518 Zine Fest Returns for Third Year with Nearly 30 Vendors Announced

South End Children’s Cafe Welcomes Capital Region Creatives on March 28

Current List of Vendors Doubles Previous Zine Fest Offerings

Makers Space Encourages Public to Make Their Own Art

View Promotional Flyer Here

Albany, NY – Today the 518 Zine Scene announced nearly 30 vendors participating in the third 518 Zine Fest. Following up on the success of two prior festivals, the artistic collective is excited to welcome dozens of creatives from across the region to buy, sell, share and create zines. On top of vendors, two community organizations will be in attendance and members of the public will have the opportunity to collage, write and make their own zines in a dedicated space at the event.

This spring’s zine festival will take place at the South End Children’s Cafe located at 33 Rensselaer Street in Albany, NY. Held on March 28, 2026, the 518 Zine Fest will start at 12pm and end at 4pm. 518 Zine Fest is a free event and community members of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to attend.

“Created for zinesters by zinesters, the 518 Zine Fest is an important outlet for our community,” said organizers with 518 Zine Scene. “The space we are creating serves as a venue outside traditional capitalist structures for creatives to come together, share their art, spread their message and meet other like minded individuals. We hope that with the larger location we’ve secured, even more people will be able to attend and feel inspired to create their own zines.”

Vendors for the third 518 Zine Scene include;

• Paper Moon

• Skidmore Zine Club

• ¡Weird Latinx Colectivo!

• Art.With.A.Waddle

• September Colors

• Hudson Valley Writers Guild

• Anna May (Albany Zine Club)

• Hell Yeah Lit

• Melody Often & Ulises Farinas

• Joe Padgett Herz

• Jaesyk Comics

• Green Street Press

• Maggie Minor

• PETTY Magazine

• Cosmic Dog House Press

• Dead Man’s Press Ink (Albany Poets)

• izzy b

• Blaqbunicolektif

• Erin Dorney

• wolfbxywares

• ApparentlySharp

• Matthew Klane

• Mary Mustard

• Tommy Oddity

• Respectful Zines

• Zine Machine

• Free Alex Stokes Project

• Autwine

• Gwen Shuni D’Arcangelis

Zines from these creatives include publications that touch on politics, queer identity, digital art, photography, collage, poetry, sports, memoirs, local news, local events, mutual aid and other human interest topics. Depending on vendor policies, zines will be made available for free, trade or purchase, allowing dissemination of these low to no cost publications with other creatives. In addition to zines, some vendors will have art prints, comics and jewelry available for purchase.

Two community groups will be joining the nearly 30 creatives vending at the festival. The Capital Region Sanctuary Coalition will be in attendance raising awareness about the rights of immigrants in our community along with the Palestinian Rights Committee – a 40+ year-old organization founded in Albany which has been advocating for Palestinian human rights and the end of Israeli Apartheid and military occupation in Palestine.

For more information about the March 28 event, the organizers and the vendors, interested zinesters can find additional details on Instagram @518zinefest, @518zinescene or by emailing 518zinescene@gmail.com.

What is a Zine?

According to the New York State Library, a ‘zine’ is an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine which are most commonly small circulation, non-commercial periodical publications.

Zines are produced in a range of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to photocopies and collage, to handwritten/drawn text. Print remains the most popular zine format, although electronically-disseminated “e-zines” are a growing phenomenon.

The range of topics covered is broad, including fiction, politics, art, poetry, personal journals, social theory, or any single topic obsession far enough outside of the mainstream to prohibit inclusion in more traditional media. While zines may be highly subjective and idiosyncratic, there is an element of “community-seeking” in their publication. Titles have a nominal cover price, and can often be obtained free of charge via exchanges with other zine publishers, a form of barter that is reminiscent of the “amateur journalism” movement of the mid-nineteenth century.

About 518 Zine Scene

The 518 Zine Scene is a collective of artists and zine makers located in Albany, New York. Dedicated to uplifting artists in the Capital Region, the 518 Zine Scene has hosted numerous zine festivals and zine making events across the area. The most recent event was held in October of 2025 at Nine Pin Cider in Albany. In addition to these events, the 518 Zine Scene has highlighted publications on our Instagram account, @518zinescene.

Opposed to the idea that artists should pay for exposure and the opportunity to share their work, the 518 Zine Scene ensures that all events and promotional opportunities are free to participate in and attend. Learn more about the 518 Zine Scene and submit materials for promotion by following the collective on Instagram.