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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 23 2008, 2:04 PM EDT (current) | JeffAB | 11 words added, 1 word deleted |
| Aug 9 2006, 10:59 PM EDT | JeffAB | 1 word added |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
This three-letter word stands for an Amateur Press Association (or Alliance).
How it works: The membership produces their own newsletter and make sufficient copies. The number of copies are decided in the Constitution, determined well in advance.
The copies are then sent to the Central Mailer (or Distribution Manager, or deranged Maroon, depending on your definition). In turn they produce a volume containing one copy of each newsletter, plus likely an additional editorial and Table of Contents (in ours we call it a House Organ) and then mails back these completed volumes to the membership.
Generally a part of each newsletter is the Mailing Comments, commentary on the last issue and continuation of discussions. Some of these discussions stretch back months or even years, contributing to a feeling of isolationism by newer readers who don't get the references.
Definitions: Many terms have been created along with APAs.
DM/CM - Distribution Manager, Central Mailer. The person in charge of the publication who organizes everything.
MinAc - Minimum activity. For each APA, the requirements are different. Comicopia has 4 pages every 2 issues, some have more pages over more issues, some have a smaller page requirement but every issue.
MCs - Mailing Comments. The lifeblood of APAs and of many zines as well... this is commentary in a newsletter about the output of other nenbers in their sections, and even comments continuing discussions started in previous issues.
History:
Taken from Wikipedia:
" The first APAs were formed by groups of amateur printers. The earliest to become more than a small informal group of friends was the National Amateur Press Association (NAPA) founded February 19, 1876 by Evan Reed Riale and nine other members in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first British APA was the British Amateur Press Association founded in 1890. The second United States APA was the United Amateur Press Association (UAPA) founded in 1895 by a group of teenagers including William H. Greenfield (aged 14) and Charles W. Heins (aged 17). This became a confederation of small amateur publishers which split into two organisations known interchgangeably as UAP and UAAPA. The American Amateur Press Association (AAPA) was formed in 1936 by a secession from what was then called UAPAA. The first science fiction APA was the Fantasy Amateur Press Association (FAPA) formed by a group of science fiction fans in 1937. SAPS, the Spectator Amateur Press Society, started in the 1940s. The first comics APA was started by Jerry Bails in 1964 in the United States. Called CAPA-alpha (sometimes abbreviated to K-a) it grew to its present limit of 40 members. It has become the archetype for most subsequyent comics APAs. Its members have included Dwight Decker, Mark Evanier, Carl Gafford, Fred Patten, Richard and Wendy Pini, Roy Thomas and Don and Maggie Thompson. Michael Barrier's famed animation fanzine Funnyworld started as a CAPA-alpha contribution. Decker and Gafford were also founding members of the minicomics co-op the United Fanzine Organization. The difference in a co-op and an apa is that an apa is helmed by a central mailer, to whom the members send copies of their publications. The central mailer then compiles all the books into one large volume, which is then mailed out to the membership in apazines. In a co-op, however, there is no central mailer; the members distribute their own works, and are linked by a group newsletter, a group symbol that appears on each member work, and a group checklist in every "member zine". The first European comics APA was called PAPA and was founded by a group of comics fans in 1977. It was soon renamed BAPA (for "British APA"). The APA model was picked up by artists in the 1980s. Groups of artists contributed elements of combined duplicated artworks that omitted the conversational elements of the fandom-based APAs. These pieces are sometimes called "assembly art"."
Some additions not mentioned there:
Links:
Here are some (mostly active) Web links, also from Wikipedia: and also on this site:
How it works: The membership produces their own newsletter and make sufficient copies. The number of copies are decided in the Constitution, determined well in advance.
The copies are then sent to the Central Mailer (or Distribution Manager, or deranged Maroon, depending on your definition). In turn they produce a volume containing one copy of each newsletter, plus likely an additional editorial and Table of Contents (in ours we call it a House Organ) and then mails back these completed volumes to the membership.
Generally a part of each newsletter is the Mailing Comments, commentary on the last issue and continuation of discussions. Some of these discussions stretch back months or even years, contributing to a feeling of isolationism by newer readers who don't get the references.
Definitions: Many terms have been created along with APAs.
DM/CM - Distribution Manager, Central Mailer. The person in charge of the publication who organizes everything.
MinAc - Minimum activity. For each APA, the requirements are different. Comicopia has 4 pages every 2 issues, some have more pages over more issues, some have a smaller page requirement but every issue.
MCs - Mailing Comments. The lifeblood of APAs and of many zines as well... this is commentary in a newsletter about the output of other nenbers in their sections, and even comments continuing discussions started in previous issues.
History:
Taken from Wikipedia:
" The first APAs were formed by groups of amateur printers. The earliest to become more than a small informal group of friends was the National Amateur Press Association (NAPA) founded February 19, 1876 by Evan Reed Riale and nine other members in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first British APA was the British Amateur Press Association founded in 1890. The second United States APA was the United Amateur Press Association (UAPA) founded in 1895 by a group of teenagers including William H. Greenfield (aged 14) and Charles W. Heins (aged 17). This became a confederation of small amateur publishers which split into two organisations known interchgangeably as UAP and UAAPA. The American Amateur Press Association (AAPA) was formed in 1936 by a secession from what was then called UAPAA. The first science fiction APA was the Fantasy Amateur Press Association (FAPA) formed by a group of science fiction fans in 1937. SAPS, the Spectator Amateur Press Society, started in the 1940s. The first comics APA was started by Jerry Bails in 1964 in the United States. Called CAPA-alpha (sometimes abbreviated to K-a) it grew to its present limit of 40 members. It has become the archetype for most subsequyent comics APAs. Its members have included Dwight Decker, Mark Evanier, Carl Gafford, Fred Patten, Richard and Wendy Pini, Roy Thomas and Don and Maggie Thompson. Michael Barrier's famed animation fanzine Funnyworld started as a CAPA-alpha contribution. Decker and Gafford were also founding members of the minicomics co-op the United Fanzine Organization. The difference in a co-op and an apa is that an apa is helmed by a central mailer, to whom the members send copies of their publications. The central mailer then compiles all the books into one large volume, which is then mailed out to the membership in apazines. In a co-op, however, there is no central mailer; the members distribute their own works, and are linked by a group newsletter, a group symbol that appears on each member work, and a group checklist in every "member zine". The first European comics APA was called PAPA and was founded by a group of comics fans in 1977. It was soon renamed BAPA (for "British APA"). The APA model was picked up by artists in the 1980s. Groups of artists contributed elements of combined duplicated artworks that omitted the conversational elements of the fandom-based APAs. These pieces are sometimes called "assembly art"."
Some additions not mentioned there:
- Donald A. Wollheim is credited for inventing Mailing Comments
- H.P. Lovecraft was a member of NAPA.
Links:
Here are some (mostly active) Web links, also from Wikipedia: and also on this site:
- 1997 Southern Fandom Confederation Handbook
- Comicopia Website (My baby!)
- Apatoon's website
- Interlac - The Website says it's still ongoing, but the information is almost 2 years old.
- New Moon Directory, site dormant
- Klordny (no specific site; this one seems to be from a member only)
- Alarums and Excursions
- APACalypse
- Legends APA
