FAQ

What’s a zine?
From Stolen Sharpie Revolution, and pronounced like magazine without the “maga-,” a zine is an independently created publication containing anything you want it to; personal experiences and stories, political ideologies, music related writing, gardening tips, fiction, travel stories, comics, photography, or anything you like. zines can be put together by one person or a group of people and they are usually photocopied but can also be printed offset, letter press, or mimeographed.

What’s a zine fest?
A zine fest is an event where zinesters (individual sellers as well as zine distro owners) meet up to sell and trade zines, as well as meet other zinesters. However, please note that trading is up to each individual zinester, and distros traditionally do not trade zines.

A zine fest is not a craft fair, comic book convention, or a book fair. We do not mind if these things are sold by tablers, but we do ask that they devote at least 85% of their stock to zines.  Because zines are generally in the range of $1 to $5, you can expect to buy a lot of great reading material for a low price!

How much is a table at zine fest?
We currently offer only half tables for $25. Do not ask us if you can have a full table. Maybe you’ll get lucky and your table mate will cancel too late for us to get someone from the waitlist. We rent tables that are the standard 6 ft. in length, which means a half table would be 3 ft. We recommend utilizing vertical displays to maximize your space if you have a lot of zines.

What kinds of workshops do you offer?
Workshop topics can vary from year to year depending on the submitted proposals. Sometimes they are activity based, such as zine-making for kids. Sometimes they are demonstrations or facilitated discussions to raise awareness or generate interest. Workshops are typically 30 minutes to 1 hour long.

If you’re interested in holding a workshop at Richmond Zine Fest, we have a proposal submission form on the site. If you’re not sure if Richmond Zine Fest would be a good fit for your workshop, feel free to ask questions at: zine.fest@richmondzinefest.info.

Who organizes Richmond Zine Fest?
Richmond Zine Fest is organized by a small but mighty group of zine-makers and D.I.Y. enthusiasts in the Richmond City limits. The current, active organizers are : Celina Nicole and Brian Baynes. If you’re interested in becoming an event organizer or volunteer, email us here: zine.fest@richmondzinefest.info.

When is Richmond Zine Fest?
Typically it will be in the fall, either late September or early October, depending on our venue’s availability.

Last year Richmond Zine Fest was the same weekend as ___________ festival/event. Can you not do that?

When planning Richmond Zine Fest, we have to juggle multiple dates and concerns. We cannot and will not guarantee that we’ll be able to avoid the other local/national events that you may or may not be interested in. We’re sorry if that means you can’t enjoy zine fest, but there will be other years for us to land on the right time for you!

What is your picture and video policy?
Please see our Safer Space Policy and request the permission of any tabler/participant before taking an image where they could be easily identified. You may also want to arrive with a business card or something that explains who you are and where your images may be posted/for what reason. Recording of any programs requires communication and agreement with Richmond Zine Fest’s organizers and the programming participants.

Can I be added to your mailing list/newsletter?
At this time Richmond Zine Fest does not have a mailing list. If you’d like updates, please follow our social media accounts on facebook, instagram, and twitter. We’re actually best at posting updates on instagram these days.

What does it mean that this event is for “all ages”? Does that mean my adult-themed zines are not welcome?
When we say this is an all ages event, we mean that there’s typically something for everyone. We have zine-makers of a wide age range and a variety of interests. We even have zine clubs come in from high school! We also have a lot of adults who want your zines ranking vibrators, dildos, and anal plugs if that’s your thing! We have a general browsers beware policy. When deciding the table layout, we try to make sure “kid-friendly” tablers are not right next to the x-rated stuff.