Jessica Durkin, a Media Policy Initiative fellow with the New America Foundation, has put together her video coverage of the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012 (embedded below).  Jessica is a relative newcomer to the world of zines, recently learning about self-publishing and then attending the L.A. Zine Fest in February.

We were happy to be the focus of her very first video journalism piece (link), and are looking forward to seeing more coverage of events and triends from Jessica.  We've also included a handy viewing guide in case you'd like to check out a certain part.

NOTE: You may need to let Vimeo finish buffering a particular section before skipping to it.

00:00 - Intro featuring excerpts from Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture by Stephen Duncombe

00:53 - Arrival at the Brooklyn Zine Fest

01:15 - Montage: Found Magazine, Little Garden Comics, Slice Harvester, Thicker Than Blood, The Bushwick Review, Alone on Prom Night, Gabriel Kendra, Morgan Pielli

02:40 - Interview with Alycia Sellie of The Borough is My Library

03:10 - Interview with Matt Carman, BZF co-organizer and I Love Bad Movies co-editor

04:45 - Steady stream of attendees into the Fest

07:05 - How to craft a zine with Alycia Sellie

09:15 - The economics of zines with BZF co-organizer Matt Carman

10:40 - Painting with Dre Grigoropol

11:40 - Interview with attendee Ally, a zine reader and Riot Grrrl fan. Favorites include Lower East Side Librarian and Twinks for Sale

13:40 - Foot traffic and end credits

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That was exactly why we started the Brooklyn Zine Fest.  Incidentally, the words we've quoted actually come from the other side of the country, in an interview with Amanda Meadows and Geoffrey Golden, L.A.-based creators of comedy & comics zine The Devastator.  That line just perfectly sums up why creators create, why zinesters zine (not an actual verb), and why we set out to do things that seem beyond doing.

We first met Geoffrey and Amanda, along with their cohorts Lee Keeler and John Ford, at the L.A. Zine Fest in February, where the I Love Bad Movies table happened to be next to theirs.  For two groups of people who lived on opposite coasts and had never met, we had a surprising number of friends and contributors in common.  And we soon learned that these are excellent folks creating a sleek, impressive quarterly zine where there wasn't one before.

Take a peek at the fun interview with A&G on the blog Los Angeles I'm Yours, along with tons of great photos of their work, their collections of zines and comics, and their adorable faces, plus great Qs and As.  A few of our other favorite quotes:

On analog vs. digital: "I like decorating shelves with cool looking books and stuff. Sure, you could have an iPhone app that shows you pictures of Mega Man action figures – but don’t you want those real Mega Man action figures? Specifically, Proto Man?"

On how the zine scene has evolved: "It feels like it’s the years of the nineties, where everyone was stapling their stuff and disseminating it at coffee shops – but it’s way more organized now."

On the permanence of print: "With digital, you can kind of George Lucas things, going back and changing and adding CGI characters nobody wants.  In print, we could still do it but it’d be much more difficult and clumsy. It would involve a lot of stickers."

Check out The Devastator and support independent printed comedy!

All photos by Los Angeles I'm Yours.

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Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012 exhibitor Put A Egg On It will be one of more than a dozen food-based periodicals at the Food Book Fair's "Foodieodicals" showcase this Saturday.  The Food Book Fair runs all weekend at the Wythe Hotel (Wythe at N. 11th) in Williamsburg; Foodieodicals will be held on Saturday May 5th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Put A Egg On It has just released their fifth issue of recipes, food photography, and gastronomic writing, and creators Ralph & Sarah will be there to say hello and swap food stories.  Tickets to Foodieodicals are $5, with other Food Book Fair talks and exhibitions running from Free to $15.

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You can see Jon Nalley's full coverage of the Brooklyn Zine Fest at his Social + Diarist Facebook page.  30 of his photos can also be found in the Brooklyn Zine Fest public Flickr pool -- add your photos to the group today!

