Jen Chavez (she/her) is a Chicana illustrator and comic artist. Her zines focus on various mental illnesses, troubles with catholicism, and the occasional natural disaster When she’s not drawing she likes to pace around Chicago for as long as possible. Find her on Instagram: @Jen.kneefer

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Jen Chavez, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Jen Chavez!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Marimacha Monarca Press is an artist and educator collective of, by and for queer & trans familia based on the southside of Chicago since 2017. MMP provides workshops in printmaking, seed paper making, piñata making, and zine-making as a means of self publication, communication, and reflection. Working alongside themes of queerness, race, language, migration, accessibility, and visual storytelling, we hope our conversations allow us to see the power in illustrating our own histories.
Find them on Instagram: @marimachamonarcapress

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A photo of a member of South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Marimacha Monarca Press with zines created by the collective and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Marimacha Monarca Press!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Teddie Bernard (they/he) is a queer cartoonist, writer, and printmaker. His work explores queer identity, history, and connection. They spend their time refurbishing obsolete printers and researching obscure lesbians. Find them on Tumblr at @tea-ddie and on BlueSky at @tea-ddie

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of photos of South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Teddie Bernard and their zines, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Teddie Bernard!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Midwest Books to Prisoners wields the printed word as the weapon of choice to break down prison walls and build bridges of solidarity. We fight to undermine the lack of access to communication and education while amplifying voices the system silences by helping people self-publish their works as zines. Find them on Instagram: @midwestbooks2p

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of several images of zines distributed by the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Midwest Books to Prisoners and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Midwest Books to Prisoners!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Río (they/them) at Amor as Lucha is a migrant nonbinary brown person who makes arty zines about life and random things. Find them in Instagram at @amoraslucha +@fediverse; on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/echeri.mastodon.art.ap.brid.gy; and on Mastodon at https://mastodon.art/@echeri
 
Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Amor as Lucha and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Amor as Lucha!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

The Support Ho(s)e Collective is a small Leftist formation of queer and trans* sex workers (current and former) and their trusted co-conspirators based in the Midwest, South, and Northeast. They work to build radical community for all sex workers through political education and public agitation. They also coordinated the Justice for Alisha Walker Defense Campaign. They have been making zines and organizing together for over eight years! They listen, learn from and center the lived experiences and the experiences of the broader sex working community, as they work toward workers’ rights, ending stigma, decriminalizing all survival, and building spaces for radicalization and political action. Find them online: sxhxcollective.org

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage featuring images of a member of South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor The Support Ho(s)e Collective and zines created by the collective, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming The Support Ho(s)e Collective!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Rojas (they/them) is a farmer, bike mechanic, songwriter and zinemaker. Their zines hate borders, binaries, and boredom. Find them on Instagram: @desvelosydudas

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

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

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

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

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

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”

Shea Cahill // Oops All Centipedes (they/them) is a professional mall goth. Find them on Instagram: @oopsallcentipedes

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

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”