Greetings from the Great Bend Public Library! Now that summer is all wrapped up, we don’t have much going on in the way of events, but I do want to touch on an exciting opportunity whose deadline is fast approaching. Currently, the Writing Club is accepting submissions for our summer zine.

For those of you not familiar with zines, while the “official” definition of a zine (short for “magazine” or “fanzine”) is widely debated, the zine presented by the Great Bend Public Library’s Writing Club is a small publication featuring the works of those residing in the Barton County, Kansas area. The deadline to send in submissions is this Monday, August 11. These don’t have to be new works, just something you created and wanted to share, keeping in mind that this zine’s theme is “Summer Bucket List.” Your works can be based in reality or fantasy, featuring anything from exciting adventures to the quiet, simple moments we treasure during this season.

If you are planning to submit something, there are just a few guidelines to keep in mind. This is open to Barton County residents. Please limit your submissions to three per person (one submission per Google Form). For written submissions, word count should be limited to 500 words per submission. And, of course, we accept original works only (do not submit others’ works or AI-generated/AI-modified works). Lastly, please keep content appropriate (if you have questions, feel free to ask Miss Erin or Miss Haylee).

Visit greatbendpl.info to submit your work for consideration. The Writing Club will be voting on the contents of this year’s zine and assembling it during their meeting on Tuesday. Copies of the zine will be available at the library starting Wednesday. For those interested in joining the club, it is open to tweens (grades 3 and older), teens, and adults and meets monthly on the second Tuesday from 5:30-7 p.m.

Hannah Grippin is outreach manager at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo. Stop by the library and grab the summer newsletter to stay up to date on all the artful fun happening through August. Find the library on social media @greatbendpl and the website greatbendpl.info. You can also message the library on Facebook and Instagram, send email to gbcirc@gmail.com, or call 620-792-2409 with any questions about programming or services.