Here are just a few of Jon's photos from the event:

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Tom Blunt has met tons of fascinating women via his monthly variety show Meet the Lady, and he'll meet several more at the "Cat Women" installment this Friday (info and tickets here).  There's no other event like this in New York or elsewhere.  Fascinating writers, performers, artists, and musicians have paid tribute to famous actresses, forgotten poets, and First Ladies.  This time, Tom will also have copies of his found-photo zine Travel Memories, which debuted at the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012.

You never know just what you'll get at a Meet the Lady show, other than a good time in New York's best screening room with a bunch of interesting people.  At "The Women of Twin Peaks," Sheryl Lee (who played doomed teen Laura Palmer) called in for a live interview while parked on a beach road in Malibu.  Iris Explosion has done burlesque routines as both Lady Macbeth and Ms. Pac-Man.  And everyone from GQ sex writer Boobs Radley to NPR's favorite songbird Nellie McKay has made an appearance.

The "Cat Women" show at 92YTribeca this Friday, April 27th at 8pm will celebrate the pop culture and literary motif of women transforming into cats.  Featuring actress Frances Conroy (from the 2004 Halle Berry flop Catwoman), Loni Ackerman (who sang the much-beloved song "Memory" in Cats on Broadway) and other special guests, this will be an evening of ladies you'll be glad you met.

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Journalist and NYU professor Yevgeniya Traps has written an informed, multi-faceted, and human-scale article for Capital New York about the Brooklyn Zine Fest, the history of zines, and what this year's event has meant for the creative and self-publishing communities.  We're glad to have been the focus of Yevgeniya's hard work, and suggest you read the entire article here.  For the full zine effect, print it out, staple it, and read it on the subway.

In addition to "a defense of all things quirky, oddball, and most of all, handmade," there are some great quotes from BZF 2012 exhibitors Tom Blunt of Meet the Lady, Jenna Freedman of Lower East Side Librarian, Marc Calvary of The Carbon Based Mistake, and Ayun Halliday of The East Village Inky, plus excerpts from an interview with all three organizers.

Our favorite passage, summing up the scene at the Brooklyn Zine Fest:

"There was the sense that everyone involved was doing their small part to be part of some larger whole, a compendium of quirks and grievances and memories and curiosities and objects lost and found.

"Maybe this was a zine-version of a blog comments section, the chance for writer and readers to interact, exchange ideas. But it was also something largely and satisfyingly itself."

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^ Bar room, by Eric Epstein.

^ Garage space, by Eric Epstein.

^ Cubana room, by Anna White.

Many more photos in our public Flickr pool.  Add yours today!

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If you attended the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012, we want to know what you liked, what you didn't, what you found, and what surprised you.  We've created a (somewhat) fun survey to get your feedback, so that we can improve the BZF for not only next year, but generations to come.

This anonymous Google Forms survey can be found here: http://goo.gl/Yz7Ta  We really appreciate your answers and your help!

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Broken Pencil, the magazine about zine culture, independent arts, and self-publishing, has written up their review of the Brooklyn Zine Fest.  Spoiler: They liked it, and they namedrop a number of our great exhibitors.  Broken Pencil organizes the Canzine festival each year in both Toronto and Vancouver, so they know a good zine event when they see it.

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In addition to the excellent photos by our official photographer Anna White (see her full set here), a lot of talented folks covered the Brooklyn Zine Fest with a lens in hand.  Here are a few great shots of various BZF 2012 exhibitors from Tom Scola, all of which can be found in our public Flickr pool (add your photos today!)

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Missed the Brooklyn Zine Fest on Sunday, or just want to experience it again? Relive it right here through the tweets and Instagram photos of some of our attendees:

Brooklyn Zine Fest! instagr.am/p/JdPtDBEaXa/

— Chris Piascik (@chrispiascik) April 15, 2012

So much great stuff on display at Brooklyn Zine Fest! In a perfect, magical fantasy world I'll have something to show there in 2013.

