BLOG: Portland Zine Symposium 2025 Recap (Patreon)

While NYCC was my final big convention for the year, the true finale is the Portland Zine Symposium, where it all began. If you saw my blog post from last week, you’ll know that I almost quit art forever when I was a young adult, but PZS saved me from that fate. It’s an event I look forward to every year. It feels embedded in my creative DNA.

Cool facts about PZS:

Free to attend

Cheap table ($40 for full, $20 for half)

Different tablers on Saturday vs Sunday, which allows more people the opportunity to participate and gives people reason to come both days

Celebrates and showcases zinesters of all skill levels

Cool workshops and events

Supported by other cool groups/orgs in town like Outlet and the IPRC

The organizers are really kind and thoughtful

Masked event

The Portland Zine Symposium takes place in the Smith Ballroom at Portland State University downtown. It has been held at previous locations over the years, but after the 2020-21 break, PZS’s home at this location has been consistently a pleasant, comfortable space. En and I shared a 3’ space, and we sat along the edge of the ballroom so that our tower of riso prints wouldn’t block anyone’s field of vision. Plus, I like to sit near the balcony so I can look out at the park blocks. On Saturdays, the big farmer’s market is there. On Sundays, it’s a bunch of people taking their kids and dogs out to enjoy the weather.

For the second year in a row, I got to sit near Lemon/Sonny’s House, who is so sweet. I also sat next to Entangled Roots Press, who I met this year at Sonny’s Summer Story Fest (highly recommend if you like PZS, check out that show too) and Ali is just really fucking cool.

There were so many familiar faces at PZS this year. It was amazing to get to say hi and talk to so many people who I knew, to catch up briefly, to look at all their cool new work. I love this little community. Shannon Kidd is making some of the coolest shit that has ever been made, and Shay Mirk has a new book out about making nonfiction comics. It’s called Making Nonfiction Comics. I loved that I got to say hi to Ian, who started tabling the same time I did several years ago. We sometimes end up at the same events, and we don’t talk often, but it was just nice to reminisce briefly about how far we’ve come.

Tangent: I complimented someone’s harness suspenders and they said “thanks my friend River made them” and I was like… dude, I have a little leather keychain that River made me years ago back when I would take the bus to cut hair in exchange for beer when they first started leatherwork. It’s still on my carabiner after all these years. Like, all these people from my pre-pandemic young adult baby era, and now there’s this timeskip and suddenly we’re all successful craftsmen and artists? And trans and faggy. Crazy stuff, you love to see it.

Because the show was so busy, there were lots of people I didn’t get to say hi to, or people I only said hi to briefly in passing. Cam came to say hi, but couldn’t cut through the crowd! RaeAnne also came to say hi and gave us some gluten free bread, the best prize of the whole day. Quinn dropped by, and Ross, and J, and I got to say hi to Liz Yerby. And Audra and I chatted in the line before getting let in.

I made some sweet trades, too. And possibly the best feeling was when people told me that I inspired them to make stuff. Everyone was so SWEETIE PIE!!!! I got a western lesbian comic in a trade that is so sweet, it’s on my zine shelf right now.

Thanks to all the immense talent in the room, I also realized… I NEED TO MAKE NEW WORK. Not just comics, obviously I’m on that comic drum beat forever, that’s just second nature. But like, I would like to be making more prints and more zines in general. And when I make stickers, like for Patreon, I never re-order them, so I sell out at shows quickly. I need to order bigger batches so I have leftovers for shows for longer.

I’m glad I have the next couple months to start working on new and interesting work. PZS just inspires me to push myself forward into exploring all the possibilities of my art practice.

Oh and if you’re here for numbers, I made $400 at PZS this year, which is really good for me, about the same as last year. And considering all of the shows this year, doing about the same as last year is par for the course. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported me and my work. I will keep making cool stuff for you as long as you’ll have me! LOVE YOU, PORTLAND.

Next show: ECCC? Maybe?? Fingers crossed!