MAS-Zine
MAS-Zine is an e-zine of gay erotic romance stories and art. The e-zine also publishes gay romance stories and male friendship stories.
MAS-Zine was founded in 2002 by Juxian Tang and Anne Blue as an outgrowth of an e-mail list devoted to the subgenre of "darkfic," or stories with dark settings. Blue, who is currently the sole editor, describes the e-zine's emphasis in this manner:
"MAS-Zine offers you stories that show you the darker side of life, dealing with topics like slavery, imprisonment and prostitution. But we're romantics at heart, showing how love can bloom in such unlikely places."
MAS-Zine is based in Germany, but its contents are in the English language. Most of its authors are native speakers of English.
Although the e-zine publishes original fiction, it grew out of the slash fiction community and draws many of its writers from that community. MAS-Zine was the first periodical in recent years to be devoted solely to original slash. A second original slash e-zine, Forbidden Fruit, was founded in the following year.
MAS-Zine has also published a number of original yaoi writers and artists, as well as authors from the gay and romance communities. The magazine is marketed primarily to women.
Owned by Blue, MAS-Zine's parent company is Kanallje Press, which also publishes the annual Yaoi-Con Anthology, containing Japanese-style male homoerotic fiction and art.
MAS-Zine has encouraged the publication of longer works by its contributors, with the result that issues have run between 200 and 400 pages in length.
The first five issues of the magazine were issued on CD-ROM and in bound print-outs. In 2006, MAS-Zine began publishing individual novels and novellas as downloadable e-books.
On the Web
Reviews and Awards
- Reviews of MAS-Zine
- Best Overall Zine in the Original Slash category in the 2003 and 2004 SCREWZ Awards.
