As one of the four volunteer organisers of the Wellington Zinefest I'm proud to announce that this years fest was the most successful event I may have ever seen. We had over sixty stallholders on the day, and many countless more came through the door for a look, browse, buy and, occasionally, a swap. We even had a duo come in from overseas to hold a stall at the fest, quite probably the first time this has ever happened in New Zealand!
Through my conversations with stallholders and patrons alike I can tell a good day was had by all, and the many thank-yous I received at the end of the day was further evidence of this, not to mention it was very heartwarming!
To my fellow organisers Bryce Galloway, Claire Harris and Kim Gruschow: Thanks heaps for being such a supportive and enthusiastic team to work with. The time and effort put into organising and promoting this years fest paid off with such a fantastic event that we should all be congratulated with vigorous back slapping and laughs around a campfire whilst drinking the finest Chateau de Cardboard late into the night.
And to our stallholders: It was amazing to see such a huge variety and high caliber of self-published work, it really makes the whole event stand out and legitimatises self-publishing as a whole. Too often zines are viewed as merely a quirky side note, but it does have a serious cause and things like this fest support that. Also, I was impressed with the number of new zinesters on the scene this year. Glad to see you all. Keep it up.
Lastly, well done to the Best-of-the-Fest winners, writers of Daily Secretion. I personally found the winning zine to be conceptually strong, intriguing, and true to the idiosyncrasies of zine culture. Congratulations!
Bring it on 2011!
My stall.
Our youngest zinester of the fest, Zora, age 9!
A talk involving all but one of the major players in NZ zine culture from the last 10-15 years. Intense.
Natural Glow performing at the after party at Watusi.
