Zine Conventions

Check Comixpedia for updated listings of comic and zine conventions

Allied Media Conference. Bowling Green, OH

8th annual: June 23-25, 2006

Hosted by Allied Media Projects, this conference features workshops, a symposium, and presentations for media-creators, educators and grassroots activists. What began as a 'Zine Conference' in 1999, became the 'Underground Publishing Conference' (UPC), has now evolved into a "grassroots resource for people creating independent media in all formats." Previous workshops and panels have included: 'Workshopping Zines: Critical Analysis of Self-Published Media' and 'Zine Guide: Readings From The Underground.'

Anarchist Bookfair. Montreal, QC

This Bilingual festival was founded in 2000 as a part of the Festival of Anarchy. The bookfair/festival includes tables, workshops, readings and presentations.

Boston Zine Fair. Boston, MA

Formerly the Beantown Zinetown, this weekend-long event features tables, workshops, bands and readings. The 2006th fair was the 9th annual event. The Fair is held in March on the Massachusetts College of Art Campus. Check the BeantownZinetown yahoo group.

CanZine. Toronto, ON

Formerly held in Toronto, the 12th annual festival in 2005 was held in both Toronto and Vancouver (Canzine West). Event features tables, workshops and panel discussions.

Comic-Con International. San Diego, CA

Comic-Con International is a non-profit educational organization whose aim is to promote "awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture." CCI produces 3 annual events: Comic-Con International, held every July in San Diego, CA; the Alternative Press Expo (APE) held every April in San Francisco, CA; and Wondercon, held every February in San Francisco, CA.

Comix & Stories Show. Vancouver, BC

The Comix & Stories Show has been hosted by the Vancouver Comicon every August since 2000. This event showcases small press publishers and publications. Read the Georgia Straight and Discorder articles.

Cut & Paste festival. Toronto, ON

Held annually since 1994. In 2006 the festival took place in Feb at Sneaky Dees.

Expozine. Montreal, QC

This small press, comic and zine fair began in 2002 and is held annually in October/November. They offer Expozine Alternative Press Awards and shortlist (both French and English categories) to the best zines submitted to the fair each year.

Madison Zine Fest. Madison, WI

2nd annual event was held in Oct. 2005 (Schedule can be found here). Sponsored by the Madison Infoshop, this festival features tables, workshops and panel discussions. Check the madisonzinefest yahoo group.

Mid-Atlantic Radical Bookfair & Infoshop Gathering. Baltimore, Maryland

This conference is making its debut in 2006 June 30-July 2. "The Bookfair brings together radical and independent publishers, distributors, bookstores, and authors for a weekend of workshops, panel discussions, and performances engaging with a variety of topics from radical approaches to social services, to anti-war activism, to political art and aesthetics"

New Jersey Zine fest. New Brunswick, NJ

This annual festival started in 2003 is sponsored by the Rutgers English department. Includes tables, workshops and panel discussions. Read the Daily Targum article.

New Orleans Bookfair. New Orleans, LA

The NOLA Bookfair has been an annual event since 2002. Describes itself as "A celebration of independent publishing featuring small presses, zinesters, book artists, anarchists, rabblerousers, weirdos, and more!" This even is held in conjunction with Babylon/Lexicon, an artists' books exhibition. Sponsored by Hot Iron Press, this event is on hiatus due to Hurricane Katrina.

Olympia Comics Festival. Olympia, WA

Held annually since 1998, this festival focuses on small press comics and includes tables, panels and culminates in the annual publication Olympia Anthology, published by Cathartic Fart Press.

Philadelphia Zine Fest. Philadelphia, PA

Held annually since 2003, this festival features small press publishers. Download the Philly Zine Fest Documentary 2004 movie trailer! Check the phillyzinefest yahoo group.

Portland Zine Symposium. Portland, OR

Began in 2001, the PDX Zine Symposium "aims to create greater communication and community between many different producers of independent media and art—as well as help people share skills and information related to zines and zine culture." This event features tables, workshops, panel discussions and presentations. Check out the portland zinesters community on LiveJournal.

San Francisco Zine Fest. San Francisco, CA

Since 2002, the annual SF Zine Fest has been featuring tables, workshops, panel discussions and film screenings for independent and underground publishing. The 2006 SFZF will take place September 9 + 10.

Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo. Columbus, OH

SPACE is sponsored by Back Porch Comics and has been an annual event every April/May since 2000.

Staple! The Independent Media Expo. Austin, TX

The Staple! aims to "promote independent creative media: comics, mini-comics, zines, art, and self-published literature. Building a community to encourage communication between creators and their audience. All the while having a damn good time in the Live Music Capital of the World." This event takes place in March (since 2005).

Toronto Comics Arts Festival. Toronto, ON

TCAF 's information site can be found at: Toronto Comic dot com. The event is hosted by The Beguiling publishers: "two full days of comics-related events, including readings, presentations, panel discussions, gallery shows, and a large exhibition area featuring publishers and comic authors and artists." The 3rd festival is scheduled to take place in May 2007.

Word on the Street. Vancouver, BC

Word on the Street is a non-profit festival held in various cities across Canada to promote reading and writing. It is held annually on the last Sunday in September. The Vancouver festival includes The Word Under the Street event which features local zines and comics.

Zine-A-Polooza. Duluth, GA

This is a "multi-media event for the purpose of promoting all forms of DIY creative media." The first ZAP was held in 2005 and featured tables, bands, film screenings, workshops and panel discussions.