To the uninformed observer, the term “zine” may be lumped together with other suffix slang, such as “za” — the stoner ’80s version of pizza. This conclusion is mistaken. Beyond their last syllable, zines and magazines have little in common. Where a magazine is glossy and structured, a zine is often a handcrafted and often chaotic booklet.

But while these hand-crafted labours of love have a dedicated core following, members of the Zine Tree Collective are seeking to introduce them to a broader audience with this weekend’s 24 Hour Zine Challenge. The Collective, a local group that oversees a zine library, takes over the Old Y at noon Saturday, providing a space for anyone who’s interested — whether veteran or newcomer — to create a zine.

So what, exactly, are zines? Well, you may have to make one to find out. They tend to be as individual as their creators. Freed from the constraints of advertisers, editors and deadlines, makers of zines largely have a blank canvas to say what they want, how they want.

“Basically if you feel that you have something to say, something to put out to the world, you can do it yourself and you don’t need a publisher to do it,” explains Damien Inbred, a self-described anarchist and local punk musician who’s participating in the challenge. “It’s really the ultimate do-it-yourself form of expression.”

This freedom is important to Inbred, creator of the zine Body Count, which explores punk music and punk politics. Zines, he believes, offer a forum for members of the anarchist community to share views rarely found in the mainstream media.

“Most of us are opposed to nationalism, racism obviously, classism. There’s just a lot of homophobia in our society, along with those terrible ‘isms.’ And so through our zines and other forms of personal expression, we’re getting an alternate message out there.”

Whatever the subject, personal expression is the defining feature of zines, says Samantha Trees of the Zine Tree Collective. Most zines have small readerships, a rough-hewn appearance reflecting the punk esthetic, and are cheap to produce and buy. They come in all shapes and sizes and may feature poetry, comics and collages as well as writing.

While the first issue of Trees’ zine, which shares its creator’s last name, focused on her struggle with depression, subsequent installments have covered the local punk scene or shared her experience living in cooperative housing. She expects participants’ zines will be equally varied.

“This event is for people who like zines, but it’s also for people who like art,” she says. “Zines don’t even have to be word-based. They can be entirely comics or drawings or collages, so you don’t even have to be a writer to come.”

While creating a zine over just 24 hours might seem daunting, participants will have no shortage of tools at their disposal. Trees and the other organizers will be providing magazines to cut and paste from, sample zines to peruse, snacks and, naturally, plenty of coffee (though participants wishing to pull an all-nighter will have to find an alternate location while the Y is closed between midnight and 6 a.m.). By noon on Sunday, Tree hopes everyone will have a zine of their own to keep and share. But that, she emphasizes, is a starting point, not an end.”

“This event is very focused on raising awareness of zines, of how wonderful they are and how great they can be as a form of expression or sharing ideas or sharing art for people. So hopefully more people will learn about zines and have them be a part of their life.