SAN FRANCISCO ZINE FEST

Zines have a special place in my heart. I first learned to screenprint, run a Vandercook, and bind books in class about making zines. Our textbook was A Secret Location on the Lower East Side by Steve Clay and Rodney Phillips. At the end of that semester, when the first book was done, the NewLights Press was founded. My life changed. I had found it.

Registration is now open for this year’s San Francisco Zine Fest, which is taking place on August 22nd and 23rd at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. Click here for the official website, including full registration information.

I am on the organizing committee this year, and it is my personal Zine Fest Mission to get more artists’ books and independent literary publishers tabling there. So if you’re an artist book/independent literary publisher, you should get a table. Why? Mainly because it’s fun. I really love doing shows like these (the Zine Fest will be my fourth this year); it’s just great to sit at the table and show people your work. Some get really excited about it. Some even buy some of it.

The second reason: it’s cheap. $90 for a full table, $45 for a half. You can’t beat that price. What have you got to lose? Find a friend and share a table.

Although the event is called the Zine Fest and zines/comix are the primary focus, there will be other kinds of work at the show: printmaking, other art stuff, DIY craft, etc. And I think the show and the people involved benefit from seeing a wide range of work. So come on out and share your books, ideas, and enthusiasm with the larger publishing community.