The annual Chicago Zine Fest will be returning March 8 and 9. Already in its third year, the fest celebrates and promotes small press and independent publishers from around Chicago and is meant as an outlet for the zine scene.

Zines, pronounced “zeen” is short for either fanzine or magazine. They are independently published and distributed and often focus on a variety of niche subjects, often cheaply produced in black and white, sometimes on various single colored papers.

Long before the internet was around, zines were a means of cultural exchange. They often chronicled music scenes or were used by writers as a way of getting their work out into the world. Despite the technological leap zines are still being produced and read to this day.

Chicago Comics and Quimby’s are two local sister stores that sell zines. Want to make a zine of your own? Make one and take it to Quimby’s and the store will help you makes copies free of charge and even put it on their store’s shelf for you.

Chicago Zine Fest 2013 will be have a number of events taking place in different locations over the course of the weekend. More info on the scheduled lineup here.