Later Fees: a new zine about working in video rental stores

Featuring authors Emily Costa, Kirsti MacKenzie and me

When I was 18, I worked at Blockbuster Video for two months between high school and college. It was an experience that many people will never have, and one that I’ve always wanted to write about. So, last summer, without any novels or large writing projects in queue, I decided it was the perfect time.

It’s also been many years since I designed anything for print, and I wanted to see if my InDesign skills were still up to par. I started writing my essay with the intention of turning it into a physical zine—it seemed like the only appropriate delivery method for a love letter to physical media.

Now it’s finished, and without trying to brag too much, I think I still got it.

I’m very excited to announce Later Fees, a 40-page, full-color collection of three essays from me and two authors I greatly admire: Emily Costa and Kirsti MacKenzie.

Description:

Picture this: you want to watch a movie. You leave the house to go to a building with stained carpets (there were always stains) and hundreds—hundreds!—of movies. You don’t know much about any of them apart from what’s written on the back. Mostly, you go by the cover art and photos (be careful, though, because if you venture too far into the horror section, you might see something that you’ll wish you hadn’t). After an hour of browsing, you finally find one. Maybe you watch it that night, or maybe the whole rigmarole has left you depleted and tired. Before you know it, the movie’s due. Back to the store you go.

And now, for some reason, you miss it.

Love, heartbreak, nostalgia and physical media—Later Fees is a zine of nonfiction essays by authors Emily Costa, Kirsti MacKenzie and Ryan Bradford about working in the dead/dying industry of video rental stores.

I can’t remember when Emily mentioned that she basically grew up in her family-owned rental store, but we’ve been talking about making a zine like this for over a year. I met Kirsti at AWP two years ago and I didn’t know she’d also worked at Blockbuster in the 2000s, but once I found out, I had the vague feeling of “well, that explains why she’s so cool.” Jkjkjk. But seriously, I think there’s an unspoken bond between former Blockbusterers.

(Emily has published two books and co-writes a fantastic LISTLESS newsletter; Kirsti has a novel forthcoming. You should read/pre-order it all).

Click here to order Later Fees! I hope you enjoy. I’m very proud of how it came out and am endlessly thankful for your support. I’m also thankful for Emily and Kirsti for trusting me with their stories.