Atlanta Zine Fest to launch this weekend

The Atlanta Zine Fest will open its doors (and pages) for the first time this weekend. The festival, which will include plenty of handmade zines and vendors as well as a full schedule of lectures and panels, will run Saturday and Sunday at the Erickson Clock Building in Castleberry Hill.

Zines have been experiencing a kind of cultural resurgence and reinvention that is, at least in part, a response to the rise of the Internet. (The New York Times has been championing this trend for years now.) While mostly focused on the art of little handmade books, AZF’s lectures and panels touch on all variety of DIY subjects: “History of Street Art talk and wheat paste demonstration,” “Controlled Chaos: the perils, payoffs and pleasures of putting on DIY shows,” “Feminist Perspectives on DIY Blogging and Zine-making,” and so on.

CL caught up with Amanda Mills, co-founder and organizer of the event, to talk about zines and her plans for the festival.

This is the first year for Atlanta Zine Fest. How did it come about?

AZF was born through my friendship with a Canadian actually. She and I are compared incessantly. Before I met her, our mutual friend, Josh Fauver, told me that I had to meet this girl named Tracy Soo-Ming. “You guys are exactly alike. And I’m not sure which one is the evil twin,” he said. Eventually she found me on Facebook back in April. We pretty immediately started organizing a volunteer base and fundraisers. More significantly, she became one of my best friends - which is not a term I use lightly. I have never found someone who has such similar interests as me.

We both have been involved with zines since elementary school. Riot grrrl has an indelible role. My childhood - and that of all my girl friends - was rife with violence and poverty. Riot grrrl really helped me understand the relationship between my experiences and the broader scope of feminist politics, including how to articulate these concerns. Here is where zines come in. For me, zines are inherently political. Zines allow for fringe expression, or counter-responses and alternatives to mainstream media. It’s a medium that is accessible to everyone. Honestly I consider myself a sort of community cheerleader in that I’m always trying to hype and organize other people’s talent - of which there’s an insane wealth in Atlanta - and concentrate it into more accessible venues. This is what AZF comes down to. Exposing and in tandem creating an Atlanta zine community.