S9E1: Midwest Perzine Fest organizers

Hello and welcome back to Long Arm Stapler, a podcast about zines! This is the first episode of season 9, and I'm joined by the organizers (Angel, Jonas, Red, and Alex) of the Midwest Perzine Fest, happening on July 11th in Chicago at the Chicago Athletic Association!

In this episode, we talk about why perzines are important, the fun parts and challenges of organizing a zine fest, zine community, and more. 

You can find more information on MWPZF on their website or Instagram:

https://midwestperzinefest.wordpress.com/

https://www.instagram.com/midwestperzinefest/

You can find more of my work here:

http://linktr.ee/LNGRMSTPLR

http://instagram.com/maiiira.png

Thanks for listening! If you make zines and want to chat with me about them, or know someone who might want to, please fill out this form: http://tinyurl.com/letschatLAS

Logo by Miquela Davis: @ghostsb4breakfast

Intro/outro:

Who Likes to Party Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:07

Hello and welcome back to Long Armed Stay Order Podcast about Zines. I'm your host, Meira, and today, on this first episode of season nine, I am joined by the organizers of the Midwest Persine Fest. The Midwest Persine Fest works towards showcasing the emotional, the insightful, the reflective, and the political words not so hidden in Zines. The inaugural MWPZF was held online on October 10th, 2020. In 2021, they hosted a snail mill Persine swap in lieu of a fest. And the first in-person Midwest Persine Fest was held at Columbia College in Chicago on October 8th, 2022. In 2023, they tabled and fundraised at Chicago Zine Fest and ALA's Zine Pavilion. They hosted the Perzine Alley for Chicago Zine Fest at Columbia College in Chicago on October 4th, 2024, and they will host their latest in-person fest in July on July 11th, 2026, at the Chicago Athletic Association. So, this episode I'm joined by all four organizers. I'm joined by Jonas Cannon, they them, who makes per zines and short fiction in Chicago. They were first introduced to zines roughly 30-something years ago and immediately fell in love with them. They are a founding member and organizer of the fest, and they also love photo booths and their two kids or whatever. I'm also joined by Angel XOXO, they them, who is this is their third appearance on Long Arm Stapler, but they've been making zines for over a decade. They're originally from the Bay Area, and they help organize Deer Diary Zine Fest in addition to Midwest Pur Zine Fest. They are happiest when reading, writing, making zines, and collaborating with others to make the world a better place. Also joined by Alex Rec, she her they that, who is an agnostic secular witch who lives in Portland, Oregon. Their life revolves around zines, custom ping that custom pinback buttons, Portland button works, vegan food, travel plans, room for more plants in their yard, and a space for cat for a cat in their bed. Alex has been creating brain scan zines since 97, publishing the DIY Zine resource book Stolen Sharpie Revolutions since 2002, was a founder of the Portland Zine Symposium, runs PBW Zine Distro, and sings in the zine-themed band Copy Scams. Also joined by Red Schulte, they them, who makes zines about sex worker organizing, friendship and grief, prison and police abolition, and surviving abuse. Hi everybody. Hello. Um cool. I have a lot of questions for you. So, um, Jonas, as one of the founding members and organizers, um, how did the Midwest Perzine Fest come about?

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Oh, well, for several years, um I had been, you know, at every zine fest that I had gone to, I noticed uh less and less Perzines. And after, you know, after the big, big fest, I would meet up with with uh friends for for dinner or lunch, depending on whatever time it was, and we would talk about how we really missed uh a good Perzine section at uh at a zine fest. And that's what I that's the type of zines that I'm most interested in. Um and have been for a while. That's that's the kind of zine that I that first got me interested in zines. And yeah, after a while, I just thought, well, we need a Perzine fest, you know, and they were doing one in um in the Bay Area, and that seemed to be really well received. Uh, and I I thought that uh it would be great to have one in in uh the Midwest and particularly Chicago.

SPEAKER_04 4:06

So um should we give a description of what a perzine is?

SPEAKER_02 4:11

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:14

Do you want me to read the one that we had from the from that we put together? Yeah. All right. What are perzines? Perzine is a genre of zine. Um, it is short for personal zine. It is often a self-identified term used by zine sters to describe their zines written about their personal thoughts, stories, or experiences. It can be of a confessional nature. But per zines are not limited to discussions of emotions, but they can be also explore topics of interest or interactions with hobbies and travel experiences. Is that the one we used? I think it is.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

That's the kind of zine that your fest focuses on.

unknown 4:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

Um Angel, how I guess this is like a really large question, but like how did you get involved with Midwest Perzine Fest moving from Chicago or from the Bay to Chicago?

