Zine Creative Challenge Winners

This spring, the members of the ELA Honor Society turned to one of the most iconic and expressive DIY literature formats to showcase their talent: the zine. Originating in the 1970s, zines—short for “magazines” or “fanzines”—have long been a powerful tool for independent creators to share their voices with niche audiences. Characterized by their small circulation, copy-machine production, and eclectic, often handmade feel, zines offer a unique platform for storytelling, visual art, and self-expression.

The winning submissions from this year’s Spring Creative Challenge demonstrate just how impactful this humble format can be. These zines not only reflect the diverse talents of our ELA Honor Society members but also embody the spirit of creative freedom and individuality that defines the genre.

The ELA Honor Society is proud to announce that the winners of the Spring Creative Challenge for Students are Paola Robalino and Leana Sally from Christa McAuliffe School PS 28, NJ, and Lizzie Belem from Morgan Road Middle School, NY.

The evaluation team was very impressed with Paola’s, Leana’s, and Lizzie’s zines, which focused on a selection of interesting texts they have been reading both within and outside of class.

Paola Robalino

Paola Robalino Zines 1 Download

The zine I created is based on the book Delirium, by Lauren Oliver. I emphasized not just the story itself, but the message behind it. I find the translated themes to be very intriguing, especially their focus on deception and conformity.

I used art and writing to show significant concepts on each page. For example, two of the pages have images that separate two settings to compare life as a conformist and rebel. Another is dedicated purely to the symbolism of recurring items in the plot that further demonstrates how thoughtfully written this book is. The art either has a colorful scheme or a slightly darker tone, usually to help contrast two ideas.

There are background colors on pages to reflect character’s feelings, such as light blue for calmness or red for anger. The analytical perspective used on this zine is to focus on the novel as a whole. It highlights important concepts and is not necessarily a showcase of characters’ perspectives.

This zine is an expression and analysis of Delirium, showing the impact a book can have on readers. The next time you pick a book, start creating connections and interpretations of its ideas!

Lizzie Belem

Lizzie Belem template ZINE Download

The novel Hiroshima by John Hersey is a nonfiction work that tells the story of Japanese civilians after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6, 1945. This event affected many lives for the worse.

My zine uses a sunset-themed color palette similar to the colors that would’ve been seen during the explosion to hint at the atomic bomb, but there’s also a dark and somber color palette added to both the drawings and photos to draw attention to mood and environment after the atomic bomb was dropped. Bolded and underlined words were also used in my zine to emphasize the seriousness of the topic.

Though many of the images included in my zine were quite disturbing, they showed the gruesome reality of life after the atomic bomb hit. The explosion of the atomic bomb killed many people, but the radiation resulting from the atomic bomb caused radiation poisoning, which resulted in vomiting, hair loss, bleeding, dehydration, fever, bruising/open wounds, fatigue, and eventually death. Years after the attack a treaty was signed by the US, the Soviet Union, and the UK to ban the use of atomic bombs.

Leana Sally

LEANA SALLY Copy of Zine Download

My zine is based on Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. One idea I focused on was how the main character’s (Caitlyn) disorder caused her several challenges that would lead her to heal from negativity. I was interested in how Caitlin interpreted emotions differently, which would influence her relationships.

My zine looks at several interesting elements of Mockingbird. For example, one page shows a character profile of Caitlin to show how she differentiates from her peers. Another page demonstrates a timeline that shows Caitlin’s skills evolving and how they influence the plot. I also created a page dedicating songs that portray loss, grief, and growth. This is a creative way that helps you understand the moods created in the story.

I chose to include a variety of colors to represent that colors are messy but beautiful. I also made some pages chaotically organized to support this. I made sure to include a variety of golden shades, representing achievement. I also included tones of blues and purples, Caitlin’s comfort color.

I included my own perspective of the story in order to reveal ideas not vaguely stated by Caitlin in the story. I describe in my timeline how Caitlin has several breakdowns when she is triggered. There are clues such as “I can’t see or feel or hear anything except for some screaming far away” that help me infer what happens beyond Caitlin’s perspective.

Concluding, I created my zine to help the reader understand themes and ideas in Mockingbird. It has another take on the story, but also the beauty of Caitlin’s growth and how it influences her happiness.