Here’s the incredible crew of zine librarians!
(and many thanks to the fabulous DZL alumni that have contributed tons over the years)
Hana Zittel
Connection to the DZL: I love the inclusivity and creativity that zines inspire and I adore spending time exploring all the zines in our collection. Every time I take the time to explore what we have to offer I find something absolutely fascinating. I could (and often do) spend hours just reading through any zine I pick up in the library.
Bio: I am a librarian at the Denver Public Library in addition to being a librarian at the Denver Zine Librarian, which are two great things to be. I grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and pretty much just like being outside with my pup when I have some free time, and reading, that might have been assumed though.
Jeff Washenberger
Zines: The Adventure of Catherine Coffeetree, Dreamworld, Oh Jeff, A Quiet Little Day, Hazel, & Herb Wizards. I draw comics with cute characters about nature, humor and life. A mix of fantasy and auto-bio, I like to make art that makes me happy and do my best to use it to help make the world a better place.
Connection to the DZL: I’ve been making comics on folded pieces of printer paper for as long as I can remember. Anyone can make a zine, anyone can share their story. The Denver Zine Library is a very inspiring place for me, surrounded by thousands of stories folded into pieces of paper, nestled in the heart of the city. Plus all of the people there are really wonderful.
Bio: I love coffee, flowers, video game music, and all things dog related. I have two cats too many plants, pizza is magical and I probably look at the clouds too much. I like potatoes, autumn, and picture books. I believe Black Lives matter, Me Too is real, equal rights for LGBTQ, and we are all just people. I get anxious and sad a lot but there are a lot of beautiful things in the world and that makes it pretty nice.
Kaitlyn Lafferty
Zine: Perpetual Ambivilance, a personal zine about misadventures in life with drawings and art about my feelings and other magical musings I create about my short time on this earth.
Connection to the DZL:I love zines, and people- it made/makes sense. Currently I primarily lead zine workshops for the library off-site.
Bio:I am a very introverted lover of reading, writing, drawing, and intimate conversations. Currently I work at the MCA and aspire to be a really great human and to do work around social change. You’ll probably find me reading philosophy, drinking coffee next to a river listening to its babbling.
Kelly Shortandqueer
Zine: shortandqueer, a zine series where each issue focuses on a different theme through the lens of my queer and transgender identities.
Connection to the DZL: I’m one of the co-founders of the Denver Zine Library and can’t believe that I’ve been volunteering with the DZL for over a third of my life! Through my involvement, I’ve met incredible zinesters, artists, and musicians who consistently create and inspire. On a personal level, the zine community has been a forum to document and share the voices of so many of us who don’t find ourselves reflected in mainstream media.
Bio: After publishing a few random zines, I began writing shortandqueer in 2004. My storytelling has been featured on The Narrators stage as well as through a collaboration between the Narrators and DCPA’s Off-Center at the Jones Theater, in a show titled “Lived/Re-Lived.” Besides writing and storytelling, I’m also a drag artist, performing under the name Olive de Bottom. Since being crowned Honky Tonk Queen of the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs in 2014, I’ve performed at several local and national venues and am always looking for new excuses to make appearances.
Lily Kosmicki
Zine: Dream Zine is a collection of dreams featuring mixed media art. Creature Zine is a non-narrative collection of slightly misunderstood creatures, who were drawn together.
Connection to the DZL: The DZL is a treasure. This special place is an important archive for Denver and the zine world. I am so happy to be involved as the workshop coordinator and to help foster literacy, creativity, and community that comes with zine reading and making!
Bio: I am a person, my favorite color is yellow, I am an avid daydreamer, a part-time surrealist, and I think about a world to come where the books were found by the golden ones which were written in pain and awe by a puzzled man who questioned what we were here for, and I think the best temperature is 72 degrees. There’s a lot of things I care about, a big one being libraries in all shapes, forms, and modes.
Lye Lawrence
Zines: miscellaneous art zines, comics, and how-tos
Connection to the DZL: I grew up in the rural south and didn’t hear the word zine until my early 20s, but I always made and loved zines. My friends and I would make those little one sheet 8-page comics and newsletters about the projects and characters we were daydreaming about and pass them around in middle school. Later on, I got into indie comics and slowly edged into zine culture from that angle. It didn’t take long to discover the power in self-publishing; how zines were telling so many stories I’d never heard before. Anyone can make zines, and everybody has something that would make real good content for a zine. When I found out that Denver Zine Library existed, I was really excited to know that there were other people who saw the value in them too, and in keeping the voices they contain available to everyone. I now serve on the ZineFest planning committee, lead design efforts, and publish the newsletter.
Bio: I’m an organization-loving designer by trade, spending my spare time making all kinds of art unseriously. Right now I’m making a purrzine about my cat, Anise. You can find me wandering the Denver Botans during the warm months and hibernating in my burrow in the colder ones. Talk to me about plants sometime.
Sarah Stevens
Connection to the DZL: Getting to work with awesome artists and librarians alike to provide access to zines!
Bio: I’m currently a librarian at Douglas County Libraries in Parker, Colorado. Outside of that, I read, write, and play my ukulele as much as possible.
Vera Benschop
Zines: LATELY – recurring. Other zines periodically.
Bio: Photographer / publisher/ book artist.
Denver Zine Library 