WHO I AM AND WHAT I DO:

I’m Zina and I’ve been running Stitch’s Media Mix since March 2015. I created my site as a site for fandom and media criticism after being frustrated by my inability to find a safe, welcoming place where I could be a part of these conversations in the fandoms that I already belonged to.

I love being in fandom and I love the act of being a fan, but I feel as though there’s room for improvement that is always being overlooked. I’d love to be able to change certain things about the overarching institution of fandom, but for now, I’ll settle for educating and snarking my way along as I figure out how to bring change to  my main fandoms.

Using my academic background (I have a BA in History and have my my MA in English/Literature) and my experiences as a queer Black person in fandom, I try to tackle the media I consume and the fandom spaces I inhabit from a critical and faintly snarky angle. I use my website to host my writing: media critique, analysis of fandom tropes and trends, book reviews, and the occasional bit of original fiction.

My focus is on talking critically about the media folks create and consume in order to forge a path towards making fandom a more welcoming place for marginalized and underrepresented groups of people.

I want everyone to be able to have a seat at the proverbial table without it being pulled from underneath them.

WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER SUPPORTING ME:

While running Stitch’s Media Mix has led to the occasional freelance writing opportunity, I don’t actually make anything close to a living from running the site. (Aside from what I currently make from Patreon, I make nothing.)  I’m a full-time graduate student who, as of May 2017, has been on hiatus from my day job. Which sucks because I also help pay major bills like rent and car insurance for my family as money is beyond tight.

Obviously, supporting me financially (via monetary donations via one-time options like PayPal or subscribing to my Patreon) will help me attain a small amount of financial security so that I can create more content without worrying about how I’m going to pay bills, but there’s another bonus to supporting me:

One of the things that I have always wanted to do is support other up and coming writers especially in the fields of fandom and media critique. Many of the nerdy media sites straight up don’t pay and while I cut my teeth on a couple of sites that didn’t I pay, I don’t think it’s fair to writers to expect them to create for free. I can’t change much just yet, but I want to be able to pay writers for monthly guest posts that I’ll commission for my site.

So basically, my goals here (and why you should consider supporting me especially through avenues like Patreon) are to

1. Get to a point where I can focus on writing more because I’m not focused on how I’m going to help my family pay for rent or bills or how I’m going to afford to feed myself/buy groceries
2. Help marginalized and underrepresented writers interested in working with fandom/media critique to get a chance to get paid for a little bit of writing in the field.

 

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT ME:

PAYPAL: LINK

KO-FI: LINK

SQUARECASH: $StitchMM

PATREON: LINK

BOOK WISHLIST (FOR REVIEWING PURPOSES): LINK

STRAIGHT UP HIRE ME TO WRITE FOR YOU: PARTIAL CV