Teen Zines to Celebrate Chicago Zine Fest

Zine all of the things! Zines, short for fanzines, are small runs of self-published works on whatever topic speaks to the author. Many comicbook authors get their start with zines, which are typically published in small numbers. Chicago Zine Fest is an annual celebration of small presses and independent publishers that celebrates the many different styles of zines and takes place May 18-19. 

Interested in learning how to make your own zines? Start with Make A Zine and get inspired to use the old school method of cut and paste or find out more about graphic design and Creative Commons licenses. 

We also have zines created by Chicago teens, like Megan's How to Make A Maze using Scratch, or Assata's (the Grand Prize winner of this year's Teen Winter Challenge) Azxata artwork zine, or even a zine about all things gaming by Library Of Games

Zine topics range from gaming to relationships to political movements and everything in between. 

Moxie tells the story of Viv who is inspired by her mom's Riot Grrrl days to self-publishes her own zine to protest the sexual harassment taking place in her high school.

In Gabi, A Girl in Pieces Latina poet Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year through her journal and zines, as she copes with the drama of her friends' personal lives, her father's meth habit and the writing that keeps her whole. 

In Hard Love, John publishes a zine called Bananafish to write about his secret feelings of loneliness surrounding his parents' divorce until he meets fellow zine writer Marisol and then he has to address his feelings off the page.

What type of zine would you want to create?