BLZF is almost two years old.

Our birthday is August 8, 2024. 🎉🥳🎁🎂 For ways you can get involved, visit this page.

Meet the Team

Beer Cat James (she/her)

ADVISOR —
2025-2026
Beer Cat is an experienced sailor and traveler. She’s traversed 650 nautical miles and 8,000 driving miles. She enjoys all art, but favors the gritty realism of the mop room at the Long Beach Museum of Art, Downtown. She knows her way around a coffee house, and her favorite thing about zines is that they are nice to sit on.
Evan Chelsee (they/them)

CO-FOUNDER —
2024-2026

Evan Chelsee is an artist, an organizer, and a curator. They’re the author of Recurring Characters (a poetry chapbook), and many, many zines. They love helping people to make cool things. You can find their work, and ways to work with them, at evanchelsee.com
Ra Avis (she/her)

CO-FOUNDER —
2024-2026

Ra Avis is an artist and community builder. She is a 2025 Writing Freedom Fellow with Haymarket Books, and the award winning blogger behind Rarasaur.com. Ra is also the founder of Kites Library, a free archive of resource-sharing mini zines about prison.
Theron James (he/him)

CO-FOUNDER —
2024-2026

James is a storyteller, exploring the edges of creative expression as a dynamic and experimental videographer and author. Beyond his creative work, James moves through many worlds — barista, sailor, electrician — drawing inspiration from the rhythm of everyday life and the unexpected places where stories live.
Joshua P. Stroder (he/him)

ORGANIZER —
2025-2026

Josh is an artist and photographer who has developed a precise yet artful approach to craft and process. His work centers on what is often overlooked, using visual details to tell larger stories without relying on words. He is a full-time technical illustrator, an occasional children’s book illustrator, and the founder of Long Beach Pizza Club.
Ng (she/her)

CO-FOUNDER —
2024

Ng pulled Inky from the clouds of our imagination. She is a traveler, storyteller, and lover of slow craft life. Her work can be found at @AttoZines.

BLZF IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF COMMUNITIES LIKE OURS.

⭐ Chris at Page Against the Machine who is a co-founder and co-organizer in our hearts; ⭐ the entire team at Recreational Coffee who opens their space to us again and again because they are so dedicated to living in a city of makers; ⭐ every single person who has donated even a dollar to keep this project alive; ⭐ Regina and her chalk; ⭐ Dee and her glue; ⭐ Jorgen and his shelves; ⭐ every contributor to our database of free zines; ⭐ PlaceLB who has offered supplies and learning through so many of our workshops and also provide a zine base in our city; the Long Beach Compost crew and their willingness to volunteer in a pinch; ⭐ Long Beach and surrounding area poets (Dania, Gahl, Marc, George, Peter, Caleb, Christina) who made so many snowflakes and poured in so many hours ; ⭐ Care Culture Collaborative who have lent more than their share of tables to the cause; ⭐ the Long Beach Neighbors-to-Neighbors program who pay their teaching artists; ⭐ Bre’s discord where we were able to get the word out to people who love zines of all types; ⭐ John Dishwasher who keeps his calendar updated with our dates; ⭐ PBS SoCal and Signal Hill Tribune who never miss a chance to uplift the work of these makers; ⭐ Gusto Bread and SeeketLB who advertised in our magazine knowing nothing about the project except that it helps local artists; the original Long Beach Zine Fest for planting seeds of zine-love in this city; ⭐ the folks from all over who contributed the magazines that our students and fair attendees turned into foldable stories; ⭐ and luckily for us, the list goes on.