— Tenebrous Kate (@tenebrouskate) April 15, 2012

Brooklyn Zine Fest time!! #nylifeinstagr.am/p/JdHzUzCQBB/

— Jenipher Lyn (@JenipherLyn) April 15, 2012

Feeling overwhelmed at the amount of zines at Brooklyn Zine Fest #zine #brooklyn

— Soph софия (@UncleSophie) April 15, 2012

Less than 4 hours after Emmanuel landed in NY, we met Jeffrey Lewis. Thank you Brooklyn Zine Fest. instagr.am/p/JdN--LQmXh/

— em brock (@emiliabrock) April 16, 2012

Saw #JeffreyLewis at Brooklyn Zine Fest. Looking fwd to reading his new collection of comics! twitter.com/ThadeausUmpste…

— Thadeaus Umpster (@ThadeausUmpster) April 15, 2012

Print's not dead! Diggin' all the handmade publications at Brooklyn Zine Fest today. twitter.com/MicheleLaudig/…

— Michele Laudig (@MicheleLaudig) April 15, 2012

The Brooklyn Zine fest! instagr.am/p/JcvZrvmIpz/

— Sophia Callahan (@ssoopphhiiaa) April 15, 2012

brooklyn zine fest! with @jenipherlyn@ Public Assembly instagr.am/p/Jc_mo_tDbU/

— c.a.m.i.l.o (@SavesAnything) April 15, 2012

brooklyn zine fest! instagr.am/p/JdBk2ol3vj/

— Sewon (@collectingmaps) April 15, 2012

I may or may not have bought a six volume pizza guide zine today at the Brooklyn Zine Fest. #foodproblems

— Tom Sullivan (@versayce) April 16, 2012

Brooklyn Zine Fest #beinganerd@ Brooklyn Zine Fest instagr.am/p/Jc7fBDH4iX/

— Samantha Falk (@SamJFalk) April 15, 2012

Stop what you're doing, change your socks, and roll out to the Brooklyn Zine Fest. brooklynzinefest.com Today's the day!

— M. Sweeney Lawless (@Specky4Eyes) April 15, 2012

All the super cool #zines (and book) I got today at Brooklyn Zine Fest.instagr.am/p/JdqFECiQA2/

— Jenipher Lyn (@JenipherLyn) April 16, 2012

Brooklyn Zine Fest instagr.am/p/JdLb3kATuI/

— Jimena Roquero (@jimenaroquero) April 15, 2012

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Here are a few more photos of the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012 at Public Assembly this past Sunday.  All of these are by Anna White, official photographer of the Fest.  You can see all 50+ of Anna's photos, plus identifying info for each, at our Flickr page.

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At the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012, co-organizer Matt Carman sat down with WNYC's Arun Venugopal to chat about I Love Bad Movies, the zine he publishes with his co-editor Kseniya Yarosh, as well as the Brooklyn Zine Fest itself and the once-again growing popularity of zines and printed media.  Read the full interview here.

When you find yourself saying, "The Internet is still useful for some things," you know you've chosen analog over digital in a big way.  Sorry for the condescending tone, Internet, but you'll never replace zines.

Photo by Arun Venugopal

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We've recently learned that less than two days before the Brooklyn Zine Fest, Courtney Love reunited with Melissa Auf der Maur, Eric Erlandson, and Patty Schemel -- the original Hole lineup -- for a surprise show at Public Assembly.  On the very stage where zine makers Go for Broke Collective, Margo Dabaie, The Center for the Duplicated Arts, Chili's World, and Jemibook were exhibiting at the Brooklyn Zine Fest, Hole performed together for the first time in fifteen years.

Sure, this probably explains why the entire venue was being hosed down and mopped (with Bleach?) early in the morning when we arrived, but it's still very cool.  Congratulations to Public Assembly for hosting such an awesome moment in music history (regardless of how you feel about Love, it's a pretty great moment), and thanks to Courtney Love for ostensibly leaving some weird, good vibes behind for us.

And hey, considering Francis Bean's appreciation of print media, she may have even been at Public Assembly for the Brooklyn Zine Fest shortly after her mother's big night.

