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Chicago Zine Fest
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    Welcome!

    Chicago Zine Fest is a celebration of small press and independent publishers, with an annual festival of workshops and the big expo day where 70+ zinesters sell and trade their zines. All CZF events are free and open to the public.

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CZF 2025 zinesters

6/15/2025

 
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We're so excited to reveal the zinesters who will be joining us for CZF 2025! Check out the full list along with the table map of the beautiful space of the Winter Garden, on the 9th floor of the Harold Washington Library Center. Find all the details about CZF 2025. We can't wait for you all to join us on Saturday July 19th!
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Zine Prom on June 5th

5/22/2025

 
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Please join us for ZINE PROM on Thursday June 5th!! ✨️ We'll be dancing, eating, flaunting, and making zines at Marz Brewing at 3630 S Iron St in Chicago. 💃 ✂️ We'll see you in McKinley Park!

Suggested donation: $5-$10 to keep Chicago Zine Fest flourishing! Come in your sparkling finest or come as you are. We'll be glad to have you!
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CZF 2025 poster art

5/13/2025

 
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We are excited to announce our official poster artwork for CZF 2025 created by Kelly Wang! Kelly perfectly captures the colorful clutter and chaos of a zinester’s workspace. Keep your eyes peeled for Zinehead—our official mascot for this year’s fest.

Kelly Wang is an award-winning alternative cartoonist, printmaker, and musician based in Chicago. Their hand-drawn works combine Asian and American influences, their stories exploring personal narratives and growth often with absurd or magical realism twists. They currently self-publish their work through their own small risograph press REESO PRESS and play music. Explore more of Kelly's delightful art at their website, cchianart.com.
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email newsletter

4/25/2025

 
We're restarting the CZF email newsletter so we're not so reliant on the whims of social media corporations! Please subscribe to our monthly-ish newsletter to keep in the loop about all things Chicago Zine Fest.
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CZF 2025 registration

2/13/2025

 
Registration for the 2025 Chicago Zine Fest will be curated to ensure we have a diverse mix of zinesters. The registration period will be open February 14–28. Everyone who submits an application will hear back about their status by March 31.

There will be no registration fees for those accepted to table at CZF 2025. That's right; it'll be free for tablers! We happily accept donations to ensure the fest continues to thrive and support our artists, workshop leaders, and community partners.

If you have any trouble with the embedded form below (or if you're filling it out on a mobile device), you can fill out the form directly here.

Before applying, please take a moment to review the CZF Safer Spaces Policy.
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CZF 2025 date

2/10/2025

 
Announcement of the date for the 2025 Chicago Zine Fest, which will be held Saturday July 19 at the Winter Garden at the Harold Washington Library. The address is 400 S State Street, Chicago IL. The registration period will be open February 14-28.
CZF 2025 is happening Saturday July 19th at a brand new venue: the Winter Garden at Harold Washington Library! We're thrilled to partner with Chicago Public Library to bring you the next Chicago Zine Fest!!

Registration will again be curated to ensure we have a diverse mix of zinesters at the fest. The registration period will be open February 14–28, and decisions will be shared by March 31.

Look forward to a hot fest this July!!
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CZF 2024 survey

10/10/2024

 
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We had a great time at #CZF2024 and we hope you all did too! Thank you so much to our zinesters, tablers, volunteers, sponsors, and community partners who make it all possible!! We appreciate everyone who was able to attend. 

Please let us know how we did by taking our post-fest survey for attendees and exhibitors.

CZF 2024 survey
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CZF 2024 exhibitors

9/15/2024

 
We're delighted to share the list of zinesters, distros, and invited guests who will be joining us at Chicago Zine Fest 2024! Find the table map and a full list of exhibitors at the CZF 2024 Exhibitors page.
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Volunteer for CZF 2024

9/6/2024

 
We need your help to put on CZF 2024! We need volunteers to help us check in exhibitors, answer questions, give zinesters breaks, and help with clean up. To sign up for a 2-hour volunteer shift, just click the "volunteer" button below.

If you'd like to help us spread the word about CZF, we'll be meeting at Zine Mercado, Saturday September 8th, to hand out posters. Meet us at Comfort Station at 3 pm and then hang up posters in your neighborhood when you have time!
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Collaboration with Midwest Perzine Fest

8/27/2024

 
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We couldn't be more excited to have the organizers of the Midwest Perzine Fest joining us this year at Chicago Zine Fest! MWPZF will be an important part of CZF 2024—the organizers chose a selection of tablers to be a part of Perzine Alley, where you can find amazing creators who focus on the personal in their zines.

Please plan on joining the MWPZF zine swap and zinester reading happening at Skunk Cabbage Books in Avondale on Wednesday September 4th from 6-8 pm. This is a free, masks required event. We'll see you there!
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