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”

Killian Pinks (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist and educator living and working in Chicagoland. Find them on Instagram: @arcanemoody

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 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

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 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

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 Elena and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Elena!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”