A Zine, a Library and a Little Menopause Rewriting

Well, it's official. The Hot Flush Zine is out in the world!

On Saturday 17th October, I celebrated the launch of the pilot edition at Barnstaple Library, as part of our activities marking World Menopause Day.

For anyone who hasn't come across it yet, the Hot Flush Zine is a creative publication exploring the lived experience of perimenopause and menopause through art, writing and storytelling. It brings together seven contributors, each offering their own perspective and creative interpretation of a subject that affects us all in different ways.

The idea was to create something a little different from the usual menopause information guide, a space for personal stories, artistic expression, humour, honesty and the occasional uncomfortable truth.

And after a summer of planning, collecting contributions, juggling layouts and wondering whether I'd ever get the thing printed, there it was. A proper, printed, hold-it-in-your-hands zine.

It was lovely to be joined at the launch by fellow contributors Nicky Ruddick and Kate German. There's something rather special about seeing a project you've worked on come together and being able to celebrate it with some of the people who helped make it happen.

A huge thank you to Barnstaple Library for welcoming us, to everyone who came along, picked up a copy, took part in the activity or stopped for a chat. And, of course, to all our wonderful contributors for making the zine what it is.

They are: Mary Mulholland, Coleen Duff, Amanda Lynch, Karina Digby-Jones, Nicky Ruddick, Kate German and me, Sharon Gale.

Image above, from left to right: Nicky Ruddick, Sharon Gale, Kate German.

A Little Creative Rebellion: Menopause Rewrite

The zine launch was part of a bigger afternoon of creativity, as I also ran my Engage Your Rage: Menopause Rewrite activity.

Inspired by Tom Phillips' A Humument, the idea was to take an existing piece of text and transform it into something new by selecting, obscuring and highlighting individual words to create a completely different message.

It's a wonderfully accessible way to play with language. You don't need to be a writer or an artist, and there really isn't a right or wrong way to do it.

The menopause theme gave everyone an opportunity to look at the words in front of them differently, reclaim a few, challenge others and perhaps find a message they weren't expecting.

There was something rather fitting about doing this on the eve of World Menopause Day. So much of the conversation around menopause has been shaped by other people's words, assumptions and expectations. Sometimes it's good to pick up the pen, make a few changes and write your own version.

And, of course, a little creative mischief never goes amiss.

Want to get your hands on a copy?

The Hot Flush Zine: Pilot Edition is now available to buy from the Hot Flush shop for £5.

And for anyone who fancies something a little extra, I've also put together just 10 limited-edition artist bundles at £25 each.

Alongside the zine, each bundle includes a signed insert featuring all the contributors, an original Engage Your Rage Gocco print by me, a Domestic Rebellion print by fellow contributor Amanda Lynch, plus a Hot Flush sticker, pin badge and bookmark.

A little collection of creative goodies to celebrate the first edition, and a lovely way to support the future of Hot Flush.