ABQ Zine Fest returns for its 14th year

The ABQ Zine Fest, now in its 14th year, is “a one-day celebration of DIY self-publishing,” according to Marya Errin Jones, the festival’s founder and producer.

A curated selection of zines by local and national zine-makers will be available for purchase, and a kids’ table will let children create their own zines with child-friendly materials.

“We are the oldest organized zine fest in New Mexico,” Jones said. “There are several others in the state now, and I attribute that to folks coming to ABQ Zine Fest for 13 years.”

Jones, a Ph.D. candidate in American studies at the University of New Mexico, is a prolific interdisciplinary artist, playwright and zine-maker.

“I found out about zines in my teens, but didn’t think that was something I could do. It seemed like mostly boys made zines, and they were mostly fanzines about music, things like that,” she said. “But I learned some zine-making from friends, then decided I’d go to Portland (Oregon) and check out the zine fest up there (Portland Zine Symposium). I made some great friends and thought Albuquerque needed one, too.”

Jones said zines have been part of the cultural fabric of Albuquerque for decades.

“Albuquerque has a very strong anarchist past. There were several independent bookstores in the city for a long time. There still are — in fact, there’s a new crop of them. But I moved to Albuquerque in the ’90s, and at that time, there were a few amazing independent bookstores that also carried zines,” Jones said. “There’s always been lots of writers and independent thought in Albuquerque. So, this was the perfect place for a zine fest.”

The first ABQ Zine Fest was held at the Harwood Art Center with just 11 exhibitors.

“We have grown over the years with the intention of being sustainable, rather than growing exponentially,” Jones said.

This year’s festival, which will be held at The Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County’s Special Collections Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, will feature 68 exhibitors.

“There were over 100 applicants, so we took a good chunk of folks — as many as we could shoehorn into the space,” Jones said.

The selection process, according to Jones, ensured “balanced representation and a diverse event,” as well as overall quality.

This is the first year ABQ Zine Fest will be held at the Special Collections Library, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

“It’s a beautiful, underused library,” Jones said.

The library houses the Center for the Book, a hands-on learning center that includes a selection of antique printing presses and printmaking tools.

“It’s really exciting to see the letter presses and all the typefaces they have from 100 years ago,” Jones said. “And it definitely serves our purpose of showing the continuity of independent publishing.”

This year’s ABQ Zine Fest will feature a special guest zinester, Christina Long, from Brooklyn, New York. Since 2014, she and her sister, Courtney Long, have produced #Blkgrlswurld ZINE, an award-winning print zine, podcast, music festival and indie publishing house, which, in their words, “centers Black womxn and womxn of color who enjoy heavy music genres like punk, hardcore and metal.”

“They’ve been instrumental in contributing to diversity in punk and metal music,” Jones said. “And I wanted to raise awareness about Black women in punk, so I invited her as our special guest.”

Amaris Ketcham has participated in ABQ Zine Fest for the past five years. In addition to making her own zines, Ketcham teaches a course on zines and handmade books at the Honors College at UNM. When she introduces zines to her students, she emphasizes their accessibility.

“They’re democratic in the sense that, if you can get access to a copy machine and a stapler, you can make a zine,” Ketcham said. “You don’t even need that. You can just fold a sheet of paper to make a little mini zine, or a mini comic.”

One of the zines Ketcham is bringing to this year’s zine fest, “The Cancer Center Top 40,” was inspired by conversations she had about music with patients at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she is an artist in residence. Some of her other zines are more lighthearted, such as a collection of writing advice delivered by her cat.

“He says, ‘Sometimes finding a topic to write about can feel as elusive as catching a laser between your paws,’” Ketcham said.

Outside the library, visitors can experience the Mobile Abolition Library, an Albuquerque-based visual arts and literacy initiative in the form of a bookmobile. Dedicated to social justice and community care, the Mobile Abolition Library houses a collection of over 300 books and zines, along with a seed library and portrait archive.

“We also have a few community tables that we’ve offered for free,” Jones said. “We’re partnering with Friends of the (Public) Library, so they’ll be there tabling, and Indigenous Women Rising will be there, as well.”

Those wanting a break from reading or browsing zines may participate in headphone dance party, a free silent disco event, where participants put on headphones and select between three music channels.

There will be food options, too, courtesy of Three Sisters Kitchen, a sustainable, community-based nonprofit kitchen.

“It’s free to get in,” Jones said, “but people will be selling and trading their zines. So, it’s really good to bring some funds to support local writers, and those who have come from out of town, as well.”

ABQ Zine Fest returns for its 14th year