What’s a zine?
Although the local zine community has a lot of familiar faces that frequent various events throughout the year, they are always welcoming new individuals to participate. First-timers are always welcome, and the PHX Zine Fest is no exception.In the spirit of including newcomers, Charissa Lucille, a key figure in the valley metro zine community, owner of Wasted Ink Zine Distro, Paper Jam + Print collaborative print studio, and PHX Zine organizer, breaks down what a zine is.
“A zine is a small self-published document that could be made by an individual or a group,” Lucille explains. “It's typically a smaller circulated publication that contains a variety of content from poetry, comics, photography, a long-form essay, really anything that people have to say, they can publish through a zine on their own.”
Zines can be homemade or printed through a professional printer, ranging in sizes and materials. Despite advancements of modern-day technology, physical media still has found relevancy, and some argue it’s needed more than ever. With artificial intelligence on the rise, social media censorship and web tracking, the local zine community strongly believes that self-publishing is essential to maintaining an author’s authentic voice.
Zoe, another PHX Zine Fest organizer and cartoonist/zinester of ZuZu Cartoons recalls how an AI bot censored her work.
“Recently, I was talking to my audience and (told them) there is a fairly large chance that you might not be able to read an uncensored version of my comic anywhere but in print. I got an AI bot that pulled some of my work off of Webtoon,” she says. “Both of my characters are very intentionally smokers. It informs a lot about their character and the way they're going to be growing as people. AI tagged that a character was smoking a bong and pulled it.”
Lucille adds, “Zines can be a place where you can read material without being tracked. You can read material that has more resources embedded in it that you can then go online and learn more. You can read zines that educate you and teach you and also just make you feel. A lot of that is being lost and commodified in our online spaces.”
The history of PHX Zine Fest
Born in October 2016 with fewer than 60 vendors, the fest has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings. One thing remains the same: the unwavering heart of the organizers who are determined to spread the word of zine culture.Although smaller events of its kind existed before, Phoenix was missing that zine fest vibe with a diverse range of creators. Thus, PHX Zine Fest was created out of what organizers describe as "necessity." This year, there will be 93 vendors, and Saturday and Sunday will have different vendors, making each day unique. Every creator and vendor is handpicked and curated to represent the wide range of readers. Inclusion and diversity has always been part of the fabric of PHX Zine Fest.
“Zines allow people to represent themselves completely autonomously. We want to honor that and hold space for people. Especially people of color, um, and LGBTQIA+ individuals,” Lucille says. “These are the voices that matter most to us, and we want them to have a really good, solid space to represent their work and have their stories heard.”
The organizers are also very passionate about representing our disabled and autoimmune compromised society. For the past three years, it has been a unanimous decision among the organizers to require masks and go the extra mile to provide them. Many attendees have praised this decision, even some noting this is the only event they can bring their whole family to and feel safe due to the mask requirement.
“Speaking from very personal experience, I have multiple autoimmune diseases. Pre-COVID, I was actually wearing masks,” Zoe says. “I wish everybody was more disease-conscious and, you know, sort of able to look out for the autoimmune and the disabled. Everybody in our community. So how do you say that you support marginalized identities as an event and then not require masks?”
PHX Zine Fest also has sensory-friendly accommodations for those who might feel overwhelmed by the social aspects of a heavily attended festival. Inside the fest will be a zine library where zines are displayed for attendees to browse and experience, with each zine spotlighting the creator’s table. This allows them to go directly there without moving from table to table. It’s also a great way for anyone to view the zines in one location.
Aside from the many vendors, there are other fun activities that are scheduled throughout the event. Attendees can become a zinester themselves at the zine station. They can make mini zines for themselves, friends, or put it in the zine mailbox for volunteers or ventors.There is also live screen printing demonstrations all day. Bring your own T-shirt, tote or 12" x 12" patches to get screen printed for free, but donations are accepted and appreciated.
