Leblanc's Lending Library
A Shuakeshu Anthology Zine
STATUS
Status: Phase 1: Contributor Apps Open! Sept. 12 - Oct. 10
Leblanc’s Lending Library is an upcoming writer-focused Persona 5 fanzine dedicated to the relationship between the P5 Protagonist and Akechi Goro (Shuake/Akeshu) that aims to celebrate writers in the fandom!All profits from this project will be donated to a charity (TBD).
Leblanc's Lending Library
A Shuakeshu Anthology Zine
SCHEDULE
*tentative and subject to change
| EVENT | DATE |
|---|---|
| Writer/Merch & Cover Artists Apps Open | September 12th, 2025 |
| Writer/Merch & Cover Artists Apps Close | October 10th, 2025 |
| Writer/Merch & Cover Artists Results Sent | October 24th, 2025 |
| Pitches Due | November 3rd, 2025 |
| Spot Artist Apps Open | November 7th, 2025 |
| Spot Artist Apps Close | December 5th, 2025 |
| Spot Artist Results Sent | December 12th, 2025 |
| Check-in 1 | December 15th, 2025 |
| Check-in 2 | January 15th, 2026 |
| Check-in 2.5 | February 15th, 2026 |
| Check-in 3 | March 15th, 2026 |
| Writer/Merch Artists Final Submissions | April 15th, 2026 |
| Spot Artists Final Submissions | May 15th, 2026 |
| Preorders Open | TBD |
| Preorders Close | TBD |
| Production | TBD |
| Shipping | TBD |
| Leftover Sales | TBD |
Leblanc's Lending Library
A Shuakeshu Anthology Zine
Contributor Guidelines
Setting
Canon-compliant, canon-divergent, and AUs (alternative universes) are all allowed.Originality
All submitted works must be 100% the contributor’s own work and original to the zine. The use of AI, plagiarism, or heavily referencing existing works is strictly forbidden.Content Restrictions
Ensure that submissions adhere to this zine’s SFW rating. As the game itself is rated M, anything that “goes up to” that rating will be permitted. For writing, this means that anything that would be tagged “Gen” through “Mature” is allowed. For art, suggestiveness and some non-sexual nudity is allowed.Quality
Written works should be edited for clarity, grammar, and spelling. Artwork should be clean, completed, and high-resolution (300 DPI).Deadlines
Meet assigned deadlines for forms, check-ins, and final submissions. Extensions may be granted if communicated with and approved by Mods.Confidentiality
Do not share any discussions, ideas, WIPs, or final submissions publicly until the zine is officially released. Mods will make an announcement when it is safe to post previews and then final pieces. All contributors retain the full rights to their work if they would like to post or monetize their pieces once the zine is officially finished.Communication
Keep an open line of communication and pay attention to announcements from Mods. Let Mods know as soon as possible about any challenges or delays.Professional Conduct
Maintain a kind and respectful space with every member of the zine. Bigotry, discrimination, and harassment will not be tolerated and will result in expulsion from the zine.Writer Expectations
✧ Write 1 self-contained short-form story (2k - 5k words) or long-form story (5k - 8k words).
✧ Communicate with your Spot Artist partner.Spot Artist Expectations
✧ Create at least 1 complete half-page illustration or up to 2 - 4 (estimate, and may vary case by case) small illustrations.
✧ Create artworks in black and white.
✧ Communicate with your Writer partner.Merch Artist Expectations
✧ Design 1 - 2 pieces of merch.
✧ Work closely with the Formatting and Merch Mods to ensure that your art is placed correctly.Cover Artist Expectations
✧ Create 1 fully illustrated and rendered two-page spread that embodies the anthology theme.
✧ The cover must have a background and be designed to accommodate the title of the zine.
✧ Communicate closely with Mods.
Leblanc's Lending Library
A Shuakeshu Anthology Zine
General FAQ | Submitted Q&A
About Leblanc's Lending Library
What is a fanzine?
