Pretty Good Fest 2026
Saturday, October 24th
from 11am-6pmA comics & small press fair in Chicago, IL
at The Chicago Athletic Association
12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603
Pretty Good Fest is a one-day festival bringing over 100 artists & publishers from Chicago and around the world to the city of Chicago. Buy limited-run books & printed artwork, make new friends (& see old ones), and support the Chicago independent art community.
This year's festival will additionally special guests, programming, and more!
Pretty Good Fest is free and open to the public.
Please join us on Friday, September 18th at Quimby's Bookstore for an evening of comics & zine readings to raise funds for Pretty Good Fest.
NOT BAD will feature readings by Angel xoxo, Teddie Bernard, Cam Collins, Hink, and Sam Szabo; ands hosted by the Pound Puppies (Harrison Wyrick & Parker Davis) and Matt Davis.
All proceeds will go toward supporting the Chicago independent art community through our one-day festival.
Friday, September 18th
Doors @ 6:30pm / Show @ 7:00pm.
Quimby's Bookstore
(1854 W. North Ave, Chicago)
Suggested donation: $15
Special Guests
Chris Ware
Chris Ware is an artist, writer and regular contributor to The New Yorker; his book Jimmy Corrigan – the Smartest Kid on Earth was awarded the Guardian Prize, Building Stories was chosen as a Top 10 Fiction Book and Rusty Brown a Top 100 Fiction Book by The New York Times. He has exhibited at the Whitney Museum, the MCA Chicago and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; a traveling retrospective of his work began at the Centre Pompidou in 2022 and concluded at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània in Barcelona in Autumn 2025; it will make its only US appearance in May 2026 at the Billy Ireland Library and Museum in Columbus, Ohio.
In support of: The Acme Novelty Library #21 (Drawn & Quarterly)
Tara Booth
Tara Booth is an Eisner and Ignatz Award Winning comic artist, illustrator and painter from Philadelphia. Tara's candid autobiographical comics shed lightness and humor on issues related to mental health, addiction, and sexuality. Known for her painterly approach to comics, often using bright colors and dizzying patterns- Booth's work has been featured in publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Vice, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Best American Comics. Tara loves to travel and hike with her two dogs.
In support of: Sometimes All the Time Book 1 (2dcloud)
Michael DeForge
Michael DeForge is an author and illustrator in Toronto. His published books include All The Cameras In My Room, Holy Lacrimony, Birds of Maine, Heaven No Hell, Familiar Face and Leaving Richard's Valley. His illustrations have been featured in Jacobin, The LA Times, The Walrus, and Bloomberg Business Week. He's written for SSENSE, Lux Magazine and Canadian Dimension.
In support of: All The Cameras In My Room (Drawn & Quarterly)
Exhibitors
2dcloud A. T. Pratt Abba Zaba Books abracadabra! Alex Belardo Kostiw Allie Trigoso Ana Two Andy Hood Angel Xoxo Ann Xu Anna Strzepek Anya Davidson Audrey Hamilton Barbara Benas BARF GARDEN BearBear Ben Sears Beth Hetland Bianca Xunise BOVINE press Cam Collins Cedar Van Tassel CHema Skandal! Chris Day Christopher Goblin Press Cold Boy Press Coodos CRAM books Daniel Mellis Dark Spark Press Darya Foroohar Diego Jiménez DOG EYE PRESS Duress Press E. Joy Mehr Eddy Rivera Eileen Chavez Elias Gonzalez Ernie Roan Ethan Buck Flannery Cashill George Porteus Georgia Oldham GG Christensen gummygunk Hardscrabble Cafe Hink Hoofprint Chicago Howling Pages I Know What You Did Press Inter.txt Press Iona Fox Isabella Rotman Issue Press Ivan Brunetti J.E Paeth Jada Shields Jasjyot Singh Hans Jeffrey Brown Jeremy Tinder Johnny Sampson Jone Greaves JT Wilkins Kaitlin Kostus Keiler Roberts & Works of Love Kelly Wang Kevin Budnik Kevin Huizenga King-Cat Comix / Spit and a Half Distro Lale Westvind Lane Milburn Leo Covault Lily (Basil) MacLachlan liz yerby logan kruidenier LOREUHLOO Marnie Galloway Martian Press Math-you Land-vote Max Huffman Max Morris Mickey Z Milo Miller Molly Colleen O’Connell Nat Toner NEOGLYPHIC MEDIA nweznui Odin Cabal One Handed Press Onsmith & Nudd Organ Bank Peanutbuddarart - Aaliyah Lachel'e Perfectly Acceptable Press pete faecke Pratima Pinnepalli Project Onward Public Collectors Rachel R. Adler Reptile house Comix Richie Pope Ruby Carter Sam Sharpe Sam Szabo Sean Mac Sheep Cult Comics Slop House Press Small Sword Press Sonnenzimmer Sophia Novelo STEIN Steve Schaberg Talya Modlin Tara Booth Taxonomy Press Tboybinders Teddie Bernard Tenoch Press / Atlan Arceo-Witzl TOMATO TOMATO TOMATO/Short Leash Editions Tony DiPasquale Uoo Art/Muchen Wang Vincent Mollica Xena Lopez Art
This year's artwork by Talya Modlin.
Pretty Good Fest is presented by Perfectly Acceptable Press.
Photography by Matthew Zhang.
Thank you to this year's sponsors!
