Pegacorn Press was founded in 2011 by Caroline Kern (AKA, Caroline Paquita) in Brooklyn, NY, after self-publishing since 1996 within the DIY punk movement. As a feminist, queer, “total-art-freaker” publishing house, Pegacorn Press creates unique, affordable, and collectible editions to promote an artistic and queer agenda through zines, limited edition prints, and ephemera.

The press uses stencil duplicating machines (Risographs) and Kern was initially drawn to their ease of use and ability to make publishing an affordable, accessible art form. Kern purchased her first Risograph in 2009, recognizing its potential for mass-producing the zines she and her friends were making. Initially, the Risograph lived in the kitchen of a punk house she shared, followed by the purchase of a second one, much to her roommates’ frustration. Pegacorn Press officially launched several years later in a new home, with the machines in a room next to the kitchen. In the DIY spirit that Pegacorn Press was founded upon, over 30,000 copies of titles have been printed and produced by hand in the Brooklyn homes and studios Kern occupied from 2009-2021.

Pegacorn Press has always been an extension of Kern’s personal art practice and life, with the goal of sharing art, information, and experiences while celebrating them through print. The press is deeply informed by DIY, punk, queer culture, feminism, collective projects, squatting culture, and weirdo-art communities—the press functions to connect these threads with larger audiences to deepen bonds, inspire, and build community.

In 2022, Kern and the press moved to Pittsburgh, PA, due to ongoing Long Covid health issues. She continues to create new titles which have become more specialized and are smaller editions than the years prior. Kern plans to move to upstate New York in early 2025, ushering in a new era for Pegacorn Press.

Pegacorn Press titles are held in the collections of institutions such as:

National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC

Whitney Museum of American Art Special Collections Library, New York, NY

Thomas J. Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Littauer Center/Fine Arts Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Brooklyn Museum Library, Brooklyn, NY

New York Public Library, New York, NY

Yale Arts Library Special Collections, New Haven, CT

Hirsch Library at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

University of Miami, Miami, FL

Special Collections & Archives at the Miami Dade Public Library System, Miami, FL

The Ohio State University Fine Arts Library, Columbus, OH

Tisch Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives at Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, ME

Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Paley Library Special Collections at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

University of Western Ontario Pride Library, Ontario, Canada

Barnard Library Zine Collection, New York, NY

Brooklyn College Zine Library, Brooklyn, NY

Bennington College, Bennington, VT

Bingham Center Zine Collections at Duke University, Durham, NC

Herbarium-Riso, Berlin, Germany

Toronto Zine Library, Toronto, Canada

Top: Caroline at Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair in September 2019 at MOMA PS1 in Long Island City, NY. Bottom: Pegacorn Press table at Printed Matter’s Sunday Zine Fair at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY in November 2023 (photo by Cindy Trinh).

Caroline Paquita//Pegacorn Press featured in Jack van der Weide & Alfred Boland’s - Inktvingers: De Stencilkunst van Knust 1983-2019