# Make, Trade and Read Zines!
Jacksonville Public Library is proud to host the fourth annual Duval Comic and Zine Fest in downtown Jacksonville from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Main Library, 303 N. Laura St. A celebration of local, independent publishers, the event will feature over 90 local zine and comic creators, a risograph printing activity, a Writer's Lab workshop, a mini-zine making program for teens, a Lit Chat Interview, and more.
The event and all programs are free to attend!
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. During special events, parking is $5 (cash preferred) and there is no validation.
What Can I Expect at DCAZ Fest 2025?
If you're new to zines (pronounced ZEENS, as in magazines) or just curious about indie publishing, this is the perfect introduction! Not only will you be able to make your own zines, you can also buy original zines and mini-comics from a variety of independent artists, underground creators, and small/alternative presses from across Jacksonville and the Southeast. If you want to stay connected after the event, be sure to pick up a copy of the DCAZ Fest Commemorative Zine. It includes an annotated list of every tabler and how you can find them online or in the community.
Note: If you're a not tabling but still interested in trading some of your original zines with other seasoned creators, we'll have a dedicated Zine Swap table on the first floor.
# All-Day Activities
Get fully immersed in DIY culture and Jacksonville's printed matter community! The Library has some great workshops, interactive zine-making activities, and other fun programs planned for the event.
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Drop-In Activity: Make Your Own Riso Print
Create a vibrant cover for your next zine or an awesome poster you can use to promote your work with Professor Andrew Kozlowski from the University of North Florida! Magazines, drawing utensils, and other zine-making materials will be provided. Find this activity in the Atrium on the Second Floor.
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.
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Contribute to a Drop-In Jam Comic
If you're feeling collaborative, stop by the Jam Comic station! Read what the other artists have contributed and then take the story one step further. Artists and amateurs alike are welcome!
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Complete the Sticker Rally for a FREE Zine Kit
Get a zine recommendation, talk to a tabling zinester, tour the Memory Lab, attend a Library program, make your own button, and more. You'll collect an event sticker for each activity. When you're done, don't forget to pick up your Take-and-Make Zine Kit with instructions and supplies so you can get started making your own zines at home!
# Scheduled Workshops & Programs
1-2 p.m. or 3-4 p.m. | TAB: Ama-ZINE Creations (for ages 12-17)
Teens: Make your first mini-zine with Teen Advisory Board! Using the book, Whatcha Mean What's a Zine? by Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson (as well as several zines from local creators), you'll explore what a zine is and how to create one of your own! These hour-long programs include an icebreaker, games and discussion to kickstart your creative thinking.
Zine-making supplies provided. When you're done, you can donate your zine to the Library, trade it with a fellow zinester, or take it home.
Note: More programs will be added soon. Please check back in June or sign up for email newsletters.
Be the first to know about Library events and free workshops!
# Make Your Own Zines
If you want to learn how to make your own zines, or you're just looking for some new tips and tricks, we've got two additional Writer's Lab workshops scheduled between May 31 and June 14 to help you get prepared for the Fest.
Format & Finish Clinic - Getting Your Self-Published Work Across the Finish Line
Formatting and finishing your passion project can be a daunting task. You spent hours planning, making, and editing your work. You have all the parts and are ready to make your dream a reality. But how do you take all that work and convert it into something tangible, an object that can be held, flipped through, and read? Learn tips, tricks, and hacks Thony Aiuppy has learned over the last decade of making zines, comics, and graphic novels.
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at Southeast Library
Register for the free workshop!
Note: Whether you hand-make every book or create your work digitally, you will get information, tutorials, and resources that will help you organize your content, format your project for print.
Hand Stitch Bookbinding Basics: A How-To for Beginners
At this workshop, Dan Waily will introduce a style of bookbinding that adds an inexpensive personal touch to any comic or zine. You will learn a hand-stitch saddle binding technique using an awl, needle, and wax thread. Each participant will walk away with their own 10-20 page pamphlet and receive a complimentary one-page zine on how to book bind. If you already have a zine made you’d like to bind, feel free to bring your pages with you!
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at Murray Hill Branch Library
Register for the free workshop!
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! 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 and available to check out. Stop by the Main Library to browse or place a hold online and request a pickup at a Jax Library near you!
# You May Also Like
Monthly 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.
Open 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
# Event Partner & Vendor Information
Our event partner, Duval Comics and Zine Festival, is a local non-profit organization striving to empower and boost resources for self-publishers by providing free workshops, organizing an annual celebration, and showcasing regional zine/comic artists.
Table applications were accepted March 28 to April 28 at dcazfest.com/tabling. Note: There is no table fee at this event but space is limited and Jacksonville Public Library membership is encouraged and appreciated. For questions or to ask about a waitlist, please reach out to dcazfest@gmail.com. If you are tabling: Creators are asked to contribute a zine or comic to the Library's Zine Collection, so please be sure to save at least one for the Library before you sell out!
About the Poster Artist
Janisha Ocana is a designer of many colors who uses her magical powers of imagination and storytelling to create cosmic designs, webcomics, and products. Graduating from the University of North Florida in Graphic design and digital media, she has made it her mission to unleash the magic and creativity together with her clients!
You can find her work on @janishacolors on both Instagram and Facebook.
