Zine Club Chicago, Chicago, IL (2026)

Our current projects include South Side Zine Fest, South Side Zine Library, Zine Club Chicago on Marz, and more!

06/12/2026

Hi there! This page is no longer updated. If you're looking for news about Zine Club Chicago and our South Side Zine Fest + Carnival, here's where you can find it:

Website: zineclubchicago.com
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06/07/2026

The application to table at the 2nd annual South Side Zine Fest + Carnival will open on June 15! Find it here: tinyurl.com/ApplySSZF2026

Applications will be accepted 11 a.m. CT Monday, June 15 through 11 p.m. CT Sunday, June 21, 2026. Only fully completed applications will be considered. In our decision-making process, we will be prioritizing zinemakers, distros, and collectives that have strong ties to the South Side of Chicago and/or make significant contributions to their communities.

We are asking tablers to make sure that at least 75% of your items will be zines. Work made using generative artificial intelligence (AI) is not welcome at our fest.

South Side Zine Fest + Carnival will be held at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, August 15, 2026 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport, Chicago IL 60608. Admission is free!

Our tables are 6 feet long. Each tabler will be offered a 3-foot table space. There is no cost to vend; however, we are asking each tabler to donate $5 worth of zines to be given away as part of our free raffle for festgoers.

Please note that we are a very small fest! We appreciate your understanding that we will not be able to offer a table to everyone who applies. We will be hosting a zine swap and encouraging trading at the fest, so we hope you'll join us even if you're not tabling.

We will notify all applicants as to whether they've been accepted or waitlisted by 11 p.m. CT Monday, July 6, 2026. All applicants who are offered a table must confirm their registration by 11 p.m. CT July 10, 2026, so please keep an eye on your email.

South Side Zine Fest + Carnival is presented by Zine Club Chicago. Jamie Kadas (Curvy Girl Comics) and Cynthia Elizabeth Hanifin (Zine Club Chicago producer/founder), both native South Siders, are the fest’s volunteer co-organizers. This free community event is made possible by support from the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library and individual donations from Zine Club Chicago members.

You can find more info about South Side Zine Fest + Carnival and Zine Club Chicago at zineclubchicago.com

South Side Zine Fest + Carnival 2026 logo was designed by Jamie Kadas, with inspiration from the 2025 logo created by Aim Ren Beland.

05/28/2026

SAVE THE DATE! South Side Zine Fest returns this summer with even more fun! This year, Zine Club Chicago is bringing a carnival vibe to our annual celebration of zine community on the South Side of Chicago.

We're planning some amazing workshops, programming, and zine-themed carnival activities, along with community-focused tabling by local zine distros and artists, stations for zine and button making, and more. Free! All ages!

South Side Zine Fest + Carnival will be held at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, August 15, 2026 at the Richard J. Daley branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. More info coming soon to zineclubchicago.com

05/27/2026

We had an amazing time with y’all at our Southwest Side Zine Library Launch Party on Saturday! Thank you to everyone who joined us to check out our new collection of self-published titles at the Archer Heights branch of the Chicago Public Library.

We’re grateful to our very own Zine Doctor, Liz Mason, for offering sage self-publishing advice and lollipops to attendees, and to the awesome zinemakers who joined Liz in donating entire collections of their work to the zine library: Keidra Chaney and the Wild Ramp Publishing artists, Jeff of Around Town With the Ten Eighty-Six (happy 3rd anniversary!), and Ed Kemp of The Word Distro. Rosamund Lannin, Lazer Attack, branch manager Jami, and several anonymous donors generously helped stack our shelves with great titles, as well.

We’d also like to thank Jeannine, Marissa, Jami, and the rest of the Archer Heights branch staff for hosting us. Anna Jo Beck of Zine-a-Month, who designed our gorgeous logo for the zine library, is our forever fave.

The Southwest Side Zine Library is permanently housed at the Archer Heights branch, 5505 S. Archer Ave., so feel free to stop in anytime to browse the zines and make your own!

More info at zineclubchicago.com.

05/23/2026

Want a free Southwest Side Zine Library sticker? You can snag one this Saturday at the Southwest Side Zine Library Launch Party for our new zine library in Archer Heights!

Please join us at 2-4 p.m. Saturday, May 23 at the Archer Heights branch of the Chicago Public Library, 5055 S. Archer Ave! Folks of all ages are invited to peruse the zine library, make zines, Ask the Zine Doctor (aka our own Liz Mason), enjoy snax, and more. Free!

Thank you to Chicago artist and Zine Club Chicago founding member Anna Jo Beck, who created the Southwest Side Zine Library logo with artistic inspiration from Mexican papel picado and Polish wycinanki.

More info at zineclubchicago.com and chipublib.org

05/01/2026

We're thrilled to announce our brand-new Southwest Side Zine Library! This free community resource, stocked with self-published titles of all kinds, will be permanently housed at the Archer Heights branch of the Chicago Public Library.

Please join us to celebrate at our Southwest Side Zine Library Launch Party, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, May 23 at the Archer Heights branch, 5055 S. Archer Ave! Folks of all ages are invited to peruse the zine library, make zines, Ask the Zine Doctor (aka our own Liz Mason), enjoy snax, and more. Free!

If you’re new to the Archer Heights neighborhood, the library is just northwest of the Pulaski stop on the Orange Line. More info at zineclubchicago.com and chipublib.org

Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free community event series is produced by founder Cynthia Elizabeth Hanifin. If you’re in the Bridgeport neighborhood, please visit our South Side Zine Library at the Richard J. Daley branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St.

Thank you to the staff of the Archer Heights branch of the Chicago Public Library and all of our friends who donated materials for the Southwest Side Zine Library. We’d like to give a special shout out to Anna Jo Beck, who created the Southwest Side Zine Library logo with artistic inspiration from Mexican papel picado and Polish wycinanki.

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Chicago, IL

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https://zineclubchicagoshoutouts.spread.name/, http://zineclubchicago.com/

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