FREE MASTERCLASS: Kieran Yates On Making Your Own Zine And Telling Your Own Stories

03/09/2015
Rife Editor

Our next free masterclass is with journalist Kieran Yates talking about how to make your own zine and why it’s important for you to tell your own stories.

WHEN IS IT?: Tuesday, 22nd September 2015, 6.30pm–8pm (places allocated on first come first served basis)

WHERE IS IT?: Inside the Watershed in the Pervasive Media Studio Events Space. Find your way up through the bar and follow the signs for Pervasive Media Studio, then ring the buzzer. The talk will start at 6.30pm sharp and there will be plenty of time to ask questions afterwards. If you have any specific questions about your own work then it would be good to prepare those.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?: Our guest speaker, Kieran Yates, has written for everyone – from RWD to The Guardian, from The Fader to The Independent. She made a documentary on Muslim drag queens. She recently released her first zine, British Values, which tells stories of the immigrant diaspora, written by members of the immigrant diaspora. Because she believes minority stories should be told by minority voices.

Kieran will be talking about how to put together a zine, what you need to source, how to convince your friends to submit content for free till you can make some money, how to edit and manage the process, what the printing and distribution angle requires, and why it’s important to take control of the stories you want to tell, and tell them in a safe space. She’ll be talking through his career, how she has been on The Guardian music podcast, BBC News, Sky, all of it. And what you need to be prepared for if you’re a journalist/writer from a BME community. You’ll walk away from this with some real-life advice on how to advance your journalism career. She’ll talk about how anyone from any background can make it as a journalist, why your voice is important, and how you can, if no one is responding to your pitches, just go and create content anyway.

WHO IS THIS FOR?: Aspiring writers, journalists, zine makers, bloggers and reviewers who want to meet an industry professional, get real-life advice, network with other like-minded souls and get a foot in the door.

WHO IS DOING THE TALK?: Kieran Yates is a freelance writer on music and politics for The Guardian, NME, The Metro and Dazed and Confused. She is the co-author (with Rife’s own editor) of ‘Generation Vexed’ and is the co-host of The Guardian Music Weekly podcast.

WHAT NOW?: It’s free so you could just turn up on the day, but we’d appreciate it if you emailed us to let us know you’re coming.

Follow Kieran on Twitter

Get yourself some British Values – copies will be available on the night.