Stop the Presses?
It’s spring and time for the 10th anniversary Buffalo Small Press Book Fair. This regional two-day event that brings booksellers, authors, bookmakers, zinesters, small presses, artists, poets, and other cultural workers (and enthusiasts) together in a venue where they can share ideas, showcase their art, and peddle their wares.
This year the event will take place on Saturday, April 9 from noon to 6pm AND Sunday April 10 from 11am-5pm at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Porter Hall, 453 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, NY.
If you haven’t been to the BSPBF in the past, you will definitely want to attend. For ten years, Chris Fritton has organized this event, and this will be the last year. What, stop the presses?
Chris made the announcement on March 28, and many are sad to see it go. The event has grown every year since its inception in 2007. Every year, this unique event draws over 4,500 attendees, and provides the perfect opportunity for your printing, illustration, design, publishing, or retail business to spread the word to a targeted demographic.
I had the pleasure of attending last year’s event, and I will miss it. When I asked about the fair closing, Chris said, “We’ve decided to move on and determine if other event [sic] might be more beneficial to the Buffalo art & literary scene.” Expect to find more information posted on their website in the coming days.
I won’t be selling my wares this year at the BSPBF, but I will be trolling the booths for interesting items. Sandy Barton’s The Tree will be available for purchase. The book, illustrated by me – shameless plug, is a charming story of Rabbit, Chickadee, and Mouse finding magic under a used Christmas tree.
There are many other vendors attending the fair that are worth a visit. You can check out the full list on the BSPBF website, but here are a few that I plan to visit. Comic artist, Sal Sciandra, will be there. Hopefully, he will bring some samples of Elijah Snugs. Rachael Gootnick, of Just Terrific Handcrafted Goods, plans to attend. She designs beautiful jewelry as well as binds books. If you are looking for something to light up your life, stop by Olden Designs. Suzie’s handmade luminaries are created out of a variety of papers with a variety of cutout shapes. She uses children’s storybooks, maps, travel books, blueprints, dictionaries, hand marbled paper, yearbooks, vintage recipes, vintage book pages, sheet music and more!
Since the weather in Buffalo won’t be optimal for outdoor activities this weekend, why not consider joining me and other talented and creative people at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair.
