About Us

Better Than Sliced Bread is a webzine run by the English students at the University of Helsinki. We are a community of young writers seeking to inspire, inform and entertain. BTSB publishes a variety of content, ranging from journalistic articles to creative writing, art and comics. BTSB is a great place to practice writing and work life skills as well as have some fun during university studies. As a student club, we are a part of Sub ry, the student organization of English students at the University of Helsinki.

Archive:

A Brief History

BTSB was born out of the need to create. Although things like the publication schedule have varied during its digital existence over the past ten years, the zine’s core has never disappeared. As Joe McVeigh, one of the first BTSB editors, eloquently put it way back in 2007:

““It is a place where original ideas can be channeled into concise articles, be they academic, humorous, or just plain informative. It is a place where you can come together with others to discuss what’s on your mind. In short, it is a place where you can tell the world what it needs to hear.””

At the same time BTSB’s history has its ups and downs.

We’ve seen lonely meetings with a somewhat desperate editor-in-chief and maybe two writers sitting at the table in Kaisla, staring at their pints, trying to fan a flickering flame. We’ve endured pressure from above threatening to take away our self-determination and held our heads up high when the fists hit the desk. We’ve lost some of our creative work in the devastating hacker attack in 2010.

But also, we’ve experienced the rambunctious laughter of a dozen creative minds, putting together near award-winning student journalism. We’ve rejoiced when curious freshers have come through the door, asking shyly: “Is this the BTSB meeting…?” We’ve celebrated when those same freshers have become talented editors and cornerstones of our zine.

Sometimes we might have felt lost and insecure when our old farts have left us, but soon found out that they’re always close by to offer support and advice (and occasionally even an article or two).

And that in the end, we got this.

BTSB is the stuff of student life. You can try your hand at reviewing movies, interviewing people you admire, writing about your passions as well as the everyday grind of being a student in this era. It’s a place where you can speak out your frustration over the current political climate, when no other media is doing it.

BTSB is, and always has been, the place for humor and weirdness. We take gonzo, ponies, and poems very seriously. We’re also dead serious about becoming better writers – almost every article you see on the page these days goes through a feedback process, aiming at producing the best student journalism in English in Finland.

BTSB remains the creative outlet for multitude of voices among students of English. Here’s to the next ten years.

Yours truly,

Kaisa Leino, editor, ex-editor-in-chief, current old fart.

Esko Suoranta, editor, ex-web-wizard, current old fart.