Zinefest

Zines are like smaller, more independent magazines that deal with a variety of topics, from imaginary bands to blue-collar pornography.

Zine writers are often the sole authors, publishers and distributors of their material and typically do so not-for-profit, said Marya Errin Jones, organizer of the first ABQ Zine Fest.

Jones said the genre is contradictory because authors are publishing something deeply personal.

“If you know a zine, you know the person who wrote it,” she said.

The Zine Fest is Jones’ first attempt to unite the tight-knit local zine community. They will have “Zine Olympics,” challenging participants in speed stapling, precision folding, cover reversal, synchronized zining, smooth cuts and a relay race. This will accompany various forms of entertainment and workshops over the weekend.

“My whole thought behind this is just to bring people together, to kind of show each other, ‘Hi, we’re all here, and we’re all writing these things, and we’re not in bubbles or vacuums,’” she said. “We can trade things, we can help each other, you know? Let’s not be invisible.”

UNM student and author of the zine “Korrupt Yr Self” Erik Gamlem said he has always done writing on the side and was drawn to the medium because it is a way to present any kind of content in any kind of way.

“Zines are kind of a natural extension of that, where you can take your own writing and have ownership of it, publishing whatever you want without editorial review,” he said. “The beauty of zines is they don’t really have any script — you can do whatever you want.”

In Albuquerque, zines are available at Cellar Door Gifts and Gallery, Astro-Zombies, Burning Paradise Video and “the free box,” a point of zine exchange in an undisclosed alley in the UNM area, Jones said.

To illustrate the variety of the countless zines being produced, Jones gave examples such as the local “Bands” zine, which consists of fictional reviews of imaginary bands, and her two zines featuring her travelogues and what she describes as blue-collar pornography.

Jones said every zine is a character. The reader is given an exclusive glimpse into every thought the author has about anything they feel like printing. The genre caters to stream-of-consciousness writing that captures all aspects of a single thought, she said.

“It’s a way of pulling together all these things that seem like disparate ideas and putting them in one place,” she said. “You wouldn’t be able to do that if you were writing an article specifically about something.”

The fact that they are self-produced does not mean they are any less valuable than mass publications:, Jones said. She said she considers them miniature works of art and a significant accomplishment in the 21st century.

“It gives you time to spend with your words, which is different from a blog because that’s never really real,” she said. “You can publish your own work, that’s the best part of it for me. It’s an accomplishment in what I feel is really an accelerated way of living where everything is instant, and this stuff really isn’t.”

Spending that much time focusing on one’s own work necessitates the author to be his or her own critic, Jones said. While the extent to which they edit or even publish their work is up to them, zinesters remain as sensitive about how their work is viewed as any other writer.

“I think zines help you get over the perfection of things, if you allow it,” she said. “Accept it, instead of drawing a red circle around it for your whole life until you can’t sleep anymore. Somehow there’s a forgiveness in it.”

ABQ Zine Fest
Friday through Sunday
Various locations, times, events
Sunday
“Dirty … Nasty … Filthy …”
Featuring live electronic art by Annah Anti-Palindrome
7 to 10 p.m.
Winning Coffee
111 Harvard S.E.
This event is for mature audiences
Abqzinefest.com
Annahantipalindrome.com