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If you’ve never partaken in zine culture, are you even a Portlander?
It’s no secret that Portland’s zine culture runs incredibly deep (it’s pronounced “zeen,” not “zyne,” in case you’re really new here). Underground, DIY comics and magazines have long been a cornerstone of our creative community. Our libraries have zine sections, our colleges host pop-up zine classes, and the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC, for the uninitiated) churns out the handmade creations of novice and veteran artists alike at a stunning pace. Dang, even Portland grade schoolers are producing zines.
Naturally, the annual event established to support and celebrate this captivating craft, the Portland Zine Symposium, now a quarter of a century old, is thriving. This year’s event takes place Nov. 8 and 9 at Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, five South Park Blocks north of Portland Book Festival—also happening on Saturday, so plan accordingly.
This year, the Portland Zine Symposium arrives at a moment when calls for alternative media are reaching a fever pitch, especially as legacy news disintegrates before us. In that light, this event promises a captivating weekend designed to inspire a new generation of zinesters while bringing established creators together for a two-day extravaganza of DIY publishing, skill sharing, and creative camaraderie.
“The thing that’s so cool about zines is that anyone can make them,” says BB Andersson, an organizer with the symposium since 2017. “I’ve seen zines from photographers, painters, writers, historians, librarians, educators, health care workers, sex workers, performance artists, disability rights activists, a woodworker or two, parents, high schoolers, middle schoolers, and even grade schoolers.”
Andersson notes that the accessibility of zine culture fills the vacuum left by the rapid erosion of traditional news media. Within zine culture, they say, “You have a really rich exchange of ideas across all kinds of disciplines and experiences.”
That exchange is central to the symposium’s mission: to build community among creators and indie publishers in Portland and beyond, while sharing skills and knowledge in an accessible, noncommercial environment. Ultimately, the Portland Zine Symposium and its organizers seek to amplify the voices of underrepresented and marginalized creators, promoting equitable conditions across the city’s creative landscape.
Andersson speaks with reverence for the symposium’s devoted community of DIY small-press artists. “The fact that the Zine Symposium has been in the game for as long as it has makes me so proud,” they say. “It’s no surprise how it got there. The event has really stayed alive because of the people who care for it: the many organizers, tablers, community members and attendees.”
Indeed, zinesters show up big time for this hotly anticipated annual event. This year’s symposium will feature more than 200 tables of artists, zinesters, and small publishers showcasing their work—just in time for some very Portland-centric holiday shopping—but don’t get it twisted: The symposium is much more than a marketplace. In celebration of its quarter-century milestone, organizers are debuting their first-ever print anthology, compiling 25 years of contributions, experiences, and memories from a motley crew of intergenerational zinesters and symposium participants.
Despite its impressive scope, the symposium remains a community-first, free-to-the-public event, prioritizing comfort, accessibility, and low-stakes creative connection over commercial excess.
“Beyond the print anthology and the main tabling event, we’ll also have a quiet room where folks can read through our zine archive or browse zines available on the main floor,” Andersson explains. “There will also be space for new creators to learn zine-making and button-making.” For the truly devoted, there’s even an after-party at Outlet, one of Portland’s most beloved creative studios.
And if all that weren’t enough, Andersson adds, “We’ll also have a screen-printing setup onstage for making T-shirts.”
Bottom line: A fixture of the city’s creative calendar, the Portland Zine Symposium offers more than just a haven for DIY publishing—it’s a safe space to connect with like-minded locals and visiting artists alike.
“This is a great opportunity to meet people, make new friends, maybe reconnect with folks, or get inspired and start an event of your own,” Andersson says. “I can’t stress enough how cool the zine community is in Portland.”
SEE IT: Portland Zine Symposium, Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, 1825 SW Broadway, portlandzinesymposium.org. 11 am–5 pm Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 9. Free.
