Manumission
Introduction from the editor
I hope you enjoy the introduction, and the ideas we have for Manumission. I’d love to hear from you via email, to manumission@subdirectory.uk. The more feedback we receive, the better we can make future issues - and if you have ideas for an article, please do get in touch.
We hope that we’ll be able to produce a new issue quarterly, with at least 32 pages, for a price of £10 including world-wide postage. If there is sufficient demand - again, please let us know - then we may investigate an online edition for subscribers.
Please do sign up to our email list, to keep up to date on the plans for future issues. And in the meantime, enjoy your read.
Further reading
It feels like zines are having a little bit of a renaissance at the moment, especially in the UK. You might find these titles interesting.
After Dark
AfterDark, a new queer-kink zine. A small act of rebellion against the algorithm, censorship and AI slop, occupying space in that sexy overlap between queer culture and fetish aesthetics. With a focus firmly on artistic male photography, disruptive art, and powerful written words, it showcases the most talented fetish and queer creatives and creators currently on the scene.
Darkroom
Darkroom is a photographic zine celebrates those who enjoy everything from first forays into fetish, to the obscure, documenting and exploring their gear, kinks and presence on the gay fetish scene.
James Newland
James created the “Read” artwork for our preview issue, and has created many zines, which you can find on his website, including The New Brief History of Pup Play
Sniff
SNIFF is a bold new magazine where queer art and fetish culture meet with no filter and no apology. Conceived as a safe space for unrestrained queer expression in a world often stifled by censorship and moral panic, SNIFF gives a platform to artists who dare to show what others hide.
Inside, you’ll find striking photography, provocative oil paintings, and raw illustrations that revel in kink and desire. From the sensual ritual of bondage to the playful world of pups. From power exchanges, fetish gear, role play, sneakers, and the worship of pits of feet. Every page hums with tension, intimacy, and the beauty of what’s usually left in the dark. SNIFF strives to be more than just a magazine, it’s an archive of queer erotic culture, created by and for those who refuse to be sanitized.
Unsafe Space
Where’s your unsafe space? The woods? The public toilet? Someone’s car? Or your own front room with the married man from round the corner?
Unsafe Space is a new collection of images and words from Ben Youdan and Jay Jago. Collected from a series of raw, unguarded confessionals with gay men of all ages and backgrounds, it celebrates the rush of blood to the heart and the cock that we all crave… no matter how dangerous it might be.
Acknowledgments
- Thank you to all our contributors, and especially to Associate Editor Kell w Farshéa for their assistance.
- The artwork in the introduction, and on page eleven, is an original piece for Manumission by James Newland, aka SpacePupSilver. It draws some inspiration from a 1980 poster produced for the American Library Association.