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Um well uh the Deer Diary Zine crew uh took a road trip to the first in-person Midwest Perzine Fest in Chicago in I think 2024. And it was probably one of the best trips of my life. And around that time I was also thinking of moving out of the bay because of lots of uh trauma and things. Um, living in a place for 37 years can like really um exhaust you. So I was looking for someplace new, and every time I came to Chicago, there were just like really friendly zine sters. Um, I would always travel uh for a fest, and like the Midwest Purzine Fest was incredible. Um I met uh Jonas and Red for the first time. Alex, were you tabling at that fest that year too? Yeah, okay. I think I maybe met you for the first time. Um, but it was a really lovely fest, and then the next year I was like really considering moving to Chicago. And then when I did, um I got in touch with Jonas, um, who needed help organizing, and I decided to get involved.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

And Alex, how did you get involved with the Midwest per Zine Fest?

SPEAKER_04 6:36

Um, I think I well, we were inspired by the Deer Diaryary for Zine Fest is actually what it's about. It's the fact that like they created a space that, you know, it's kind of one of those DIY things. Like you think of something you want, and instead of waiting for someone to do it for you, you do it yourself. And I was one of those people sitting around the table after Zine Fest with Jonas being like, Man, I really am sad that there aren't as many perseents as there used to be. And I'm like, what if we just I mean, Deer Diaryary already does a Zine Fest, like we could do it in a different region and draw different people to it. So I think one of those like build it and vote up sort of situations.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

And what about you, Red?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Yeah, I mean, likewise, um, sharing in those frustrations of like per zines are everything for me. And um, and just talking with Jonas and being like, you know, how do we get off of our like kind of like grouchy, grumpy, you know, um high horses and are, you know, because we like comics. I feel like we have to be, we get a little defensive, you know, or like the comics kids will get a little defensive when we're like, where are all the perzians? And we're like, hey, we like comics too. Comics can also be per zines, and also we just really miss an affordable, fucking heartfelt zine on a table, you know. We miss being able to go to a fest with 20 bucks in our pocket and come away with stories and new friendships and and feeling connected to other people, right? And so, you know, we so if we get a little grouchy, we're sorry. It's just we want human connectivity. Um, and so yeah, um, I was in New York at the time of our first, you know, iteration of this when we did everything online in in 2020. And, you know, so we were doing everything was was remote, and we had to get really creative and really kind of like expand what we wanted um, you know, a Zine Fest, uh per Zine Fest uh to look like and and adapt it um to make it accessible, to make it a safer, you know, space. Um and and yeah, those of us who like to do in-person physical things, you know, we had to kind of move out of our comfort zone and figure out this like digital, you know, Zoom landia um and social media landia to like figure that out. And that was, you know, it was really cool to have to move out of our comfort zone and meet new people online and and do this this way. So I think for me that just sealed the deal. Um, that and because I would ride to hell and back for Jonas.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

So uh that kind of leads into my next big question, which is like, why Perzines specifically? Like what I talk about Perzines a lot on the show, um perhaps every episode, but y'all seem like a really good crowd of people to ask, like, why Perzine, why are Perzines so special specifically um to create like a fest around them?

SPEAKER_04 9:41

I know for me, when I started reading Perzines in the 90s, um, I was an isolated teenager living in Utah. So the idea that I could read things written by actual people who are outside of where I lived gave me a perspective into someone else's life. So I didn't feel so isolated, and I still feel like that is the thread that keeps going through Perzines is the fact that people are telling their own stories because no one's gonna tell your story for you, and you you can tell your story as best. And I think that that is something that um I don't know, I think people get lost in wanting to live through other people's stories, but they all have their own interesting ones, and also the training aspect of that too. Like you're telling stories and they're telling stories and you're sharing them on paper, like documenting your own history.

