Zinefest on Saturday at Western New York Book Arts Center headlines the eight events this week in the Buffalo literary community.

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Tuesdays at Cabernet, monthly open mic poetry and prose reading series hosted by Sinead Tyrone. Cabernet’s Wine Café , 9 N. Ellicott St., Williamsville.

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Tuesday Night Open Mic Series at the Em Tea Coffeecup Café. All are welcome whether new to poetry or a long-time member of the community. 80 Oakgrove Ave., Buffalo, NY. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, Aug. 13, 6 p.m.: Trivia Night: Laws and Literature. The Springville Center for the Arts presents a trivia night focused on weird laws, lawyer characters in literature, and the laws pertaining to writing. Hosted by local lawyer and former Springville Journal writer Ashley Lowry. Art’s Café, 5 East Main Street, Springville, New York 14141. For more information, visit https://artscafespringville.com/

Thursday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Buffalo Reading Invasion—a flash mob-like gathering to celebrate the role of books, reading, public space, and community in our lives. Bring a book, a chair, and several friends or family members for an hour of quiet reading in one of Buffalo’s best-loved public spaces. This month’s location: East Lawn of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House. 125 Jewett Pkwy, Buffalo, NY 14214.
Visit http://buffaloreadinginvasion.com/ for additional details.

Friday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Blue Bag Press presents Limited Palette 07 featuring readings by Mathilda Cullen, Zoe Tuck, Thom Eichelberger-Young, Miriam Saperstein, and Spencer Williams. Fitz Books, 1462 Main Street, Buffalo.

Saturday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Western New York Book Arts Center and Gutter Pop Comics present Zinefest 2025 curated by poet, educator, artist, and zinester Robin Lee Jordan on the first floor gallery space of WNYBAC at 468 Washington Street, Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

About the event:

At ZineFest, local zinesters will gather to distribute, trade, & sell their creations. Visit through all three floors to get lost in a photocopied sea of zines, and to meet and conspire with fellow artists and zinemakers.

About Zines:

Zines defy definition and categorization but here are some words and terms you might see associated with them: handmade, self-published, DIY(Do-It-Yourself as an aesthetic), underground, cheap, hyperlocal, radical, queer, feminist, photocopied, misspelled. Inside a zine you might find poems, comics, manifestos, recipes, collages, gardening advice, lyrics, & handy tips for your neighborhood activist.

Saturday, Aug. 16, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.: “Awakening Your Inner Creative,” a panel discussion moderated by Raina Lipsitz—writer, journalist and author of The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics (Verso Books)—with Alliah Agostini Livingstone, the author of Junior Library Guild Selection Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince, Scarecited on the First Day of School, The Juneteenth Story, The Juneteenth Cookbook, Great Idea Malia!, and more joyful books for children; Miguel Cardona, an illustrator and Designer Advocate for Education at Figma, where he gives workshops and lectures to the education community; Alexa Wajed, a creative entrepreneur, visual artist, trained chef, and jewelry designer and co-owner and Chief Strategy & Operations Officer of the creative agency Eat Off Art; and Edreys Wajed, a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and entrepreneur and co-leader and Chief Creative Officer of Eat Off Art. Fitz Books, 1462 Main Street, Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Sunday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Beats, Brews and Prose, a new open mic poetry and prose series hosted by Juniper, Fawn, Rose, and Morticia on the third Sunday of each month at Eugene V. Debs Hall, 483 Peckham St. in Buffalo.