(Photo via Brooklyn Vegan via silas howard)

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(BZF 2012 exhibitor and East Village Inky creator Ayun Halliday)

David Colon of Brokelyn has followed up his pre-fest preview article with a recap of the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012.  Check out the full article here to read what seven different attendees thought of the Brooklyn Zine Fest, zines in general, and the vibrant life of self-published print media today. A few sample responses:

What brought you here? Have you been into zines long?
1) I started reading them recently. I figured I could come here and see who in the community I could click with and also get some inspiration for my own zine.

2) People are interested in publishing their own media. This isn’t Twitter or Facebook, it’s nice to have something tactile, that you can hold on to. That sense of realness makes coming here a little like going to an art museum.

What do you think explains the turnout?
There a lot of places you can get zine, like you can go to Printed Matter or Bluestockings, but there’s a much bigger variety here.

Will zines destory the Kindle?
No, but they’ll give it their best shot.

Do you have your own zine?
Not now, but I’ve been working on one with my friends, it’ll be short pieces mostly. Maybe seeing this in public will force me to work on it.

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We've created a Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012 Flickr pool as a one-stop collection for all photos of this year's event.  We'd love to have your photos in there, so please go ahead and add any images you'd like of the tablers, the venue, or yourself enjoying the fest.

These photos and many more by official BZF 2012 photographer Anna White can be found in the Brooklyn Zine Fest 2012 Flickr pool.  Join the group and add your own photos!

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Thanks to the many hundreds (was it thousands?  Because it may have actually been that many) of people who came to the Brooklyn Zine Fest today.  Your support of self-published magazines was overwhelming, and we're very glad to know that zine culture is bigger and more successful than it's ever been.

Your interest and enthusiasm are why we do this.

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The Brooklyn Zine Fest is TODAY, Sunday April 15th from 11am to 6pm at Public Assembly (70 North 6th St. between Wythe & Kent in Williamsburg).  [Google Map]

We've got more than 60 writers, artists, and publishers from Brooklyn & beyond showcasing and selling their self-published works for between $1 and $10.  Food and coffee from Cubana Social.  A full bar featuring "marzinis" and $5 Brooklyn Brewery drafts.  Four raffle drawings throughout the day totaling $1,700 in prizes from local makers.  And it's all ages, so everyone is welcome.

Zine makers are friendly folk once we get going, so don't be shy about picking up a zine and asking its creator all about it.  We'll see you today at the Brooklyn Zine Fest!

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BZF co-organizers Kseniya and Matt recently answered a few questions for Laura Jayne Martin of culture blog Thought Catalog.  One day before New York City's premiere zine event, we discuss what makes zines special, how a self-publisher measures success, and how to break into the "zine industry."  Read the full interview here, but here's a bit from Kseniya:

"I think what distinguishes zine fests from other fests [i.e. art & craft fairs] is conversation. You’re sitting there with a stapled bundle of work that you did after your latest trip or break-up or whatever, and that can lead to a more intimate exchange with a fest visitor than, say, a scarf or a doily. I love all forms of DIY, but zines specifically can be quite personal, so get ready for some laughter and tears as you make your rounds through the BZF."

We'll see you tomorrow at the fest: tear streaks, laugh lines and all!

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Esteemed journals of letters keep on singing the Brooklyn Zine Fest's praises!  See blurbs from all our coverage on the Press page.  And stop by Public Assembly tomorrow to see what the buzz is all about.  (70 North 6th St. b/t Wythe & Kent, Sunday April 15th from 11am to 6pm.)

Huffington Post: "Explore the niche-centric world of independent publishing."

New York Magazine: "Critics' Pick"

Gothamist Daily: "There's something refreshingly analog about the world of zines, those wonderfully atavistic souvenirs from the fading era of print publishing."

Time Out New York: "Whether you’re a sci-fi fanatic or a pizza connoisseur, this haven for print fans has a publication for you."

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