This project has come together through a group of fans on tumblr who write and share fic, art, commentary, images, and other quality, shippy content on the reg. We decided, though, that it would be great to have a hard-copy collection of some of our content and work, which wouldn't disappear quickly into the tumblrverse, also known as the ether. Thus, the MSR fanzine was born.

The Beginning

Where   We   Are   Now

This project began with a research trip to the SFF archives at UC Riverside in October 2018, where the editor Darla Black (Beth) discovered hundreds of archived shelf-feet of fanzines, dating back to the 1940s. The discovery of Grup, an "adult" Star Trek fanzine first published by a group of women in 1972, inspired her to contact fellow X-Files fans about creating something similar for the XF shippers of today.

Our first issue was published in April 2019 and sold more than 300 copies! Volume 2 went on sale in December, 2019. Submissions for Volume 3 are now closed, but future issues will be based on rolling (open) submissions, so visit the Submissions page for more info. Touchstone is distributed through Blurb, a print-on-demand service, with shipping worldwide.

Who We Are

On the left is the avatar of the zine's editor, Darla Black. These other two folks you probably know. They're the stars of our magazine.