SPEAKER_03 10:27

Um for me, they're very accessible as a writer. Um instead of like waiting for someone to publish my work and get it perfected, I can just publish myself, and I feel like um just creating art in that way is accessible, and it's really important to share our stories. Um, especially when we're like marginalized and um just different. Um our stories are not mainstream, so it's great to like share them with others in zine form with whatever scraps you have around. Um doesn't have to be fancy.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yeah, I think for me it was just the fact that I could uh could find these, you know, these sort of publications, you know, self-made publications that were like, sorry, my hand's shaking a little, like two bucks or three bucks or even a dollar that could have like the emotional resonance of just you know my favorite books. You know, it still has that impact to it. And uh, and it's just you know, the the author is accessible, you just write to them, and most of the time they'll write back or send you another zane, or you can uh and this is like all around the world, you know, they're they're to be found all around the world, just people sharing these same experiences, emotions, ideas, and uh, and it just it hit me in a big way.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah, that really resonates for me, y'all. Um, and y'all, you know, y'all know how I feel about it. Um, like perzines have absolutely saved my life, like many times over. Um, I think that Persines are these like talismans against loneliness, you know, they are like these objects that we imbue with like our heart and our fucking soul and our trauma and our hopes and our dreams and our fears, and then we send them out into the world, you know, in hopes that they like find kinship like with other people, that our experiences find this kinship. And then the idea of like being able to like send that out, to connect with people in that way, to get shit off of our chests, and then to find that same kind of energy, that same kind of kinship with somebody else's, you know, personal stories and struggles and their zine, like there's just nothing like it, you know. For me, there's no other print media that does this. And um it's yeah, it's proof fucking positive that like we were here, um, that we lived, um, that we're living. Um when I was up visiting Alex, oh god, last year around uh just yeah, last year around this time, a little earlier, but you know, in the spring of last year, I remember looking through some of their zine boxes. And my pug has lots of big feelings too. Hopefully you can't hear too much of him. Um, but looking through these zines, and I was finding kinship with these zines written in like 1997, right? And um I was just thinking to myself, like, wow, like these are strangers I would die for. And that feeling. That's what Perzines are to me, you know, these are strangers I would die for.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

That's those are all such powerful, like just powerful reasons that Persines are so important. Um I I I think Persines are my favorite, like, form of zine. Um, I think they're very important. Um it's they're just so special. And like you were saying, Alex, I think kind of what everyone was saying is like they help you feel less alone, like they connect you to other people. Um they just it's it's sharing stories and it is sharing human connection. And I think that's especially important, like in the current world that we live in, where everything is not everything is a robot, but like most things are a robot, unfortunately, these days. And nobody not nobody, but like I don't know, I think it's especially important now to be making perzines and be sharing perzines and be reading them and be highlighting them, and so that's why I'm like so excited to hear more about um the fest itself. Um so I have some questions about organizing um Midwest Persine Fest, but I guess my biggest one is like what are what have you found have been some challenges around organizing a zine fest? Whether it be when you started organizing online and then pivoting to in-person, because those are like different beasts, and I've done both in there a lot. Um so yeah, I'd love to hear more about maybe some challenges that come with organizing a zine fest. Um Red, do you have any immediate feelings?

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Too many. Um, I have too many feelings about this. Um I think one of the the biggest hurdles, right, um, in thinking about transitioning a zine fest um offline to in-person, right, is like how how you want to build an intentional space. And I I think this this goes beyond Zine Fest. This is just, you know, uh pick an organizer's brain time. Like you you really have to think about what kind of intentions you're setting with a space, what kind of community guidelines and ethics you're bringing into a space, um, how you're gonna embody those, how you're gonna show up like bravely, right? Um, when things go wrong, um, when there is conflict, when there's messiness, when there's harm. And so, like, I think for me, some of the biggest challenges and hurdles are about like being in dialogue um with others and like finding those conflict brave, you know, that that conflict brave crew that can have each other's backs and and show up and do right by extended community. Um, and then constantly be like reassessing and thinking about, okay, how do we, how do we improve upon this? How do we take feedback? How do we receive, you know, um criticism and how do we grow together? I think that's a that's a really core and big thing for me and um and I I think for for all of us on this call. And so yeah, that's like a that's a big one. I think, you know, hashtag other people. That's also the biggest um challenge and hurdle. Um it also can be said like hashtag other zine fests. Um and I'll just I'll just leave it, I'll just leave it right there. Um but there can be, there's a lot of um, there can be a lot of like helpful things that we could and should, I think, be doing um to bolster one another, to build one another's fests up. And I see amazing examples of this. Dear Diary Zine Fest, you know, um Bay Area Queer Zine Fest, um uh the Midwest Queer and Trans Zine Fest. I see these amazing examples. Um, and it's usually queers. It's usually trans folks and queers like holding it down and promoting each other's stuff. I see Black Zine Fair um in NYC and Brooklyn. I just I see that kind of solidarity. And it reminds me that when like fuckery happens, that like actually, no, there is hope, there's there are other models. Um, and I can like pivot and reorient and think about like, okay, who is our fest actually in dialogue with? And I think for me, that's like reminding myself that can also be kind of a challenge. Um, but it's an important one. So and uh I'm I'm vague booking on purpose.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