↪ A fanzine is an unofficial magazine booklet with a collection of illustrations, fics, and merchandise centering around one media. They are often made by fans for fans. That being said, Leblanc's Lending Library as a zine will more closely resemble a book, as the focus is on writing!Does the zine have a specific theme?
↪ The idea for this zine is to mimic the variety of a library, so writers are free to compose stories around specific genres of their choosing, as well as canon-compliant to AU territory. That being said, we will try to select pitches with the least amount of overlap across contributors to keep the collection varied.What is the zine’s rating?
↪ This will be a Safe For Work zine; no explicit sexual content or excessive gore will appear in this project. Generally, if content appears in the game (with its M rating), then it will be allowed in the zine.Is this zine digital or physical?
↪ We hope to make this zine both Digital and Physical, pending the results from our Interest Check.What do you mean by "writer-focused"?
↪ This zine is going to primarily be fanfiction! We want to give Shuakeshu writers the space to showcase their work without harsh word-limitations. As such, we will only be having writers, spot artists, a cover artist, and merch artists in this project.How will the zine look?
↪ We are going to be producing this zine in only BLACK and WHITE for writing and spot art. This is to keep the focus centered on the writing. This will also allow us to increase the page count while keeping production costs financially feasible.Will there be merch?
↪ Yes! Merch will be in color.Where will this zine be shipped from?
↪ The United States!Does this zine ship internationally?
↪ Yes, international and domestic shipping will be available. However, there will be a list of countries where we're not able to ship to. More information will be included during the preorders period.Where will the zine's profits go?
↪ All profits will be channeled firstly towards production costs. Following that, we will be donating the remaining funds to a charity of our audience/contributors' choosing.What will the selection process look like?
↪ We will be doing a blind selection process. This means that we will only look at the writing and art samples that are given to us without knowing the applicant's name and without digging into the person’s social media presence.What names can writers use for Joker?
↪ Writers can either use Ren Amamiya or Akira Kurusu, as long as they remain consistent throughout the story.Who is allowed to apply as a contributor?
↪ Anyone above the age of 18 at the time of application is allowed to apply.Will AUs (Alternate Universes) be allowed?
↪ Yes!Are other Persona 5 characters allowed?
↪ Yes! As long as Joker and Akechi are the main subjects.Do I need a Discord account?
↪ Yes, Discord will be our primary form of communication. If you don't currently have an account, you will need to make one.Are contributors allowed to collaborate?
↪ Yes, and we're encouraging it! We will be pairing up each writer with a spot artist.Will contributor samples and portfolios need to be SFW in the application?
↪ Samples featuring NSFW will be allowed in the application, so long as it is tagged. We require at least one example of your SFW writing or art.What are you looking for in samples?
↪ We are looking for examples of works that best showcase your creative abilities.✧ For Writers, we are looking for 3 pieces, EITHER 3 pieces between 2k - 5k words for writers who wish to create a short form story, OR 2 pieces between 2k - 5k words and 1 piece between 5k - 8k words for writers who wish to create a long form story. Excerpts from longer fics/chapters are allowed, but at least one of the samples must be a complete, finished work within specified word parameters.✧ For Spot Artists, we are looking for 3-5 pieces of fully completed artwork. These can be in color, but we will be focusing on your values and contrast, as well as paying attention to how you may handle a limited color palette.✧ For Merch Artists, we are looking for 3-5 previous merch designs or artworks that could be used as merch. If you'd like to make merch in a chibi style, please provide examples of your style. Examples of finalized digital or physical merch products that you've created previously are highly preferred.✧ For a Cover Artist, we are looking for 3-5 samples of your best spreads or landscape works, or examples of work that consider the framing of text and composition.I'd like to ask other questions.
↪ You can ask them on our Tumblr, as well as DM our Bsky Account. Questions will be posted anonymously via our graphic featuring a reporter as your stand-in!
Leblanc's Lending Library
A Shuakeshu Anthology Zine
General FAQ | Submitted Questions
Cross-posted from our social media!
