need editing. Photo books need colour checks and permission from the people in the photos. Build that into your plan before you announce a deadline.

Where to print, share and sell in Northampton

Start local. Town-centre print shops can handle short-run photocopying and booklet binding, and they are often happy to explain paper weights and staple options if you ask. For slightly fancier projects, online UK printers such as Mixam are popular with zine makers, but check the proof copy before you order fifty.

For sharing, Northampton Central Library is a good meeting point for collab sessions, and local noticeboards still work for zine swaps and small events. The town's creative spaces and community venues occasionally host workshops and small press tables, so keep an eye on local listings. If you are selling, the safest first step is a community table at a local meetup or con rather than a full dealer hall. Ask the organiser what is allowed, what the table costs and whether they want digital or physical copies.

Online, keep it simple: a Ko-fi page, an Instagram or Bluesky account, and a clear link to where people can buy or download. Do not build a website before you have made the thing. The thing comes first.

The £30 zine, the £0 podcast and the photo book that waits

Here is a realistic starter plan. For the £30 zine: write or draw eight pages, lay them out in a free design tool, export as a PDF, ask a local print shop for thirty A5 saddle-stitched copies, and staple a thank-you page inside. Sell them for £3 to £5 at a local meetup and keep a few for swaps.

For the £0 podcast: record a twenty-minute conversation with a friend about the event, edit out the ums, add a simple intro, and publish one episode. Do not buy a microphone until you have made three episodes. If you hate editing, you have learned something useful.

For the photo book: wait. Collect photos, ask permission, write captions, and take pre-orders before you print. A photo book is a lovely object, but it is not a good first project if you are on a tight budget. Make the zine first.

Collaboration rules that keep small projects friendly

Fandom collaborations go wrong when people assume everyone has the same expectations. Fix that early. Agree who is editing, who is printing, who is paying for what, and how any money will be split. Keep receipts. Put the deadline in writing. If you are using photos of cosplayers, ask before you publish — and credit them properly. If you are selling fan art of licensed characters, keep it non-commercial, credit the original source and be aware that copyright is a grey area. Most local projects stay small and respectful for exactly that reason.

Also make your work accessible. Add alt text to images. Put content notes on essays that deal with heavy themes. Use readable fonts. A zine that only works for people who can squint at a photocopier is a zine that has cut its own audience.

Why the small-event scene is the point

Northampton does not need to be London or Birmingham to have a creative fandom culture. It needs people who make things and then bring them to the next meetup. Small events are the perfect testing ground: the tables are cheaper, the feedback is kinder, and the people you meet are the people who will actually buy your zine or listen to your podcast.

My opinion is simple. The next good Northampton fandom zine is not going to come from a boardroom. It is going to come from someone who came home from a con, opened a notebook and thought, 'I could staple something together by Friday.' If that is you, start with eight pages. The scene will meet you halfway.