So I I think the biggest um hurdle that that I I feel we came across, uh, or at least that I personally felt, was that I mean Perzines, the Perzine Fest is so um kind of niche that you know when I when our first in live fest happened, the whole time before it started, I was kind of like, are people gonna show up? Are people gonna show up? Are people gonna show up? You know, um I know you know, all those organizers and you know, friends of mine that do that do zines, um that we all are excited about it, but yeah, I I was kind of like, well, is everyone else really just excited about comics? Is that is that the thing? Do do people just want you know photography zines that cost like $15? And uh and I was just really, really pleased, relieved, just just happy that uh so many people came out to our our first fest. And um and yeah, that that's and going forward, that's still that's still an anxiety of mine. Uh is are people still gonna show up for it? Do people still have that same um affection for the Persian's that we all do? And uh and yeah, how many how many faces are gonna show up to really support us and the other zane sters that are tabling?

SPEAKER_03 20:27

So yeah. Um for me, sometimes I think um finding the time and energy um and like getting on board with all four organizers or whoever you're organizing with um can be a little bit challenging. And then um once you have the idea and you're trying to like take shape of this thing that's very far ahead in the future, um just getting the little details in order. Um can be a lot, and we all have to be on the same page. Um so that's that can be challenging. And then once we find the venue, the time, the date, I think that's when things feel a little more relaxed. Um but there's a lot of uh behind the scenes work that happens that people don't see. Um that can be like really fun and also like challenging and frustrating. Um, but we make it work and yeah, it's it's fun.

SPEAKER_04 21:37

I think um the opposite of challenge is the fact that we all have each other's back, and I I adore all of my organizers, and we all have a really similar idea of what we want for the festival. So we just work backwards from that. Like, what is it that we can do to add to the situation to make it to be what we want it to be? And you know, who else can we pull in to help us with whatever little things need to get done? Um, and just being communicate communicative to each other with each other and um realizing like some people have their own boundaries and their own space and all the things that they need and we're just there for each other we can fill in a need to and we can pick up what uh whatever we need to do. So things that that I uh I was at a Portland deeds posing organizer for many years and like there are definitely there's been some struggles and I have not felt any of those kind of issues organizing with these people and so I think that's definitely one of the things that a hurdle we definitely got over. But part of that is having that vision of of Perse and being the important part you know letting that be the shining thing that all of us want to highlight as opposed to ourselves. So I think that I don't know a lot of the the struggle things are the the actual material of like finding the date and finding the location and and doing the promotion and making sure other people know about it.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

Just the normal things my next question is kind of the flip side which is what is your favorite part of organizing a zine fest?

SPEAKER_00 23:06

And some of you have kind of gone into that but I'd love to hear about just like yeah your favorite part of organizing a zine fest um Jonas let's start with you uh as you could probably assume my favorite part is actually at the fest seeing so many people just uh going from table to table you know uh with just kind of like what what red said with $20 you know in their pocket and they just leave with a bag full of zines just really happy and I know that at least somebody in the the building is gonna walk away thinking I really really want to make a purzine now you know that's that's my that that's kind of the the part that gets me the most so my favorite part is that dinner after because during the whole zine fest you're just your brain is thinking of all the little pieces that need to go into place and all the things need to get done but afterwards when you can sit down and you can have a drink and some food with people and someone tells you something that you missed and then like you add that to your memories of the event even if you weren't actually in the space when it happened um and just like all the little machinations going on behind the scenes can all have a place to rest and like share it over food.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

I love that part those are such good answers. I love all of those parts too um I think getting to collaborate with people that make organizing like a generative and like joyful experience is like that's a fucking high for me. It's not always like that. And um I feel like we have such a great a great crew um and it just feels like every time we get together it's a fucking party um and that's that's a real joy um so that's like constantly like refilling my cup um and but like fest the the favorite part of the fest in particular it it's it's getting to trade and swap zines. Like it's being like somebody's being like yep for trades and I'm like sure am and like having that be a possibility because our zines aren't high gloss weird like expensive art documents they're like you know humble um and accessible and affordable bundles of paper. And so I for me and like you know high glossies are are gorgeous no shade a tiny shade actually tiny shade but I I love that the spirit of um a Persine fest like that's my favorite part is just people being like I want what you got do you want what I got yeah yes all of these answers is also my favorite part.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

Um definitely like day of the fest I love seeing first time tablers like at their first fests it's so sweet. Um and also um seeing out of town friends uh friends you haven't seen in a long time is really special or like friends you've seen at other fests just coming together and then the after post fest dinner is epic um really fun um so yes all of these special moments really burns my heart what advice would any of you give for someone who wants to get into planning either their own zine fest or joining an organizing like an established organizing crew like what what advice do you have for someone who wants to organize a zine fest know your boundaries and what you're capable of a little bit and then start small because you can always grow from there.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

