Zines are finding their place in literary circles

What do Stormtroopers, actor Steve Buscemi and suicidal goldfish have in common?

They are all subjects of zines featured in the second annual OC Zine Fest. On July 19, zinesters descended on the Orange County Center of Contemporary Art in Santa Ana to purchase the latest zines and meet local zine makers.

A zine is a do-it-yourself book of images and text. Southern California zine culture has boomed over the past few years. Zine Fests have been held in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Orange County and San Diego.

The Last Bookstore, Seite and Skylight Books, all in Los Angeles, have an entire section dedicated to zines. Orange County Public Libraries and UCLA are even collecting zines for their archives.

This year, the OC Zine Fest held a variety of workshops, including one that featured award-winning cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, whose new show “Bordertown” premieres on Fox in January 2016. With over 80 vendors and a solid turnout, the 2015 OC Zine Fest succeeded in promoting zine love and the indie press movement.

Keep an eye out for zine fests happening in your neck of the woods.

Anderson writes for The Times’ High School Insider.