They look good on paper.
More than 3,700 lovers of homemade books, magazines, and comics came out to the fourth annual Brooklyn Zine Fest this weekend to peruse the best of the borough’s do-it-yourself literary scene.
The festival, which was held at the Brooklyn Historical Society in Brooklyn Heights, showcased 150 zine makers — 75 on Saturday and a completely different lineup of 75 on Sunday — with titles including “I Love Bad Movies,” “Heretical Sexts,” and “We’ll Never Have Paris.” The switch allowed audiences to interact with twice as many artists, said an organizer.
“That way we can bring in twice as many people and give visitors a reason to come both days,” said Brooklyn Zine Fest co-founder and organizer Matt Carman.
Carman and his wife Kseniya Yarosh first started the bazaar in 2011 because they could not find anywhere in the borough to sell their own zines.
“If you do not make comic or art books, there are not a lot of places to buy or sell,” said Carman.
The fest has helped staple together a close community of Brooklyn zinesters, writers, and artists, said one participant.
“I have a lot of friends who I knew were working on things, but they were reluctant to show it to people or they needed an end goal motivation to finish it,” said Kristen Felicetti, the founder and editor of “Bushwick Review,” which features poetry, art, and essays from neighborhood residents. “So I made ‘Bushwick Review’ to bring everyone together and make them feel less alone.”