But the idea if you make something too gigantic and you're unable to do it you'll just be bummed yeah I I would only I would only add um I mean just one just go for it and two if you can um find people that have experience in it and just you know drain them for information you know um just yeah I mean that's that's kind of uh the best because I mean when I when I started I was just reaching out to everyone I knew just kind of like you know help please please please Alex please you know I mean you don't you don't have to reinvent the wheel that's the other thing too like tap tap your your resources of people who want to give you information um I've seen a lot of people reinventing the wheel lately and it's like this information is out there um yeah I think both of those answers perfect just do it um find like minded people who want to do it and are like serious about it um and have fun with it it doesn't have to be perfect it can be like making a zine just do it and with whatever resource you resources you have um ask for help um yeah yeah I mean Alex just dropped it in the in the chat remember it's supposed to be fun it's remember that like the whole point is to you know share this thing that you're super into with other people and connect and like create a space or like a container for other weirdos to come and and to be into commune you know about these like these things that we love um and to build relationship uh with other people and so yeah I I think Angel also said like it doesn't have to be perfect I can't stress that enough like it just matters that you try and you try your best and that you learn from that experience and you can assess and you can grow it like Alex said too and you can you know make changes um I think fear of failure but also fear of imperfection like really stalls out and shuts people down and like creates these barriers to I don't know just a lot of cool ideas and a lot of cool spaces and projects that ought exist and then never get realized because people are so afraid that it's gonna you know they're gonna do a bad job or it's not gonna be the perfect thing for every person that comes and it's like it can't be it can't be um what matters is that you do it and you experiment with it and you keep trying and you find people that you learn with yeah and grow with uh and I I think yeah the the other thing would be like uh fundraise like sustainably so that you can you know get a space or make connections with like community spaces that are supportive of your project um and even if they're not like ideal spaces can help you get off you know uh kind of launch it um initially um because it's all about building those connections to like community resources and and spaces if you're doing it in person.

SPEAKER_02 30:47

And so yeah like you gotta talk to people um and you know don't shy away from the messiness of it I think that part is a lot of those are like very important like especially remembering that it's supposed to be fun I sometimes struggle with that with Bay Area Queer Zine Fest um where I'll get really stressed out trying to make it fun for everyone else and then I'll be like oh wait I'm supposed to be having fun too um oh crap oh crap I have to force myself to remember that it's supposed to be fun um but yeah also like no one's first zine fest is gonna be perfect um and it's like y'all were saying like it's important to like kind of grow from like your past or like like your second fest is gonna be better than your first fest because you like sort of know what you're doing more and like just learning and growing from your experiences Z fests are like pancakes red um yeah like your your first fest isn't gonna be perfect your second fest is gonna be better your third fest is gonna be better like it's just learning and growing from the experiences that you create um is a really important part of fest organizing I think I also don't think there is a perfect fest.

SPEAKER_04 32:21

I think that one of the lovely beautiful things is that each zine fest has its own sorry I'm gonna get a little wound for you but like as an as an animist like each zine fest has its own essence of what it is and what it's experiencing. And that's one of the reasons I logo into Zine Fest. I don't know if I'd do a lot in different countries and whatever but each one I'm not gauging whether it's perfect I'm gauging whether that Zine Fest shows me the spirit and the heart of the zines from that space. So that's the thing I think like keep that in mind. Like it's supposed to be fun and also are you representing yourself yeah it makes me smile.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Hell yeah you can always get woo-woo alex it's welcome here so let's talk about the fest that is coming up very soon.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

It's coming up on July 11th at the Chicago Athletic Association what are some what are some things people should know um about the upcoming fest it's gonna be awesome it's gonna be amazing oh sorry go ahead it's all good um I was just gonna talk about the before and after um events too um but if we need to edit this out and put it elsewhere that that's okay too no go for it okay we're gonna have uh some pre-fest activities um we're also gonna have some post-fest activities um angel not to put you on the spot but as our our Quimby's uh worker uh if you wanted to share about the pre-fest reading that we're gonna be having that would be dope yes um so we're gonna have a really incredible perzine reading before the fest um perzine stars are welcome to uh share their work uh kind of not an open mic but kind of um that'll be at twenty's the night before the fest on July 10th um 6 30 p.m till 8 30 p.m um we'll have snacks and refreshments and um there will also be readers that are local uh jonas is reading Liz Mason will be reading I'll be reading um and whoever else wants to um I have some friends coming from out of town from the Bay Area who are interested in reading um it's gonna be a really fun time at the old zine shop hell yeah and then Jonas did you want to share a little bit about kind of what the hopes um or like what the shape of the fest is going to look like day of at Chicago Athletic Association.

