After my cross country trips last year, I have been toying with the idea of making a zine. But I was not sure what the process would actually be for it.

So when I received this assignment from 5280 Magazine to photograph the Denver Zine Library, I jumped at the opportunity to learn more.

The Denver Zine Library (DZL for short) is a small institution founded by Jamez Terry and Kelly Shortandqueer in 2003, shortly after both the aforementioned moved to Denver.

The DZL started in a detached shed at the co-founders' house, as a space that zine lovers would come visit on weekends. And the reputation for their growing collection would quickly expand beyond Denver. Soon, out-of-state zinesters made the DZL a point of interest, contributing their own zines to the collection. But, as interest and visits grew up, so did the neighborhood complaints, and once the courts got involved, they were forced to move the library.

And so, after many years, court appearances, zoning troubles and so on, the DZL moved from space to space and is currently housed in a one of the Denver art scene arteries (see what I did there): The Temple.

I met up with co-founder Kelly Shortandqueer to talk about the DZL, and spent a delicious couple of hours hanging out and learning about the Zine culture in Denver and beyond.

Kelly Shortandqueer, co-founder of the Denver Zine Library

Here are some pictures of this awesome space.

Thanks to Kelly for letting me play in this awesome space.

You can learn more about the DZL Here.