Canzine 2011 features record number of zinesters and, maybe, 100 monkeys

Canzine, the annual fair for homemade near-mags organized by Broken Pencil magazine, is on Sunday at the 918 Bathurst Centre in Toronto (a new location) from 1 - 7 p.m. Entry is $5, which includes a copy of the magazine.

According to a story in Torontoist, the fair has an all-time high of 193 vendors displaying and selling everything from comics and chapbooks to craft items. Not only does it feature publications such as Static Zine -- launching its second issue -- but it has a series of interactive events. These include a Punch Book Pitch, in which hopefuls have two minutes to pitch their book idea to a panel of industry insiders and a Piracy Zine challenge, in which three zinesters compete to create a winning zine based on a famous movie. There is also a mini food fair.

"Participants can glean further inspiration from Canzine’s two art rooms," the article says. "The first, Trash Palace, will feature old classroom videos (on such essentials as good manners), and the second will be a “typewriter orchestra room”—an installation that we, at least, hope will feature 100 monkeys attempting to reproduce Shakespeare’s genius."