SPEAKER_00 35:17

Yeah there's gonna be I believe we have 25 tables and it's just gonna be a really just creatively just a creative sort of overload you know um that's that's kind of what I I look for in every fest I go to just just this burst of of just I want to make a new zine now I want to make a new zine right now because you know of just the energy that I feel you know from uh from going to a a good fest and and that's that's something I really uh anticipate us bringing to to the the fest in July uh just a lot of energy a lot of people that are just excited to be there and share and um one thing I was gonna mention before uh that I really love is when I was uh just tabling, not necessarily organizing but just tabling at Zine Fest, often um besides selling and uh trading zines, I I found that one of my one of my favorite parts was just getting into conversations with people that I just met and talking about zines with them. In fact uh you know sometimes I would joke around with with other friends saying like if if these people knew like you know if they just get into a conversation with me about zines I'll probably just give my zine for free you know and uh and that's that's the kind of energy that I that I hope to bring to it.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

I mean you know some zine sters are there um not only looking to to share their their stories but to also I don't know pay for their trip maybe you know um you know not make a ton of money because none of us are gonna make a ton of money out of this uh but but yeah to you know aside from just covering expenses and everything I know a lot are just really uh looking forward to making new potential friends and uh you know people that might be pin pals and and uh and so forth that's that's something I'm I'm hoping everyone uh finds at this at the same fest hell yeah we're also gonna have um a post fest uh event um we did this during our our last kind of meetup when we we hosted the Persine alley um at another uh local zine fest um and to kind of like really emphasize uh the Per Zine strove uh we held a kind of like brunch meetup the day after and we're gonna do that again. Um so uh the day after the fest so Sunday um July 12th from 930 a.m until 1 p.m uh you can meet us at Reno Chicago which is off the Logan Square blue line um and come and have you know imbibe a beverage have some brunch and uh we're gonna have a postcard swap again um so that you can establish a pin pal relationship if you're looking for one or just send a one-off note to another beloved Perzine stir in your life. So it should be a really cute time and a way to decompress together after the fest um after you know we've all rested from the dinner that Alex uh looks forward to after every fest.

SPEAKER_04 38:32

I'm not gonna be there this year I'm so sorry. I have other on the someone's gonna have to call me on and have me on their phone. Jonas has got me for sure for sure and there'll be some sort of I'll come up with some sort of shenanigans to uh to have you there in spirit um of course you're gonna take a photo of me you're gonna get a cardboard cutout and then they can take pictures why am I giving you ideas?

SPEAKER_00 39:10

I was trying I was like Alex we can have a cardboard cutout of you present at all events yeah multiple yeah what was the um I'm trying to think of the Zinefest where I don't think you were there but I made a little sign by my table that said Alex Rex Dome Vegan sandwich five dollars I don't know what the five dollars was supposed to mean at all but I kept it there all day so Jonas makes the best signs for their table they're just like can confirm let's see what can people expect other than twenty five amazing per zine sters um what can people expect at the fest itself I guess other than 25 amazing per zine sters and coming away incredibly uh energized to make their own per zine is there anything like what else do they need?

SPEAKER_04 40:19

Fair fair fair oh the photo booth glitter I'm sorry glitter guts glitter guts the uh yeah uh someone want to talk about that fabulous yeah yes uh fabulous photo booth uh glitter guts they usually have like really cool queer weirdo um backdrops and they make you look stunning um and it's really fun to go with all your friends and pose and get really cute pictures from the best so we're very excited to have them there are we gonna do a panel again this year we had a panel last time um yeah I don't think we're gonna have one this year yeah um sharpie knuckle tattoo game yes that always happens yeah there will definitely be yeah Alex do you want to tell the listeners uh should we cue them in on our sharp sharpie knuckle tattoo game so this is for my friend Giz who's lives in France and uh we always do this at zine the they do a zine um called um what is it something toys I'll think of it um but what you do is you hand your knuckles off to two separate people and then they write a four letter word a clever one not a dirty one on the knuckles and you don't you don't think about which one comes first or last and then you put them together and then you see what words you got when they write whatever words on it.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

