our history

The Scranton Zinefest is an underground arts and literature festival celebrating groundbreaking visual artists and writers. The event is a gathering of zine makers, distros, artistic press publications, chapbook writers, letterpress artists, screen printers, and more, complete with workshops, music, and food for everyone to enjoy. The festival is free and open to the public.

Zine festivals are a great place to learn something new. People get inspired discussing ideas, interacting with likeminded individuals, and connecting with artists and writers. The initial concept for the festival stemmed from Ruthless Zine, an arts, music, and activism publication first created in November 2008. The zine, which was initially published in response to the lack of literary outlets for youth in Scranton, was welcomed by a number of independent businesses, promoting a sense of creativity and interdependency. In accord with the zine's objective of expressing local opinions, the Scranton Zinefest team seeks to bring in an array of different publications and printed matter to the city for everyone to enjoy.

Since 2011, the Scranton Zinefest has been an outlet for zine makers from all different cities, cultures, abilities, and interests. The festival is an top-notch stop on the map of notable East Coast zine festivals in Philadelphia, Manhattan, Washington D.C., and Richmond. We're excited to see more and more zine opportunities pop up everyday!

Now in our eighth year, we're working harder than ever to provide our participants with the best experience possible, and to demonstrate to the Northeast Pennsylvania region the abundant arts and literature in Lackawanna County and beyond!