Interview: Chicago Zine Fest

The Windy City's Don't-Miss Alt Pub Event

By Christine Stoddard
QuailBellMagazine.com

The Chicago Zine Fest is this weekend and, though the Quail Bell Crew will not be tabling, we will be represented by River Rat Distro. They're carrying our anthologies and Issue 4 of our 'zine, so we hope to live vicariously through them. Another way to enjoy an event from afar is to preview it. Hence I took a few minutes to shoot the festival organizers quick questions about what attendees should anticipate (besides general awesomeness):

What are the origins of the fest? How has it evolved? 

“The Chicago Zine Fest was founded in 2009 by four friends who decided to make a zine fest happen in Chicago. It started with a bake sale at a punk show as our first fundraiser. We always set out with the intention of having a festival that wasn't just about the tabling. The first year we had a reading, an art show and a film screening in addition to 50 tables that we borrowed from a local high school. This year we have a panel, youth reading, exhibitor reading, dance party, workshops and panels and tabling. The fest has evolved in a lot of ways (we rent tables now). It's also much larger (we have close to 250 exhibitors), we're working with the Center for Book and Paper on awesome hands-on workshops for the day of and hosting our reading in a much larger space this year but we still have remained true to our original mission of creating a volunteer-run festival that highlights DIY and self-published literature.  

I think the fest could have evolved into something much different if we had let it grow as it was in the first couple years. We made a decision to keep the fest at the same venue, same size, for the last four years instead of growing exponentially in order to maintain the feeling we set out to have for the fest. So it's both a process of evolution and choice of keeping a clear vision for the fest itself.”  

- Leslie Perrine, an original CZF organizer

Who are the lovely names and faces behind the Chicago Zine Fest? What makes y'all a stellar team?

“We have an absolutely amazing team of people behind the Chicago Zine Fest. This year we were back down to four organizers (myself, Heather, John and Jaclyn), all of us returning organizers. I have been organizing the fest for all five years, John was involved all five years through Columbia and has been organizing for four, Heather has been organizing for three years and this is Jaclyn's second year organizing. The thing that makes this an amazing group of people is the dedication everyone has to making this event awesome. We all do this with no compensation whatsoever. We have weekly three- to four-hour meetings, along with spending one to two hours of our free time everyday answering emails, hanging posters, editing Google Docs, etc. We are like a little family unit. We cook meals at our meetings, we have breakdowns from time to time and we laugh a lot. 

We could not do it all on our own either though. We've had coordinators that have helped this year (Julie, Autumn and Zandra) who have helped with everything from organizing our youth reading to laying out our postcard text. It has been a huge help. We also have the help of so many amazing volunteers. We are very lucky to have so many people who also care about the fest and want to see it happen every year. People who help host fundraisers, hang posters and who are at the fest the day of. “ 

- Leslie Perrine, an original CZF organizer

What can zine fest goers expect this year?

“I'm so excited for how this year's fest has turned out! Fest goers are in for a weekend full of amazing programming thanks to the members of the self-publishing community far and wide who have agreed to bring their perspectives and experiences to the festival weekend. Our kick-off event is the Friday afternoon panel at Columbia College, and this year's theme is Longevity in Zines. Moderated by Liz Mason, the panel will be a discussion amongst some of the self-publishing community's most dedicated and long-standing contributors: Cindy Crabb of Doris, Tomas Moniz of Rad Dad, and Alex Wrekk of Stolen Sharpie Revolution. We think it's a really fitting topic for our fifth year milestone!”

“Following the panel on Friday are our highly anticipated evening readings. We are so excited to be hosting the Friday night readings at the Hairpin Arts Center this year: it's a gorgeous, massive space that will really add something special to this year's events. The first event Friday night is the Youth Reading, in which Chicago-area students will share their work, and which continues to be an inspiring event each year. Immediately following the Youth Reading is the Exhibitor Reading. We have a great line-up of readers this year (Amber Dearest, Amelia Hruby, Caitlin Constantine, Cindy Crabb, Curiouser Jane, K of Lake Effect, Joyce Hatton, Keiler Roberts , Khristina Acosta, LB of Truckface, Mack Attack, Tevor Grabill). Attendees of both of our readings can expect a wide variety of amazing performances covering a breadth of topics and points of view. Don't miss them! And don't miss the dance party we have planned in the Hairpin Arts Center following the readings. Featuring CHIRP Radio DJ Kegan Simons, it'll be a time to catch up with old zine friends, talk to the creators and performers, and just get generally pumped for all of the fun still to come!

Then on Saturday we have the main event: the zine exhibition on the first, second, and eighth floors of Columbia College (1104 S. Wabash). Fest goers will find over 200 writers, artists, and makers selling and trading their hand-made wares. Along with the chance to go home with some amazing zines works, attendees can also participate in a number of workshop programming throughout the day. We have hands-on workshops for those looking to get involved, discussion-based workshops on important topics in diy communities, and a family friendly performance from Brain Frame that I'm personally very excited for. A full list of programming can be found at ChicagoZineFest.org or on the Chicago Zine Fest Facebook page so that anyone looking to attend the two-day fest can plan ahead for the events they won't want to miss!” 

-Jaclyn Miller, 2nd year CZF Organizer

How does your zine fest differ from others in the U.S. (and beyond)? Have you checked out the ones in Brooklyn, D.C., or Richmond, for example? What makes Chicago's zine fest distinctly Chicago?

“CZF is a bit larger than most zine fests--at this year's fest we'll have nearly 250 exhibitors and three floors of zine fest goodness. We also hold CZF over two days. Day one is the panel, readings, and dance party, while day two is the exhibition. But that's not to say that our size or schedule makes us any better than other zine fests, as we have a lot of love for zine fests of all types! I've been to the past three DC Zine Fests, for instance, and the smaller size of the venue (St. Stephens Church) makes it feel really intimate and chill (the DCZF is my summer zine fest jam and I love it very much). But holding the Chicago Zine Fest in such a large space allows us to include hundreds of participants, many of them from beyond Chicago. We're so thankful that people travel from all across the country-- and world!--to be a part of CZF.

Our city is very much an intentional part of the Chicago Zine Fest. Each year's artwork is designed by a Chicago artist, and our sponsors are local businesses that believe in the zine fest and in turn donate space and support instead of cash. We hold fundraisers throughout the year at various spaces throughout the city, and the zine fest often takes part in different Chicago literary events. Plus, Chicago has a very healthy, strong zine community, which is one of the things that fuels our work. Chicago rules. We love this place. “

-Heather C., 3rd year CZF organizer

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