Zina Saunders has been a writer-illustrator for more than 15 years. In addition to contributions in a variety of periodicals (including The Wall Street Journal, The Progressive, Foreign Policy Magazine ,The Nation , and Mother Jones), her client list includes Simon & Schuster, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, and Oxford University Press.

In June 2005, her focus shifted from general illustration to reportage illustration, when she wrote a story for Time Out New York magazine about the Puerto Rico Schwinn Club, an outgrowth of the Overlooked New York website. She wrote and illustrated another feature in the August 4th issue of Time Out New York magazine, profiling Central Park portrait artists. Her Overlooked New York series has been selected to be featured in the 3x3 ProShow Illustration Annual No. 4.