The 9th Annual Washington State Zine Contest is now open!
Download and print the double-sided Entry Form and Submission Guidelines here.
Submission Guidelines:
- Participants must be Washington State residents.
- Zines must be created in 2023 or 2024 and be at least 8 pages long.
- Submissions will be read by people of all ages; please only non-offensive content in your zine.
- Make at least 7 copies of your zine. Submit 5 and keep the others for yourself. Sharing and trading is a traditional aspect of zine culture! Entries will not be returned and may be added to a library’s collection or used in promotional materials.
- By submission, the participants grant permission for the library to display, photograph & reproduce the submitted work for publicity purposes and to add copies to library collections.
- Please remember to cite your sources and credit the work of other people for any parts of your zine that are not your own original work.
- Entries may be dropped off at the Washington State Library @ 6880 Capitol Blvd. SE, Tumwater, WA 98501 (during open hours) or mailed to us @ WSL Zine Contest, PO Box 42460, Olympia, WA, 98504-2460
Entries must be postmarked by March 29, 2024. - Prizes will be awarded to a winner in each age/grade group: pre 4th grade, grades 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 and adults of all ages!
- Zines will be judged on: Creativity/Originality, Visual and Aesthetic Appeal, Quality of Writing/Readability, and Design/Format/Layout.
- For more information email [email protected].
Click on the poster image above to download and print PDF copies of the poster.
Click this link to download, print and distribute zine contest mini-flyers.
Physical copies of the winning zines and honorable mentions will be added to the collections at the Washington State Library, King County Library System, The Seattle Public Library, and the Timberland Regional Library. We will also be digitizing these zine so that people across our state (and beyond!) can have access to these wonderful zines created by Washingtonians.
Try Washington State Digital Collections History Resources online, the Library of Congress Digital Collections, or visit the Washington State Library, Washington State Archives and/or your local library to find fantastic materials and inspiration for your creating your own zines!
A Few Zine Libraries in WA State
How to Make a Zine Video
Congratulations to the winners of the
8th Annual Washington State Zine Contest!
Links to digitized copies of honorable mentions will be added to this site after the zines are digitized.
- Pre-4th Grade
Nobody Knows Me Better Than I Know Myself by Ofelia Thompson Gilbert - Grades 4-6
Washington Haiku by Spencer B. Ward - Grades 7-9
Lead Head by Gina Tran - Grades 10-12
The Letter by Iris Iverson - Adults
Wednesdays by Stephanie Smith
Honorable mentions:
- Pre 4th Grade
Awesome Fossils! by Manya Saxena
Helpfulness by Adeline Makela
The Secret of Fungi by Alicia Pan - Grades 4-6
The Renton Reader by Cora D’Addario
“To Use the World Impossible with the Greatest Caution” by Dashwood Davis
Volcanoes at Your Doorstep: Mt. Rainier by Janelle Pyant - Grades 7-9
Don’t Bug the Bugs by Lavender McMillin
Onigiri! by Asha Tummeti - Grades 10-12
The Chronicles of Speen by Zara Van Bronkhorst
Queer Love Stories by E. Wentzel - Adult
Expectations and Other Natural Disasters by Daisye G. Orr
How to Survive Death Errands by Chelsea Evans
In the Summer by Bre Jané
Past Winners:
2021
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Pre-4th Grade | Grades 4-6 | Grades 7-9 | Grades 10-12 | Adult |
Kids Waited William K. Gault Shoreline |
Mental Health Matters |
How to Make a Pokémon Deck Conner Goodsel Pasco |
Bus Stop Love Zoe Kelton Shoreline |
Mole Mackenzie Lew Seattle |
2021 Honorable Mentions
- Pre 4th-grade
Journey of Tabasco Ninja by Nolan Pan
Know Your Bees by Manya Saxena
National Parks of Washington by Nathan Xu - Grades 4-6
Barney’s Way Home by Paige Johnson
The Chinese Zodiac: What Is It? by Tracy Zhu
Nidoto Nai Yoni: Let It Not Happen Again by Dashwood Davis - Adult
My Top Ten Public Humiliations by David Grieder
Octopus Gardening #12 by Laurie Fordham
Stormy the Cat Teaches You to Make Challah by Chaun Soares
2020
- Pre-4th Grade
Rocks Everywhere by Manya Saxena - Grades 4-6
The Adventure of Unihorn by Kaylee Klebanow - Grades 7-9
This Zine is Anti-Racist by Miguel Martinez - Adults
Together Apart by Questen Inghram and Ava Stuller
2019
- Grades 4-6
Savage Dolphin: The Real Deal by Jayden Kammeyer - Grades 7-9
Tribes: The Cowlitz by Katya Rukhlinskaia - Grades 10-12
The Journey by Kaylee Lâm - Adults
Love Letter to Harry Allen by Elijah Janka
Honorable mentions
- Grades 4-6
I’m a Trans Girl
Ways to Be Kind to Bees: A Bee-Zine by Lexi Brewer - Grades 7-9
Overheard Conversations by Mera Foster - Grades 10-12
The American Education System by Adrianna Collie
Trauma, Training, and the Foster Care System by Katheryn Hilfiker - Adult
Loss of Symmetry: Symmetry of Loss by Daisye G. Orr
A Mini Foraging Guide for Western Washington by Anna Moore
2018
Grades 4-6 Mount Helens! by Pranav Dasan
Grades 7-9 1910 Stevens Pass Train Disaster by Sonja Rasmussen, Kaelyn Van Duzer, and Morgan Bong
Adult Mountain Devil by Marc Myrsell
2017
Grades 4-6 Hanford: The complex legacy left behind, Mia Widrow
Adult Answering Columbia’s Call : Seattle’s War Relief Bazaar of 1917, Lisa Oberg
2016
Grades 4-6 The Grand Coulee Dam, Anna Riley
Grades 7-9 Women’s Rights & Wonder Women from Washington’s Past, Janisa Cook
Grades 10-12 Pike Place Market, Adrian Poslednik
Adult 721 Seventeenth Avenue : A Love (Hi)Story, Amanda Demeter
2015
Adult Glore & Wunder : Adventures and Amusements in Washington State History by Susanna Gowing