Stalling at Auckland Zinefest
2026 Stallholder Guidelines
Kia ora koutou zine peeps!
We are preparing for our next Auckland Zinefest month that will be kicked off with our zinefest market weekend. Since 2009, we have grown every year in attendance and stallholders while expanding to provide free workshops, social gatherings and zine awards to celebrate zines as an art-form.
Through the years, Auckland Zinefest (AZF) has been run by dedicated volunteers who all love zines and the DIY culture behind it. We work tirelessly to prepare a safe, welcoming space for zinemakers and small-press publishers to exhibit, sell and connect with each other. Each piece of work presenting a unique, creative perspective that you wouldn’t get usually get through mainstream media.
As we have grown, our stallholder application numbers have increased significantly. We have received enquiries and applications from folks and small businesses that highlight zines when they stall with us. To protect our mission, our mahi and keep zines and print going strong, we are tightening our stall requirements. To do this well, we want to be transparent and clear from the start of applications on what these are.
About our Stallholder Guidelines
The following guidelines have been developed to reflect our mission: to support and advocate for creative communities that value zines and other paper-based non-commercial publishing techniques.
Self-published zines and books first
We want to provide a free stall space to as many applicants as we can, so we are asking all stallholders to leave their acrylic charms, jewellery and plush toys at home, and only bring paper products of self-published zines, books and comics. The occasional print or bookmark will be allowed, space permitting. The community table will only sell zines/books/comics, no prints or posters.
Stall Display Zine minimums
To ensure the market is accessible to all, we are implementing height restrictions on displays, and we ask exhibitors to simplify their table set up to be mindful of the shared space. To be eligible for a stall, you must have at least five zines in your application, if you have fewer than this please consider the community table for your work.
No AI-generated work
Finally, we are asking our applicants not to sell or display zines (or any other works) made with generative AI. While the rapid progression of artificial intelligence can provide a quick and easy way to make zines, our organisation is an advocate of early-career creatives and small businesses. It has recently emerged that while AI is not likely to cause widespread job losses in the creative sector, it is affecting the availability of entry-level creative work and important career experience opportunities. The loss of these portfolio-building gigs will have a negative long-term impact on entry into paid arts positions. See the link here for more information on this study. For these reasons, we are adopting a firm rule - No GenAI use in zines sold or displayed at Auckland Zinefest. Applicants found to be breaking this rule may be ineligible for a stall at future AZF markets.
We hope the zine community will understand our need for clarity and hard lines on stall requirements. Our aim is not to discourage people from applying, but rather to encourage more people to create zines and share them. No matter the quality, topic or style, zines are a beautiful way to share, connect and be creative.
If you have self-published zines, books and other print goods to share with an engaged community, this is the market for you. To apply, please fill out our Google Form linked below. In our application form, we will ask you a bit about yourself, your zine/small-press work and evidence of your zine work.
If you are having trouble with preparing an application, feel free to reach out to us or ask our dedicated Discord channelfor advice and tips.
Thank you for your enduring support of Auckland Zinefest, and we can’t wait to see you there!
Please contact akzinefest@gmail.com if you have any questions about the new guidelines.