Q: In the description, you mention "canon-compliant/divergent and alternative universe settings." Can you elaborate on the type of AUs you are referring to? (Example: Are you looking more to AUs that are still in the Persona universe such as NG+ or RoleSwap AUs? Or will it include AUs outside the Persona universe such as Fantasy AUs or College AUs??
A: When we say AU, we mean go wild! Persona universe AUs, Fantasy AUs, Sci-fi AUs, Workplace sitcom AUs, etc., all are welcome! The idea for this zine is to mimic the variety of a library, so writers are free to compose stories around specific genres of their choosing. We will try to select pitches with the least amount of overlap across contributors to keep the collection varied.Q: This is an Akeshu/Shuake-focused zine, but I’m curious if the folks organizing this zine have an opinion for how much other Persona 5 characters will be involved as well? Would you say other characters in the stories should be kept to a minimum, or as long as the focus is on the relationship between Akechi and Joker, other characters are fine/welcome?AUs??
A: Other Persona 5 characters can be included in your stories, as long as Joker and Akechi are the main subjects.Q: How many authors/pages are you planning to have, and for artists doing spot art, would it be the same number as writers?
A: We’re planning to have around 25 writers, 2-3 of which will be guests. This count does not include mods who may also want to contribute. And yes, we are hoping to pair each writer with a spot artist!As for page count, our current estimate with this in mind is up to 500 pages maximum.Q: Will contributors get copies as well of the phyiscal zine and merch?
A: All contributors are guaranteed a high resolution PDF of the zine and any digital merch! We hope to be able to compensate every member of the zine with full bundle physical and digital bundles, but this will depend on the zine's sales during preorders.Q: Will there be multiple writing mods (for editing/betaing, assisting, etc)? I do think having up to 3 writer mods would not be a bad idea, depending on how many contributors you guys are looking for/expecting.
A: Our team will have at least 3 writing mods! We are also looking to have an additional writing intern for more help.Q: How will partners be selected and what happens if there’s someone a contributor wouldn’t want to work with? Would it be possible for writers and artists to be able to select who they would like to work with from a list before the pairings are assigned, so people aren't potentially paired with people they don't get along with without it being a big drama?
A: Our method for partnering writers and artists will factor in that Spot Artist applications will not begin until all writers are chosen (please refer to our schedule for the timeline). This means that by the time Spot Artist applications open, they will be aware of who is in the zine as a writer.Through the Spot Artist applications, we will have applicants select 5-8 options that interest them most from the list of writers’ selected pitches, which will be presented in the form anonymously. We will include a question to let us know if there is a writer they would prefer not to be partnered with (this information will not affect acceptance/rejection).Once we have finalized our selected artists, we will privately approach writers in their designated private channels and share with them the potential artists who may have chosen their pitch and ask if there are any they cannot work with.Please be assured that this information will remain explicitly confidential, and these matters will be handled directly by the mods and only the mods through private channels. Writers and artists will not know who has expressed any reservation to working with them. Also, in the event that a writer-artist pair comes to us with a mutual desire to work together, we will take that into consideration.Q: If one of our pieces will be featured in an upcoming zine, would you like us to label it as a "zine fic" in the application?
A: So long as you have permission from the zine to use your piece for applications, we don't need to know! Since we are doing blind applications, the less we know, the better! No work submitted during applications will be shared anywhere else.Q: If we decide to use a NSFW Fic for our application, how exactly would you like us to tag it? Just "NSFW" or as if we were using AO3 tags?
A: All we'll need is [NSFW] in the file's title and any additional content/trigger warning tags at the top of the document itself. Our applications will have instructions for this, so there's no need to worry!
Leblanc's Lending Library
A Shuakeshu Anthology Zine
MODS
Minki | They/SheCo-Head Mod | Art & Shipping
Hi everyone! I don't know where I would be without fan writers and their stories so I'm so excited to be able to help create this project for them!I've been a contributor for several zines since 2017. This is my first time modding, but my career has been acting as a project manager for large-scale institutions. I'm so stoked to learn and work with my fellow mods and contributors throughout this project!
