# Make, Trade and Read Zines!
The Main Library is proud to host the third annual Duval Comic and Zine Fest in downtown Jacksonville on Saturday, June 15, from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. A celebration of local, independent publishers, the event will feature over 50 zine and comic creators, a risograph printing activity, a Writer's Lab workshop, and a Lit Chat with graphic novelist Nate Powell.
The event and all programs are free to attend!
# What can I expect at DCAZ Fest?
This is an interactive event for beginners and seasoned zinesters alike to come together, create, and engage with the zine and printed matter community of the Southeast. You'll be able to make, trade, borrow, read, and buy a variety of zines and mini-comics as well as other small press, alternative press, underground art and DIY media.
You'll also meet dozens of local zine and comic makers who are sure to bring a heavy dose of their eclectic, often bizarre, and infectiously colorful art! It's all located on the first floor of the Main Library, next to the Library's Zine Collection and first-floor gallery.
Reminder: Street parking downtown is FREE on Saturdays! If you prefer, parking will also be available in the Duval Street Parking Garage, next to the Main Library. Event parking fees apply.
# Things to Do at DCAZ Fest 2024
# Drop-In Activity: Make Your Own Riso Print
If you're interested in zine making, be sure to drop in for a quick risograph print activity with professor Andrew Kozlowski from the University of North Florida. Create a vibrant cover for your next zine or an awesome poster you can use to promote your work!
If you've never seen one, a risograph printer looks like a photocopier (but it's way cooler than that!). Riso printing is similar to screen printing in that it allows you to create vibrant prints using rich spot colors. Riso also uses soy inks, so it has little impact on the environment. We'll have some magazines, drawing utensils and other zine-making materials available if you'd like to try the riso out.
# Program Schedule*
# Lit Chat Interview with Nate Powell from 4-5 p.m.
Nate Powell is a National Book Award-winning cartoonist who began self-publishing as an Arkansas teenager in 1992. His work includes the new graphic novel Fall Through and a new comics adaptation of James Loewen’s influential Lies My Teacher Told Me, as well as Save It For Later, civil rights icon John Lewis’s March trilogy, Come Again, Two Dead, and more. He has discussed his work at the UN, on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, PBS, and CNN.
Powell has received multiple Eisner and Ignatz awards, the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award, multiple ALA and YALSA distinctions, and is a two-time finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A book signing will follow the interview with books available for purchase on-site.
*Please note: We'll be updating this page with more programs (as soon as they are confirmed).
# Check out the Zine Collection & More
# Borrow Zines from the Library for FREE
Jacksonville Public Library has an expansive Zine Collection—one of the first housed in a public library in the Southeast! Pronounced "zeens," they are self-published pamphlets of all sizes and shapes, often covering subjects overlooked in larger-scale publications. The scope of the collection is broad, including the arts, music, comics, politics, gender issues, and advocacy. Housed on the first floor of the Main Library, zines are fully searchable in our catalog.
# Books About Zine and Comic-Making
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# Zinester Meetup
Come by the Main Library the first Wednesday of every month from 6 - 8:30 p.m. (during Art Walk) to talk, create, and hang with folks who are passionate about independent publishing. If you’ve never made a zine/comic but have an interest, we want to meet you too! Your voice is important and we would love to show you how to self-publish.
If you're looking for a community of fellow creators, you can also join us at the Main Library for Saturday Morning Cartooning on select Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. - noon.
# Call for Zines
We accept zines of different shapes, sizes, and formats. The Library's collection is primarily focused on regionally-based zines - an effort to better reflect the voices in our community. However, we do collect zines from creators outside of Northeast Florida. Whether hand-drawn or hand-written, photocopied and stapled, or professionally printed: we want to see it all! There’s no deadline to submit. We are always accepting new zines.
Selections are made by a committee from available donations and through vendor catalogs and reviews, using the Library policies regarding collection development.
Criteria for selection will include literary merit, artistic merit, subject specialty, scarcity of material on the subject, quality, format, and local and regional authorship. Efforts will also be made to replace zines that have been heavily used and worn.
You can donate anytime in person or by mail to:
Main Library c/o Zine Collection
303 N. Laura St.
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Be sure to include:
- Name of Author(s)/Artist(s)
- Volume number(s), if any
- Year of publication
- Your email address
# Vendor Information
Table applications were accepted March 15 - April 15 at dcazfest.com/tabling. Notification of acceptance will be sent out no later than May 1. For questions or to ask about a waitlist, please reach out to dcazfest@gmail.com. If you are tabling: Creators are asked to contribute their work to the Library's Zine Collection, so be sure to save one for the Library before you sell out!
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