Barnsley Civic is pleased to announce that is it will host the first ever Barnsley Zine Fair on Saturday 3rd February 2024.
Part of its community engagement programming, the zine fair is hoped to be the first of what will be an annual event, bringing together zine makers and small press writers and illustrators from around the North of England to Barnsley.
Barnsley Civic’s Community Engagement Manager Jason White explains, “zines and zine making have played a big part in a number of our outreach projects over the last five years, whether it be a zine showcasing disabled British artists and our most recent poetry anthology from our Young Writers group. We can’t wait to bring a line-up of both established and up-and-coming zine makers to our venue.”
For those unfamiliar with zines, pronounced zeen and short for magazines, a zine is a hand-made and self-published magazine. Often small in size and print runs, once upon a time, they were known as xeroxed or photocopied magazines about fandom – be that music, films, literature or sports. And while they still very much exist, zines can also be digitally produced and look a lot more slicker than they once did. They also provide a platform for marginalised communities and peoples to share their experiences.
Fortunately, the popularity of blogging and podcasting has never killed off zines. In fact they’ve been around since the 1930s! They’re more commonly associated this punk and music fanzines, and football.
If you want to find out more about zines and Barnsley’s own zine history, check out this guide here.
In the meantime, if you are a zine maker or know one, our tables application are now open. Apply by completing this questionnaire by 30th September.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvRxftlUaB8BUh8XqS0I6cvuIewWjZO6EmRCSS2JM-bI7yAg/viewform
Barnsley Zine Fair branding designed by Chris Printed This.
In association with Barnsley Libraries.
