Welcome back to Mid City (there's been some changes)
After a solid break this summer, with select moments highlighted in the collage above, I've been getting back into working on Mid City.
I started a new job in July and I'm working more hours, which means less time for zine-making, but I really want to keep Mid City going! When I started Mid City last November, I wanted to publish monthly in an effort to stay on top of the news. At the time, another zine-maker said a monthly publishing schedule was bold but worth a shot and I'm glad I started bold, but now I'm taking a small step back. Moving forward, I'll publish a new issue every two months to give myself more time to report on the issues I care about and hopefully, more opportunity for collaboration.
To make up for this change in the publishing schedule, I added some new tiers on Ko-Fi. Sticking to the monthly format of Ko-Fi's subscription model, I added a $4.00/month option for regular subscribers and a $10.00/month for the sticker club. I want to make sure folks are able to get copies, while balancing my printing and labour costs. Subscriber fees and one-time donations through Ko-Fi not only help me with the financial costs of maintaining this project, but they're also a vote of support for local, independent journalism. So, thank you!
In this new season of Mid City, I'm interested in finding new ways to grow the project, whether through in-person events, collaborations, or other means. If you're a zine-maker, a journalist or an illustrator in Ottawa and you're interested in getting involved, I'd love to hear from you!
While I'm a little sad that I won't be distributing monthly, I'm confident in this decision! There is always so much to report on within the scope of local city politics, but I know Ottawans are also pretty lucky to have a variety of news sources to lean on. I love our local papers and often pick up copies of the Kitchissippi Times when I'm out and about. I've also been listening to Neil Saravanamuttoo's podcast Better Ottawa, which is always interesting and I appreciate the panel's experience and knowledge of municipal affairs in Ottawa, both the current climate and it's history. Better Ottawa is working with Horizon Ottawa and ReImagine Ottawa to host the People's Summit on November 1, 2025. It's a one-day conference to "ignite real change in Ottawa" and I'll definitely have my eyes on that!
"This time, we're going all in, focusing on how we win our city back with bold ideas, proven strategies, and the people power to make it happen." (The People’s Summit Fall 2025: New Ways to Win)
Every fall is budget season at the City of Ottawa, which is always exciting, scary and messy. I'll definitely be talking about it more in the next issue of Mid City, to come in October 2025.
Many exciting things coming!