Jest | They/ThemCo-Head Mod | Art & Social Media
Hello! I owe a great deal to writers, especially fanfic authors, for inspiring my creative joy from an early age. That passion eventually led to university where I pursued and achieved my degree in English/Writing.While I do not have any prior experience on the moderation side of zine production, I have been a contributor in several zines since 2018. I'm ecstatic to work alongside our fellow mod team and contributors on this project centering our wonderful writers, and I cannot wait to see what we create together!
Swervey | They/ThemWriting Mod
Hi hi! I’m Ace Swervey, and I’ve been writing these boys for well over six years now! If I have the chance to humble Goro severely and force one of the boys to face something they’ve been fighting NOT to, then I am more than happy >:3I am incredibly honored to advocate for and work alongside fellow fandom writers for this project! My background in zines include four previous contributor roles as a writer (Rivals Zine, Blood of a Villain, Happily Ever After (as a guest), Distorted Destinies) and one role as an intern organization moderator in Blood of a Villain. While moderating in BOAV, I also assisted in feedback on final submissions. If you need extensive feedback and thoughts on your works, I’ll be there!
Aki | She/HerWriting Mod
So honored to be here! I hope to put my P5 and writing experience to the service of the fandom with by far the most talented writers I have had the pleasure to read ♥As a real-life creative too, you can always count on me for thoughts and brainstorming about any idea. I have also taken part in various fandom events, from bangs to fanzines, and I’m at my third project as a mod so far! I have helped teams both at Blood of a Villain Anthology and Knife’s Edge, and I’m very hyped to join this new project specifically aimed at writers ☺️
Toppie | They/ThemWriting Mod
The Persona 5 fandom has so many fantastic writers, and I'm looking forward to using my skills as a writer and editor to help celebrate them! Previous Experience:
✧Writing Mod: KH Parks Zine
✧Writer: Smoke + Honey: A Sovani Zine, The Shadow You Cast: A Vanitas Anthology, Re:Collect: A Soriku Fic Collection, TWEWY Pride Zine, TWEWY Travel Zine
✧Artist: Summer’s End: A Roxas Zine
✧Spot Artist: ANTITHESIS: A Joker/Crow Role Swap Zine, Re:Collect, Smoke + Honey
Skye | She/HeWriting Intern
Really excited to be here and working on this project! I finished P5 just last year and I'm blown away by all the talented people having fun and creating amazing works in this fandom! Zine Exp:
✧Writing Mod: A3! Soundtracks: Ensemble Zine (also General Mod), Ways to Bloom Zine, A Warm Plate of Curry Zine
✧Writer: bunch of other zines!
SERAPHIIIM | He/HimMerch Mod
I have millions of eyes.
Bel | She/TheyCo-Graphics Mod
HIII i'm bel!! i'm a graphic design graduate and i've been a fan of p5 since 2017, but i only truly got into shuakeshu and the fandom a while after royal's release.shuakeshu fics have helped me through so many of my lowest lows over the years so i'm truly honoured to be part of a project like this celebrating all of the amazing writers here!!! ;w;
Ghostsjogging | He/HimCo-Graphics Mod
Incredibly honored to be able to assist with graphics for this project! Leblanc's Lending Library is a concept I am incredibly excited & passionate about. I have experience in head & art moderation, as well as developing graphics for zines. See more on my Carrd.
Tarrlok | He/TheyFormatting Mod
Working in graphic design for a printing company since 2018. Design Mod for 4 Seasons: a MDZS Junior Zine and part of the design teams for Knife’s Edge (P5) and Metamorphosis (P5).
Sydney | She/HeFinance Mod
Sydney is the accountant for Dual Wield Studio and has a long history of finance modding! Most recently, she's worked on Office Hours (original zine) and Reunion at Dawn (FE3H 5th Anniversary Zine).