My favorite so far was uh Maria who had snow joke yes and desk fire was another one um yeah it's just a really fun like random thing that you can do when you're sitting behind a table so yeah we love a table neighbor icebreaker um some things that you can also expect to find at our uh Perrazine Fest are uh drug testing strips um specifically to test for um to test all of your fun party drugs um for um harmful um substances that you did not anticipate being in your fun party drugs like fentanyl or benzodiazepine or xylazine so we'll have drug testing strips um available for free for all y'all we'll also have internal and external condoms um uh which I will be there personally to instruct you how to turn either of them into a dental dam. And so um we'll have those as well for free. We'll also have uh plan B for free um as well as um a monthly oral contraception for free as well if anybody needs that. And we're hoping to have homebrew estrogen as well made in time to distribute as well at the fest. We're also going to provide masks if anybody wants to wear one of those in the space too. And you can expect Chicago Athletic Association to have really state of the art awesome HEPA filtration too to keep our air nice and frosty and also sands scary bacteria and viral agents um and I'm trying to think if there are other fun harm reduction oh we're gonna have lots of Narcan and naloxone on hand as well for free. And so and a few of our organizers can talk you through kind of using or um you know testing your drugs using Narcan and talk you through any questions you might have about internal versus external condoms as well. So we're gonna have a full range of harm reduction resources on hand too at the FEST.

SPEAKER_02 43:54

That's so awesome. I love when fests have because like zine fests are not just about zines. About the people who are there making the zines and people need harm reduction supplies, people need safer sex supplies. Like, I think that's great when Fests provide that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

I think this is one of the main reasons why other FES need to have sex workers on their organizing cruise. Because this is not to like, you know, toot my own horn, but like, so all of these resources are coming from the support hose collective, which is going to be one of our tablers. It's an organization that I work with. Um, and having sex workers be part of organizing formations, it means that you like automatically get a lot of this, you know, especially queer and trans sex workers, right? You get a lot of this fast-tracked harm reduction-based information that just like it comes with us. Like we're like a full package. So I just want to give another bit of helpful advice to anybody who's looking to organize any type of event, but also zine events. You should talk to your local sex workers because they make zines, they make art and culture, they're part of your community, and they're gonna bring you lots of cool free harm reduction-based resources.

SPEAKER_04 45:16

That is such a great point that you're mentioning. Like it isn't just about the zesters. It's they don't just make zines, they do other things. They're fully embodied humans who have other experiences, and uh, one of the ways that zines bring all of that into the same place. You can bring all of that lived experience into a zine and then into the spaces of zines. And and we all bring, yeah, that's great. We have ourselves broken.

SPEAKER_02 45:44

Is there anything else related to the fest or not that y'all want to talk about?

SPEAKER_03 45:51

Uh, one last thing I wanted to add that will be at the fest is a table for people to um trade silently, like a shy guy table. And also free zines, uh, like political zines, anything people want to drop off, like resources um that will be there for you. Um we love the Shy Guy free table.

SPEAKER_04 46:13

I love the Shy Guy free table. It's so I remember seeing that at Dear Dioram. That's such a great idea.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

I think that's I can't think of anything else.

SPEAKER_03 46:31

I don't know about uh maybe some kind of surprises that we don't want to share right now. Yeah, there we go. Special surprises.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

Yes. Everyone, if you're in the area, go to the fest. If you're not in the area, drive, fly, get to the fest somehow. Um, it's on my bucket list. It's like one of those fests that like it's been on my list since 2020. Like, it just sounds so cool, and I want to go. Um this year I thought I was gonna have to work that weekend, and then I ended up not having to work that weekend, so I'm just like, oh well capitalism ruined my chances of going this year. But there's next year.

SPEAKER_03 47:16

2028.

SPEAKER_04 47:18

Yeah, we decided to do it.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

Not 2027.

SPEAKER_04 47:20

No, we do it every other year so we don't burn ourselves out. So it's kind of and also deer diary happens in the off-year, so it's kind of like our sibling fest.

SPEAKER_02 47:28

2028. That'll be my year. 2026 is just practice.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

That actually taps on something that I really appreciated um with uh the past fest that I was glad to have in this. Uh, although a good portion of the tablers and uh attendees were uh based in the Midwest, I really like that so many people from all around the country, you know, came by to support it. We had you know a tabler from New York, actually, maybe actually a couple tables from New York, um, from the you know, the West Coast, from the East Coast, you know, and just those people that loved it enough to uh to fly out to where we were and and just be a part of it, just uh out of the uh out of the love, you know.

