Get ready for Chicago Zine Fest 2023!!
#CZF2023 will be our 12th annual celebration of independent publishers in the Chicago area and beyond.
Highlights of the two-day festival include a YouTube Live panel discussion and youth reading on Friday May 19 and the
return of our in-person exhibition day featuring interactive workshops and more than 100 exhibitors on Saturday May 20.
Highlights of the two-day festival include a YouTube Live panel discussion and youth reading on Friday May 19 and the
return of our in-person exhibition day featuring interactive workshops and more than 100 exhibitors on Saturday May 20.
All events during CZF weekend are always FREE, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public!
Friday May 19th:
Two YouTube LIVE events starting at 7 pm CST:
Saturday May 20th:
Zine Exhibition Day
Featuring more than 100 zinesters, comics artists, distributors, and other creative types!
11:00 am-6:00 pm
Plumbers Union Hall (1340 W Washington Blvd) in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood
Saturday Workshops
Saturday Activities
COVID Mitigation Info
We strongly recommend masks for every tabler and visitor to the Chicago Zine Fest. Medical-grade single-use masks will be freely available at the entrance to the fest. Plumbers Union Hall had a new HVAC system installed in 2020, a W180 ton Air Cooled Screw Chiller, which includes an ultra UV light filter in the air handler. Check out our 2023 COVID statement for our thoughts about the future of the fest.
Friday May 19th:
Two YouTube LIVE events starting at 7 pm CST:
- Online zinester panel discussion: Quaranzines: How Zine Culture Has Survived and Thrived Since 2020 featuring Julia Arredondo, Oscar Arriola, Brian Baynes, Anna Jo Beck, Jonas Cannon, CHema Skandal, Billy Smith, and Liz Yerby; moderated by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by the University of Chicago Library
- Online zinester reading featuring members of the Illustration Student Group at Columbia College
Saturday May 20th:
Zine Exhibition Day
Featuring more than 100 zinesters, comics artists, distributors, and other creative types!
11:00 am-6:00 pm
Plumbers Union Hall (1340 W Washington Blvd) in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood
- Transit: Plumbers Union Hall is just 0.4 miles from the Ashland Green L line stop. Multiple buses provide access, such as the 20 Austin or the 65 Nordica routes.
- Parking: Plumbers Union Hall is just minutes away from downtown Chicago and just east of the United Center. Their fenced and secure facility has a surface parking lot capable of accommodating 130 vehicles. The parking garage will accommodate 500 vehicles. The cost for garage parking is $4 an hour.
Saturday Workshops
- Ama-ZINE Alternative Book Binding with Beth Hetland (noon to 1:00 pm)
- Beth Hetland, cartoonist & SAIC professor, brings back her popular hands-on workshop focused on unique and interactive book formats. You’ll see examples of exciting and inventive designs from Beth’s collection and learn new structures that take inspiration from scrapbooking, origami, zines, comics, traditional bookbinding methods, and more.
- Printing 101 with Print Ninja (1:30 - 2:30 pm)
- PRINT PRODUCTION 101- Always wanted to print your zine project but struggle with how to do it or where to start? Fear not! Join the industrious and insightful team at Print Ninja to learn the ins and outs, shortcuts, and cost-effective ways to set up your files, format your layout, and print your zine, book, or other printing needs!
- Incarcerated Zinesters and the Fight Against Prison Censorship presented by Midwest Books to Prisoners (3:00- 4:00 pm)
- Prison systems are escalating their war against the right to read and write through new mailroom restrictions and privatized digitization services. While they attempt to silence and bury those caught up in their cruel clutches, incarcerated people are breaking through the walls with self-published prisoner zines. Hear the latest in the campaign against prison censorship and book banning and ways we can enact solidarity and resistance.
Saturday Activities
- Make Your Own Button with Busy Beaver Button Co. (noon-2 pm)
- The folks at Busy Beaver will be up in the balcony with all the supplies you need to make pinback buttons. Kids and adults will enjoy bringing home the button they've made themselves!
- Make Your Own Zines (all day)
- We'll have an activity table on the balcony with all the supplies you need to make your own mini-zine. Another great activity for kids and adults!
- Portrait Booth Photos by Glitter Guts
- Our friends at Glitter Guts will be taking portrait photos of small groups so you can preserve the memories of you and your friends at CZF 2023!
COVID Mitigation Info
We strongly recommend masks for every tabler and visitor to the Chicago Zine Fest. Medical-grade single-use masks will be freely available at the entrance to the fest. Plumbers Union Hall had a new HVAC system installed in 2020, a W180 ton Air Cooled Screw Chiller, which includes an ultra UV light filter in the air handler. Check out our 2023 COVID statement for our thoughts about the future of the fest.