Rojas (they/them) is a farmer, bike mechanic, songwriter and zinemaker. Their zines hate borders, binaries, and boredom. Find them on Instagram: @desvelosydudas
Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Rojas and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Rojas!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
Maggie Umber (she/her) paints, prints, and programs graphic novels and zines. She’s published four graphic novels — Chrysanthemum Under the Waves, Sound of Snow Falling, Time Capsule, 270°. Her work has been widely anthologized, and Chrysanthemum Under the Waves was nominated for a 2024 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel. Find her on Instagram: @maggieumber and on Bluesky: @maggieumber.bsky.social
Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Maggie Umber and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Maggie Umber!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
Zine Fiends is a group of artists based in the Chicago suburbs. Taking inspiration from Zine Club Chicago, they created their own zine club. They hope to bring zines outside of the city and appreciate your support! Find them on Instagram: @brill.opad@vv_aannii@imaaanifaye@tayloorthoomas
Image description: A collage of several images of members of the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Zine Fiends and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Zine Fiends!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Shea Cahill //Oops All Centipedes and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Shea Cahill // Oops All Centipedes!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Killian Pinks and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Killian Pinks!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
David J Robles (he/him) was raised on the South Side of Chicago. He’s a guy who likes comics, self-improvement, and the weird side of life. Find him on Instagram: @d.j.robles15
Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor David J Robles and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming David J Robles!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
Elena (they/them) is a Taiwanese-American print artist with a love for movies and paper crafts. Their artwork focuses on traditional Taoist traditions from their hometown in Taiwan and vending print into 3D objects. Find them on Instagram: @ehsuanyiwhitwam
Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Elena and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Elena!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”
Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Queer Icons Zinemaking Hangout Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown 7 – 9 p.m. Thursday, June 26, 2025 Free!
In honor of Pride Month, we’re celebrating queer icons in collaboration with our friends at Life on Marz Community Club! Y’all are invited to help create a group zine about the LGBTQ+ luminaries, unsung heroes, and everyday folks who inspire us.
Please join us for Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Queer Icons Zinemaking Hangout, 7-9 p.m. Thursday, June 26 at Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown.Free!
We’ll provide all the zinemaking supplies! Just bring your creativity. Life on Marz Community Club, our favorite locally owned taproom and café space, offers awesome alcoholic, CBD, and non-alcoholic beverages from Marz Community Brewing Co. and more, plus some very fun snacks, for purchase.
Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; we’ll have masks available if you’d like to wear one.
Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free community event series is produced by queer zinemaker Cynthia E. Hanifin. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals. Liz Mason is our indispensable co-conspirator.
More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago
Image description: A flyer featuring a star-dappled rainbow background and this text: “Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Queer Icons; 7-9 p.m. Thursday, June 26; Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave; Free!; Info at zineclubchicago.com”
South Side Zine Fest applicants, check your email! We’ve let everyone know if they have received a table or been placed on the waitlist.
We appreciate every applicant’s interest in our fest and the time you took to complete your application. We received more than 40 applications for only 20 table spots. For our curation process, we prioritized creators with strong ties to the South Side and/or Zine Club Chicago. Our hope is to grow South Side Zine Fest and offer more table spaces for vendors at next year’s event.
If you didn’t receive a table spot this year, we hope you’ll consider attending the fest! There will be many opportunities to engage with other zinemakers, including a zine swap, scavenger hunt (with prizes!), a panel discussion and workshop, all-day zinemaking, pen pal station, and more!
Tablers, we can’t wait to see you at the fest! Please make sure to confirm your spot via email by June 15. We’ll send out more information about day-of-fest logistics as we get closer to the event.
If you’ve been placed on the waitlist, we’ll notify you via email if a spot opens up. We are not able to let you know your position on the waitlist.
The inaugural South Side Zine Fest presented by Zine Club Chicago will be held 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26, 2025 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport, Chicago IL 60608. Admission is free!
South Side Zine Fest is presented by Zine Club Chicago. Jamie Kadas (Curvy Girl Comics) and Cynthia E. Hanifin (Zine Club Chicago producer), both native South Siders, are the fest’s volunteer co-organizers. This free community event is made possible by a grant from the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library and individual donations from Zine Club Chicago members.
South Side Zine Fest logo designed by Aim Ren Beland. Flyers designed by Jamie Kadas.
Image description: A blue and red flyer featuring the South Side Zine Fest and Zine Club Chicago logos and this text: “Join Us for the Inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Presented by Zine Club Chicago; A celebration of self-publishing with Zine Camp vibes!; Applicants Check Your Email!; Table confirmations are DUE June 15!”
Queer Zines Discussion + Workshop led by Larry Wolf Zine Club Chicago x Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives: Queer Zines Discussion + Workshop Led by Larry Wolf 7-9 p.m. CT Tuesday, June 17 In person at Gerber/Hart 6500 N. Clark St. 2nd Floor And online too! (RSVP required for Zoom link) Free!
Join us in person or on Zoom to explore the queer zines in Gerber/Hart’s archives, discuss favorite titles in your personal collection, and make a zine! Zine Club Chicago x Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives: Queer Zines Discussion + Workshop Led by Larry Wolf is set for 7-9 p.m. CT Tuesday, June 17. Free!
In person: We’ll be meeting in the Community Room at Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives, 6500 N. Clark St., on the second floor of the Howard Brown Health building in Rogers Park. The elevator is located at the end of the hallway (past Howard Brown’s front desk). All zinemaking materials will be provided.
On Zoom: RSVP at zineclubchicago@gmail.com by 9 p.m. CT Monday, June 16. We’ll send you the Zoom link by 5 p.m. CT Tuesday, June 17. (To help ensure that our online Zine Club Chicago events are a safe space, we won’t be posting the Zoom link publicly.)
Please feel free to bring queer zines you love to discuss with the group in person or online!
Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; we’ll have masks available if you’d like to wear one.
Larry Wolf is a 73-year-old Chicago-based artist working in photography, drawing, and painting. He’s only been making zines for five years, kind of still a newbie and kind of knows what he’s doing. His zines tell stories; single sheets of paper, folded in different ways, a physical embodiment of feelings and thoughts, playful and serious, objects of exchange. Larry can be found some Fridays soaking in the queer zines at Gerber/Hart.
Gerber/Hart is a LGBTQ+ library and archives located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. Founded in 1981, Gerber/Hart is one of the largest repositories of LGBTQ+ content in the world. Gerber/Hart is a 501(c)3 non-profit and focuses on collecting, preserving, and making accessible the LGBTQ history and culture of Chicago and the Midwest. Learn more at gerberhart.org or by following @gerberhart on Instagram and Facebook.
Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free community event series is produced by queer zinemaker Cynthia E. Hanifin. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals. Liz Mason is our indispensable co-conspirator.
More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago
Image descriptions:
A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with an image of a selection of queer zines, the Zine Club Chicago and Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives logos, and text that reads: “Queer Zines Discussion + Workshop Led by Larry Wolf; 7-9 p.m. CT Tuesday, June 17, 2025; In person at Gerber/Hart, 6500 N. Clark St. 2nd Floor; And online too! Zoom info at zineclubchicago.com”
A photo of Chicago-based artist Larry Wolf sitting at a table of his zines.
The Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives logo, which features an illustration of a book with rainbow pages.
A rainbow version of the Zine Club Chicago logo, which features an illustration of a lightbulb with a zine inside of it.
Zine Club Chicago 