Asia’s pop culture and creative scene are way too dynamic to be contained by one continent, and these indie titles prove it. From New York to Taipei, a crop of vibrant publications is dedicating their pages (print or digital) to Asian art, literature, fashion, activism, and more.
While there are many more publications on the Asian experience worth flipping through, we wanted to curate a list of what we feel are the best from outside of Asia that capture the passion, heritage, and artistry of its globally-based community. Here is our list of 6 independent titles that celebrate Asian voices, all with a witty twist and then some.
Banana Magazine
If you’ve ever been called a “banana”—yellow on the outside, white on the inside—this NYC-based zine wears it as a badge of honor. Born in Chinatown, NYC in 2014, it has become a vibrant platform for celebrating contemporary Asian culture, from grandma’s secret herbal soup recipes to cutting-edge fashion editorials. Each annual issue, printed in only 1,000 copies, is a collectible treasure trove of art, interviews, and tongue-in-cheek commentary on the Asian American experience. Banana’s founders set out to amplify Asian creative voices and redefine the “banana” stereotype as something empowering and unapologetically cool. The result? A glossy and sass-filled cultural cocktail that’s equal parts introspection and inspiration. Check out their website through the title above, as well as their Instagram, for a peel—pun intended—of this fruity phenomenon.
Hyphen Magazine
Think investigative pieces on the history of Asian American activism alongside witty takes on pop culture. Hyphen has been telling the stories of Asian America with “substance, style, and sass” since 2003. The San Francisco-based publication has made a name for itself as a progressive voice covering arts, culture, and politics with an edge. Though Hyphen shuttered its print edition in 2015, it lives on as a vibrant online magazine that continues to amplify stories that might otherwise fall through the cracks of mainstream media. Run entirely by volunteers and proudly independent, Hyphen has nurtured generations of writers and artists, even hosting a Mr. Hyphen pageant in the past. For a dose of nuanced commentary and community vibes, Hyphen is still well worth a read.
Sine Theta
Don’t let the math reference scare you. Sine Theta (sinθ) is less about angles and more about empowering the Chinese diaspora. Launched in 2016, the quarterly print arts magazine connects and empowers Sino diaspora creatives around the world. Flip through its pages and you’ll find an innovative mix of poetry, prose, photography, and illustration, often paired with interviews spotlighting emerging talent in the Chinese diaspora. Sine Theta revels in border-crossing themes, proving that you can be in Toronto or London and still share a creative heartbeat with Shanghai or Taipei. It’s entirely volunteer-run by young diaspora artists who have turned a niche idea into an internationally distributed publication. You can even pick up a copy at the British Library and in NYC’s Chinatown! For a taste of avant-garde art with a global Chinese twist, Sine Theta shines brightly in the world of indie print—no advanced calculus required.
Synonym Magazine
It might sound like a stack of crossword puzzles, but Synonym is all about flavor, identity, and storytelling that hits home. Made by Caroline Hwang, what began as an idea for a cookbook about the Asian American community evolved, after years of mulling over words like “fusion” and “authentic,” into a magazine nearly eight years in the making. Synonym is a vibrant, open space that chronicles immigrant journeys through the universal language of food, centering BIPOC voices and experiences. Each issue serves up a rich spread of personal narratives, recipes, and cultural reflections that explore what it means to find home and heritage on a plate. With lush visuals and soulful perspectives, Synonym proves that food isn’t just sustenance—it’s a bridge between worlds.
Ricepaper Magazine
One of the longest-running Asian Canadian publications, Ricepaper has been chronicling the diaspora arts scene since 1994. What began as a humble eight-page newsletter in Vancouver’s writing community has evolved into a digital magazine showcasing literature, visual arts, film, and much more, all with an Asian Canadian twist. Ricepaper publishes fiction and poetry alongside interviews with emerging artists and reviews of the latest books and theater. After evolving from a quarterly print magazine to an online platform, Ricepaper remains a labor of love by the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop. Readers can access a rich archive and fresh content on their website and at the annual LiterASIAN festival.
NANG
NANG is not your average film magazine. It’s more like a limited-edition art project that cinephiles in the know seek out. The indie publication is dedicated entirely to cinema in Asia and was conceived as a 10-issue collectible series. Since its debut in 2016, NANG has been releasing beautifully curated, biannual volumes, each centered around a theme like screenwriting, sound, or propaganda. You won’t find celebrity gossip here; instead, the pages are filled with essays, interviews, and art from filmmakers and critics across Asia. Created by a small transnational editorial team, NANG fills a niche in cinematic discourse, highlighting stories and voices often overlooked by Western film magazines. For any film buffs out there, make sure you grab a copy—NANG has a limited print run of only 1,500 copies, and they don’t do reprints.
If you’ve missed our in-depth exploration on the rise of the Asian American zine, which dives deeper into the inception of printed matter for Asian Americans, be sure to check that out here.
