The San Francisco Zine Fest will be back for our seventh annual celebration of small press, zines, comics, and all things DIY in an even bigger and better new location: The San Francisco County Fair Building, in Golden Gate Park. As always, the Zine Fest is free and open to the public. Over 100 small-press and DIY creators will be selling, trading, and otherwise sharing their work with over a thousand attendees.

The Zine Fest serves as a vital annual showcase of the diversity, vitality, and ongoing exuberance of the small-press movement. The exhibitors range from established small-press publishing houses including RE/Search Publications, Manic D Press, Sparkplug Comics, and Tugboat Press to first time self-publishers and creators. Writers, cartoonists, crafters, illustrators, printmakers, and all manner of artists will be in attendance. While the majority of the exhibitors hail from the Bay Area, creators from across the West Coast and beyond will be represented.

Due to overwhelming demand, the Fest will be moving yet again to a new location. The SF County Fair Building is over twice the size of last year’s location and is located in beautiful Golden Gate Park, just a block off of 9th Ave. and Lincoln Ave. Over twice as many creators will be in attendance, and the always-busy Fest is expecting even more attendees than ever before. The Zine Fest will also be held over the full weekend this year.

Our special guests this year are Cindy Crabb (Doris) and Vanessa Davis (Spaniel Rage). Q & A sessions will be held with both guests at the Zine Fest.

Cindy Crabb has been self-publishing the influential zine Doris since 1991. Her stories of self and experience reach a level of intimacy and common ground achieved by few other zine authors. She self-published Doris #25 earlier this year; and Doris: An Anthology 1991-2001 was released in 2005 by Microcosm Publishing.

Vanessa Davis is the creator of the much-beloved Spaniel Rage, a collection of exuberant and hilarious diary comics. She continues to self-publish installments while simultaneously creating comics and illustrations for the likes of the New York Times, Kramer’s Ergot, Stuck in the Middle, Dear Diary, and many more.

The Zine Fest will be hosting an expanded schedule of panel discussions and hands-on workshops throughout the weekend, including a nature journal class held in the adjoining San Francisco Botanical Garden and a class on the basics of screen printing taught by John Isaacson, whose book Do It Yourself Screenprinting was released last year by Microcosm Publishing. Other events include a comics reading at the Cartoon Art Museum, a screening of the short zine documentary “Grrlyshow” followed by a Q + A with director Kara Herold, ongoing raffle drawings at the Fest, a kickball game, and a special presentation of “Cheap City: The Show” by local cartoonist and comedian Michael Capozzola.

The San Francisco Zine Fest was begun in 2001 by Jenn Starfiend, and is currently run by a hard-working group of volunteers, including Sarah Gion, Jonas Madden-Connor, François Vigneault, Rani Goel, Michael Capozzola, and more. Zine Fest art by Vanessa Davis.

The San Francisco Zine Fest will be held from 11:00am - 8:00pm on Saturday, July 19th, and from 11:00am - 7:00pm on Sunday, July 20th. Admission is free on both days.

The San Francisco County Fair Building (formerly the Hall of Flowers) is located at 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco, California.

For more information, including a full list of exhibitors, an ever-expanding slate of special events, and the workshop schedule, please visit www.sfzinefest.com