5:30 - 7:30
Join other adult zinesters both experienced and amateur to create and exchange zines at this bimonthly zine club hosted by the Magazines and Newspapers Center on the 5th floor of the Main Library.
While each meeting has a predetermined theme and zine format, you are welcome to create in any format and on any topic! We’ll provide supplies (paper, collage ephemera, old magazines, markers, stickers, stamps and scissors) and help you photocopy your “master zine” into an edition for distribution.
This workshop is led by a Magazines and Newspapers Center librarian.
2026 Feelin’ on the Fifth Zine Club Dates and Themes:
Thur., Feb 12, 2026, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Love is a drug! In celebration of Valentine’s Day, make a zine reflecting on the different types of love people can experience. We’ll provide text and images on this theme for collaging into your creation, including the Greek variations on love.
Thur., April 9, 2026, 5:00-7:00 p.m. (note moved up time)
- April is national poetry month! Bring some lines of your own verse or by your favorite poet to cut and paste into a zine. Try to format your selection to fit into a 4” x 2.5” single page or 4” x 5” double page spread. We’ll provide some options from recent issues of Poetry magazine and other literary journals as well.
Thur., June 11, 2026, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Summer Stride kick-off! What do you plan to learn, see, do and explore this summer?
Thur., Aug. 13, 2026, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Summer Stride wrap-up! What epic adventures in learning did you experience this summer?
Thur., Oct. 8, 2026, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Oh, the horror! In 2023, U.S. consumers spent $840.6M on jack-o-lanterns during the Halloween season (according to Finder.com). Why dish out the big bucks when you can make a scary zine with us for free?
Thur., Dec. 10, 2026, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- New year, new you? Looking ahead, express your 2027 goals in image and text. Looking back, what was your favorite moment of 2026 and how will you continue that good juju into the new year? Manifest!
What is a zine?
Zines are cheaply made printed forms of expression on any subject. They are like mini-magazines or home-made comic books about favorite bands, funny stories, sub-cultures, personal collections, comix anthologies, diary entries, pathetic report cards, chain restaurants, and anything else.
Zines can be by one person or many. They can be any size: half page, rolled up, quarter sized...
Zines are read by anyone willing to take a look, from concert-goers and the mail man to people on the train. They are sold at bookstores, thumbed through at zine libraries, exchanged at comic conventions, and mailed off to strangers.
Zines are not a new idea. They have been around under different names (chapbooks, pamphlets, flyers). People with independent ideas have been getting their word out since there were printing presses.
It’s a great feeling to hold copies of your zine in your hand. Go ahead, there is no wrong way.
--Mark Todd & Esther Pearl Watson, Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine? The Art of Making Zines and Mini-Comics, page 12
Resources
What is a zine? [Website]
How to Make A Zine [PDF]
Zines! [SFPL-created reading list]
SFPL Little Magazines Collection [Website]
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