How can teachers help their students write effectively and purposefully in a variety of genres despite the challenges of increased testing and curriculum mandates? Working within the writing workshop framework, a group of elementary school teachers participated in The Zine Project, a personalized approach to writing, in which they created their own unique zines-- magazines focused on a single topic of personal interest. These novice writers had an opportunity to examine a subject from multiple vantage points including genres such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, personal essays, advertisements, and movie scripts. Using models of authentic writing from popular publications and children's literature as a guide, they learned about the craft of writing from the best teachers--the writers themselves. Their newfound insights about the complex nature of the writing process and their excitement at being "published" authors provided the context for exploring this approach to writing instruction in their own classrooms.