Edinburgh Zine Fair – Nov 1st 2025

Comics and zines – close relatives but different in many ways. Like homo neanderthalis and homo florensis. A comic can be a zine and a zine can be a comic, or not. For me the essence of being a zine is DIY. Scalpel and Pritt Stick, printer and photocopier. The ever present Risograph – I mean if you have a Gestetner then so much the better. The more home made it is, the closer it is to the essence of zine.

I’ve bought, read and collected zines all my life. A punk rock medium – three chords and a photocopier. Disposable, ephemeral and enigmatic. Short runs and quick impact. The people who produce zines have a need to express themselves, to get their message out NOW. 

Edinburgh Zine Fair was a great way to start my Saturday. I did make the mistake of thinking it started at 11 (getting mixed up with last weeks Tags I reckon) and arrived five minutes before the actual kick off time of 12. Mind you this is on the same day I tried to pay twice in a cafe, so maybe this is just age related.

The fair is sponsored by the wonderful Type Wronger books. This wee bookshop at the top of Leith Walk is perfect for cool books and zines but does a marvellous sideline in vintage typewriters. Or maybe the books are the sideline. They will also give you a origami animal with your purchase. I once presented one of these along with a book as a present and the recipient flattened the stunning paper dragon and tried to read the paper it was folded from. People huh?

The Zine Fair was held at the hidden gem St. Margaret’s House in Meadowbank. A grim office block turned into a community facility including a martial arts dojo and lots of artists workshops. A wonderful chit system was in place. Choose your books, get your chits, take them all to the till to pay in one go. No fumbling with sumup machines and bad wifi. It also leads you to forget how much you are spending – and zine prices vary a LOT.

What were my finds? 

Very much in the spirit of punk rock and closest to my old-school idea of a zine was A Poly Sty-Zine – an ode to Poly Styrene and X-ray Spex by jclarkemakes. A cut and paste, fold up wonder that came with a free badge. In a weird coincidence I got a ‘Warrior in Woolworths’ badge – a song I heard for the first time the previous day! (For those who are interested it was on one of the complete John Peel shows uploaded to YouTube by @optical-prime)

By contrast was the stunning full colour, fold-up riso print When I’m Ready from C.Simonis. Their stall from Riso des Bois – Ex-Edinburghers relocated to Belgium – was full of sumptuous and wonderfully crafted work. I restricted myself to one, but am now having non-buyers regret. 

Poetry was on offer from several stall-holders. Gray Crosbie had tales of heartbreak and jammy dodgers with their books Jam Centred Heartbreak and Love, Pan Fried. Sarah M. Davies has a palindrome poem – Every Minute Filled – which addresses the constant urge for us to improve ourselves, optimise and organise our lives.

One of the things I love about zines is the fact that you can write about whatever you want. For example, tatties – you know, po-tay-toes. Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew. A Ragged Band (shout out to English Civil War era diggers and levellers there) have produced ‘Tatties for Tea! Potato recipes from Glasgow’s allotments and friends‘ a cook-book and general guide to the humble spud.

I loved Find Me In The Wind by emino, a story of relocation, home and our sense of self. Beautiful words and images from Tokyo to Edinburgh.

Diversity is the driving spirit of the zine and so to Astral Projection for the Modern Business by Alex. A beautifully crafted publication printed on the all conquering Risograph by Type Wronger. This book finds the sweet spot between esoteric occult tome and linkedin hype post.

Finally Hooseparty – a magazine that takes you staggering from room to room with cool articles, community comment and even horoscopes and crosswords to be found. I still have to really dig into this one – and I’m saving it for my commute. 

So the world of the zine – no rules and precious few guidelines. Thanks Edinburgh Zine Fair and see you next year.