Where to Find Zines in San Francisco

By Nicole Mazzeo
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I went to San Francisco recently and one of my favorite parts was seeing where I could find zines. Here are the places I went!

Alley Cat Books

This was my favorite of the places I found zines. They had a ton of awesome zines, including some very polished ones, as well as more DIY-esque ones.
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Alley Cat is an English/Spanish language book store located in the Mission district. They also have lots of cool events, including zine readings. Here’s their website.

The Booksmith

This bookstore was cool too, and they had a good selection of zines. I got a great zine called The Cool Teen’s Guide to Fingering (there was also The Cool Teen’s Guide to the Mall). They also had a display of queer-themed books in their window, for Pride. They’re located in Haight-Ashbury. You can find them online here.

Dog Eared Books

I didn’t go to this one, but it was recommended to me by a local. Apparently it’s the sister store of Alley Cat. I would totally check it out if I had a chance. They have two locations, in the Mission and Castro districts. Check out their website.

Needles & Pens

This place turned out to be sort of a trendy gift shop. They did have a bunch of zines though! Their zines were more polished and artfully curated than the other places. It was a little too fancy for my taste, but they did have some cool zines. They also sell jewelry and gifty items. They’re located in the Mission district. Here’s their website.

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Also!

While you’re in SF, you should also check out this fantastic mural alleyway in the Mission district. There are a ton of beautiful, diverse murals. I highly recommend it!