SPEAKER_01 48:17

That was really special. And it's it's cool to see other people talking about and like the the buzz that gets created, like after you get that energy and like experience another like small scale fest. And it's like the first time you encounter, like we were talking about earlier, it's like the first time you encounter a zine and you think to yourself, like, I could do this in the most positive way, not in a reductive way, not in a way that like denigrates the thing that you're experiencing, but does the exact opposite that kind of like uplifts your own sense of self and capacity and sees yourself as capable and um and like emboldened to like and empowered to do the thing yourself with others. Um, I think that that's this just keeps being another iteration of that of people being like, oh right, like I I could do this. And it's like, yeah, babes, you should. You should be doing this. Um, and so yeah, I just I love that there's so many smaller fests dotted across the Midwest. Um, as someone who's from the rural south who calls the Midwest one of their chosen homes, um, it's so special to like see this kinship also between like the zine fiends down in Austin who like always brag on the fact that like they know someone who's like part of Midwest per Zine Fest. I'm like, that's right, that's right. Because like there's so much South to Midwest and vice versa, like love and connection and camaraderie, just like we have that with the Bay with Deer Diary. And so, yeah, to have that kinship with Lone Star Zine Fest in Austin with the Zine Fiends down there was so special because yeah, important and meaningful and beautiful stuff happens in the middle of the fucking country, too, you know. Um, and I think that that's really important to like remind people that like stuff's happening in your neck of the woods, you know, find your people.

SPEAKER_02 50:22

Yeah, yeah, there's there's Zen stuff everywhere. It's like you just you have to find it, and you have to find your fellow weirdos who are making cool stuff and want to make cool stuff with you. Where can people support the fest from afar? Or like where can they find it um online, I guess, if they're not able to make it to the Chicago Athletic Association on July 11th?

SPEAKER_00 51:01

Well, I'd say we're probably the most active on uh on our Instagram page. Um that's it's updated all the time. Uh it gets a lot of traffic. Um I think uh mostly thanks to uh to Redden and Angel. Uh it's just it's yeah, I think that's probably the first stop to uh finding out more about our fest and uh just the events that we hold and other uh organizations that we support.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

Yeah, definitely check us out. The handle is at Midwest Perzine Fest, all lowercase, all together, spelled out. And I also say because we want to be good ancestors, right, in the digital land that is still the internet while we have it, um, because social media platforms are not guaranteed, you know, and they're they're not forever. Um we also have a website, and that's MidwestPurzinefest.org. And so you can kind of see we update that um to kind of be like a an archive of the comings and goings, right? So it's more of the brass tacks, it's less zany, it's less glitzy, but it does have all the information that you need there as well. And we want to always make sure that people can connect and find us, uh, you know, in the off chance that, you know, the inevitable happens with Instagram and it gets completely taken from us or explodes, or we all decide to abscond from it. Um, you know, I know a lot of us have have hopes and prayers for that. So um just putting that out there into the world that we also have the website. Um, yeah, you can find us there as well.

SPEAKER_04 52:45

Just reminding me I need to check to see if I've updated the Tumblr. It's Midwest Perzine. That's dot tumbler.com.

SPEAKER_02 52:56

I'll put links to all three of those um in the show notes.

SPEAKER_00 53:01

Excellent, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 53:03

Yeah, thank you all so much for coming on the show. Um, I'm so excited to see photos from the fest and to make it out there in 2028. Um if you're listening again, July 11th at the Chicago Athletic Association. Um yeah, it's been super cool talking to all of you. Um and I hope that people check out the fest. Thanks for having us. Yeah, of course. And like, would love to also talk to all of you individually if you want to come back. Um that would be cool. I actually um finished Stolen Sharpie Revolution today for the first time. Um not in preparation for this, but I was just like going through it and I was like, hell yeah, hell yeah, hell yeah. Um, so I was excited to mention that as well.

SPEAKER_04 53:57

Well, next year is gonna be the 25th anniversary, and um Ari from uh Ron McClusew and I are gonna do a serious rewrite for it. So that's kind of like the early next year is when you get that started because things have changed, and for it to be continue to be a relevant piece of uh resource, then it has to change with times too. So um it's it's entirely possible that we have to teach kids what DIY is anyway. It's like no, no, no, you cannot do things perfectly and you can fail, and it's great. You just got you learn from everything. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:31

Doing the Lord's work, Alex. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:37

Um, thank you, listeners, also um, for tuning in to season nine, um, which is still wild to me that I have been doing this for that long. Um, thank you to all of my monthly Kofi podcast supporters. It really means a lot. Um, and you can support the podcast for as little as $1 a month on my Kofi. Um stay tuned for the rest of the season. I've got a lot of really fun guests lined up. Um, and if you are interested in talking to me about your zines or zine fest, there's a form in my link tree. And if you know someone who'd be interested in chatting with me, send them my way. Um, again, this has been Long Armed Stapler and the organizers of the Midwest Per Zine Fest. Bye.