Hello friends!
How is it the end of July– and why does New York feel like fall this week???
I have been the usual busy bee, I am in the final stretch (last semester) of the MFA Creative Writing program. Send all the good vibes, because it’s thesis time!
I have been maintaining the Etsy shop, there have been a couple new book-themed designs added, and shipping details have been updated to keep up with the new fees from USPS.
I don’t think I’ll keep the shop for much longer after this year– or I may wind up remodeling it, maybe something like only stickers or stickers and paper goods. The Print-On-Demand items (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, etc…) haven’t really budged at all in a year or two, and it’s getting far too costly to send small items (like washi tape). I think people don’t want to pay as much or more in shipping than the item they want to buy… and I don’t blame them; it’s just all kinds of ick for my sensibilities right now, too.
I have been neck-deep in plans for next year’s chapter-a-month mail club planning, but I have sketched up this month’s Patreon rewards as well. I’m very excited to pull all these cute cat illustrations into a calendar
On the zines front– first, submissions are still open for this year’s anthology, please consider submitting!
The submission window closes on September first.
Secondly, I have given it a lot of thought, and I’ve decided 2026 will mark the fifth and final print anthology made with the model I started this MCC Zines journey with. I fell too far behind last year with everything that was going on in my life; and as everyone knows, if there’s one thing that I really hate, it’s disappointing the people who support my projects. This year I’ve shifted the model to ease the weight of running the zine anthology, but considering that I don’t know what my schedule will look like post-graduation and I would still like to move away from the crowdfunding-to-print model, while remaining a solo project coordinator, I am going to have to sit down and will think about what that looks like for MCC Zines going forward into 2027 and beyond.
For now, I plan to continue with the digital editions ( or as I like to think of them, quick editions) since anyone can submit new or pre-existing work as long as it’s on theme and meets the guidelines. One pathway I am considering is moving to an all-digital model, but I know how much a lot of us like to hold something in our hands, and the books have been beautiful. ( I am still waiting on the printed copies of Golden Apples and Poisoned Chalices to arrive. *sob* they were shipped at the beginning of July.)
Anyway, that’s where I’m at, and where things are, and how I’m thinking about things going. I hope everyone gets to enjoy the rest of the summer, and I hope mother nature remembers it’s summer before it IS actually fall. 😡
Make every day magical!
~Maegan
MaeganCookCreates 