Barnsley Zine Fair returns this Saturday, 28th February 2026, at Barnsley Civic, from 10.30am – 4.00pm.
Now one of the biggest zine fairs in the North, this free event features over 60 artists, photographers, writers, poets and illustrators from all over the UK. It includes a free drop-in zine making workshop, and the bar is open all day.
For those who came in late, a zine (short for fanzine) is a small-circulation, self-published, and often handmade booklet created using a DIY (do-it-yourself) ethos, typically produced on a photocopier. They are non-commercial, allowing creators to explore personal, niche, or political topics without the constraints of mainstream publishing. The zine community also includes poetry pamphlets and comic books.
Barnsley Zine Fair specialises in zines and printed ephemera. Zine fairs typically take places in larger cities, but this event pretty established and usually sees between 300 and 500 visitors during the day.
• Barnsley Zine Fair have a dedicated Instagram with more information
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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