Issue 2: April 18, 2010, put together during and after Swancon, the Western Australian regional science fiction convention in Perth, by members of the extended Swancon community
About the Zine
Domestic companions for housewives originally formed back in the era when only men read the newspapers. Advertisers seeking the women's market sought a way to reach their audience, and used the old farmers' almanacs as a template. Your typical domestic companion was full of handy hints, advice, good recipes and beauty tips with sponsors' suggestions and product placement on every second page, plus a little lightheartedness to keep reading a repeat pleasure. It was all aimed at the sensible housewife looking for easy ways to reduce her drudgery and keep her household 100% under her thumb, while perhaps wanting a little enjoyment for herself as well. (Thanks to Jess, an original workshop leader and panellist, for this description, and sorry if I've mis-remembered your great explanation.)
The Post-Apocalyptic Housewife's Domestic Companion builds on this format and sets it in a near future that is a lighthearted conglomeration of survival, disaster and the simple life. We don't specify which kind of apocalypse has happened, that's up to our contributors. The main thing is that the role and desires of a housewife continue unchanged. She still wants to remain beautiful, have her children clean and well-behaved and keep her household 100% under her thumb. It's just that the challenges to overcome are a little different than they were in the 1930s.
Each issue of this zine has been done in conjunction with a different event. As such they're more about on-the-spot creativity than polished work. Some articles may seem a little unfinished - that's because they are! All writing stops when the bell rings, and the follow-up editing is fairly minimal. Most of the contributors aren't people you'd have seen around in magazines or anthologies - they're just people who are keen on survival, parenting or imagining the future, can take these subjects seriously and sillily at the same time, and went ahead and put some words on a page in short order when encouraged.
Submitting articles
The next zine will happen either when a suitable amount of content has come in or when another event and workshop prompts it. So feel free to send in random offerings, subject to the following guidelines: