Chicago Zine Fest 2026
Chicago Zine Fest 2026 will be on Saturday, October 10th from 11 am to 4 pm at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605). We'll be on the 8th and 9th floor of the library.
CZF is always free to attend; no tickets are required.
Keep an eye on our social media and this page for more details about the fest!
CZF is always free to attend; no tickets are required.
Keep an eye on our social media and this page for more details about the fest!
CZF 2026 poster
The CZF 2026 poster was created by Aaliyah Lachel’e. Aaliyah is a black queer artist from the the south suburbs of Chicago. With a focus on magical realism, Aaliyah aims to bring a little bit of fantasy to her viewer’s everyday life. Her work covers the general experience of growing up as an internet obsessed, loser-ish, nerdy kid-of-color, with a little dash of science fiction mixed in. She hopes you can see yourself in the work, because representation matters.
Aaliyah recently graduated with a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. You can find more of her work at her website peanutbuddarart.com or Instagram account @peanutbuddarart.
The CZF 2026 artwork features Marbles the Library Mouse. If you love Marbles as much as we do, you'll be able to buy Marbles merch at CZF 2026!
Venue Accessibility
This year's fest will take place at the Harold Washington Library Center 8th and 9th floors. There is a bank of elevators just off of the library's back entrance at 401 South Plymouth Court which travels directly from the ground to the 8th or 9th floor. Check out photos of last year's fest to get a sense for the space.
There are no gender neutral bathrooms at the Harold Washington Library. There are bathrooms located on each floor.
There is no parking garage at the Harold Washington Library. The library provides a list of paid parking facilities within walking distance of the library. The Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren L station is located just outside the library, serving the brown, orange, and pink lines. Many busses stop at the library, including the #2, #6, #10, #22, #24, #29, #36, #62, #146, #147, and #148. There are bike racks on the east and west sides of the library, at 401 S Plymouth Court and 400 S State St.
COVID Considerations
City of Chicago policy does not allow masks to be required at the fest. We are asking everyone who attends CZF 2026, either as a tabler or visitor, to wear a mask. While we cannot guarantee that everyone will wear a mask, we want to ensure CZF will remain as accessible as possible. N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are strongly preferred, because they are more effective than surgical masks at reducing the spread of COVID and other airborne illnesses.
Our primary COVID-mitigation strategies include:
We encourage everyone to test before the event, especially if traveling to Chicago, and request that you not attend CZF if you test positive for COVID or other airborne illnesses.
We encourage your questions and suggestions at [email protected].
This year's fest will take place at the Harold Washington Library Center 8th and 9th floors. There is a bank of elevators just off of the library's back entrance at 401 South Plymouth Court which travels directly from the ground to the 8th or 9th floor. Check out photos of last year's fest to get a sense for the space.
There are no gender neutral bathrooms at the Harold Washington Library. There are bathrooms located on each floor.
There is no parking garage at the Harold Washington Library. The library provides a list of paid parking facilities within walking distance of the library. The Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren L station is located just outside the library, serving the brown, orange, and pink lines. Many busses stop at the library, including the #2, #6, #10, #22, #24, #29, #36, #62, #146, #147, and #148. There are bike racks on the east and west sides of the library, at 401 S Plymouth Court and 400 S State St.
COVID Considerations
City of Chicago policy does not allow masks to be required at the fest. We are asking everyone who attends CZF 2026, either as a tabler or visitor, to wear a mask. While we cannot guarantee that everyone will wear a mask, we want to ensure CZF will remain as accessible as possible. N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are strongly preferred, because they are more effective than surgical masks at reducing the spread of COVID and other airborne illnesses.
Our primary COVID-mitigation strategies include:
- free KN95 masks (adult and child-size) available at the fest entrance
- air purifiers in the exhibition spaces
- CO2 monitors to provide information about the air quality in the main exhibit space.
We encourage everyone to test before the event, especially if traveling to Chicago, and request that you not attend CZF if you test positive for COVID or other airborne illnesses.
We encourage your questions and suggestions at [email protected].