Illustration by Chandler Dolan @chandlerbreeart, © Chandler Dolan
Scroll down for the classes and talks!



Quaranzine is one of those portmanteaus that comes so naturally no one person can lay claim to it. On March 14th, as the concept of a quarantine to flatten the curve was gaining steam, I woke up with it in my head. (That same day Marc Fischer of Temporary Services and Half Letter Press stated publishing his Quaranzines and Rich Dana started the Social Distance Quara-zine! Collective zine-making in the age of Covid-19 facebook group.) It was in the air. (ahem… cough…) Over a morning cup of Chai the idea morphed into Quaranzine Fest. #quaranzinefest had zero posts on instagram and quaranzinefest.com was available! I conferred with Eric Von Haynes at Flatlands Press – our sister press in Chicago – who advised me to jump on it.
On the last day she was able to work with us in the studio before the Quarantine, we asked our Studio Assistant Chandler Bree Dolan to illustrate the amazing key graphic at the top of this page, we threw up a webpage with the below manifesto and an action plan and DM’d it to people until Instagram barred us from sending DM’s! The next morning it started spreading like the ‘Rona.
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Quaranzine Fest 2020 ~ a viral safe-space! | APRIL 4th & 5th 2020 | #quaranzinefest
Inoculate against boredom! Self-quarantine is not exciting! Start stockpiling zines before panic buying starts!
Quaranzine Fest is a (cough…) viral concept to connect zine makers and patrons in this turbulent time of social distancing. In the face of Federal Government ineptitude, callousness, and lack of empathy, the DIY community has come together to… not come together. As we work in solidarity to honor the social contract and flatten the curve, many of us in the international zine, art book, and DIY community have been dramatically impacted by the closures of the art book fairs and zine fests where we connect with each other, discover exciting new work, and (for us vendors) make part of our living.
Quaranzine Fest is simple. Post your work on the platform of your choice April 4th and 5th with the hashtag #quaranzinefest – no submission process, no selection process, no fees, no leaders, no volunteers, no building, no table, no limit on vendors, no fire code restrictions, no peanut butter fingers touching your zines.
We must work together to support this medium we love! We must subvert corporate communications platforms to make human connections in a time of crisis. We must make sure independent publishers can sustain their practice! We must refuse to be alone and isolated when we socially-distance. We must apply the ethics of DIY to engender connections and support for those who are suffering. We must support and elect a competent and empathetic power structure that will prevent Quaranzine Fest from becoming annual event…
Until the infocalypse,
is PRESS
Patient zero
Quaranzine Fest
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On April 4th and 5th the hashtag #quaranzinefest was used over 2,200 times on instagram! (At the time of this posting it’s still going with 2,800 posts.) Zine makers from around the world posted, liked, commented, chatted, DM’d, and even BOUGHT ZINES! We did almost as well as we do during a regular fest! Unlike an in person fest, we got to see work from around the world and made friends with zine makers who tend to only localize their regional fests! Also, several people messaged us to say they find tabling at an in person fest to be too intimidating, or that they only have a couple zines in their catalog, and that the virtual nature of Quaranzine Fest was super accessible for them. For many people Quaranzine Fest was their first time publicly sharing their work!



On April 5th, at the suggestion of Oriana Leckert the Senior Journalism Outreach Lead at Kickstarter, who reached out to us to offer support, we ran a full day of classes and talks using Zoom sponsored by Kickstarter. We’ll let those speak for themselves!
Quaranzine Fest classes and talks!
////////// advanced / intermediate class / supporting post //////////
Pre-Press Magic for Zinesters! Getting print ready with InDesign!
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Peter Miles Bergman @is.press
Special Agent in Charge, is PRESS
////////// demo & talk //////////
Riso Love, Intro to EZ Risography!
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Eric Von Haynes @flatlands_press
Printer / Publisher, Flatlands Press
////////// beginning class //////////
New Ideas for Newbs! Generative Strategies To Pump Your Practice.
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Heather Link-Bergman @heatherlinkbergman
Director of Intelligence, is PRESS
////////// talk //////////
How to Crowdfund Your Zine:
Raising Money and Building Community for DIY Publishing Projects.
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Oriana Leckert @orianabklyn
Senior Journalism Outreach Lead Kickstarter
////////// talk //////////
Rick Wants to Break the Internet. But Can’t Find a Sharp Stick.
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Rick Griffith @rickgriffith
Partner, Creative Director, MATTER
Bonus Demo on Vimeo
////////// beginning / intermediate class //////////
Digitizing Analog Zines with an iPhone!
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Peter Miles Bergman @is.press
Special Agent in Charge, is PRESS



Thanks to everyone who contributed to making the first (and hopefully only) Quaranzine Fest a success!


