The Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley St. in Northampton, MA is a welcoming space. It operates on three levels, each branching off from a central atrium. Access is easy and organic – stairs up, stairs down, or take a right into the main hall. The venue boasts a splendid location, just a few minutes on foot from downtown Northampton, and it has plenty of parking. Smith College, Amherst, U Mass, and Mount Holyoke (to name just the big ones) are only a short drive away. Could there be a better location for a provincial book fair?
That very thought was on my mind as I sat in my well-appointed booth at 5 pm. last Friday evening,
awaiting the onrush of book-hungry professors and college kids, enhanced, of course, by crowds of well-heeled and equally book-crazed locals, not to mention institutional librarians with bulging checkbooks. I was pleasantly buzzed on the excellent pre-fair wine and snack table provided by the tireless Joe Phillips of Commonwealth Books, and sponsored by our local chapter of the ABAA, and that bemusement may have been why I initially thought the event seemed more like a craft fair than a book fair.
Now that the digital age is upon us Nooks, Kindles, tablets, and smart phones rule. Why read “War and Peace” when Google will tell you in a couple of seconds who won? The Book – that stack of printed paper, folded and sewn – has lost its primary function as a container and transmitter of information. These days it survives mostly as an artifact, as a repository of childhood memories, as a symbol of wealth, as an object of desire.
And so, it seems, The Book was regarded by attendees at this show. They’d pick it up, heft it, nod admiringly, and carefully replace it. Some of the bolder patrons would open one or two of them, flipping through the contents, looking at the images (if any), reading the jacket flap blurb if there was one and then, again, carefully replacing the object on its shelf of similar objects, before moving on to the next booth to repeat. That same craft fair feel pervaded the venue on Saturday, even when I was sober. These books are marvelous objects! They come in so many interesting sizes and colors, and the variety of binding materials is fascinating! They browsed as one might browse in a library. Or at a craft fair.
In short, the event was excellently managed. (Shout out to promoter Mark Brumberg who seemed to be everywhere on Friday and Saturday – a regular Marvin Getman sans clipboard.) The venue was inviting. The books, by and large, were of good quality, and the publicity must’ve also been good because the crowds came out both days. Yet it was those very crowds who let us down.
They were not bibliophiles, they were folks in a college town attending another college town event. Cheery, polite, respectful of the books, with no idea of what the books were there for, or even what they themselves were doing there other than experiencing a pleasant afternoon out of the house.
I had several enjoyable conversations with attendees; I met some new dealer colleagues, and had fun on the upstairs level, which was devoted to fine press books.
However, I sold only four books to the trade, and none to retail customers. My total sales were $500.
As readers of this blog might know, I’m used to getting skunked at such events – and I’m usually pretty good at buying my way out of a sleepy book fair.
This past weekend I purchased three items for a total of $400.
The only people I personally saw buying books were Stephen Schuyler, a dealer in books about the building trades, and Jason Zerrillo and Charlie Israel, new owners of Lyrical Ballad Bookstore who bought a stack of shelf stock from Peter Masi.
Ben Koenig of The Country Book Shop was, I believe, the only person at the fair who had to go back and get more bags. He sold books about folk music and folklore, agriculture, and similar country living subjects.
And yet…
This show does have potential. As I recall, the vaunted Brooklyn Book Fair started out this way – sleepy yet full of potential. The inclusion of a fine press section (a la the New York Shadow Show ably promoted by Flamingo Eventz) was a wonderful addition. Maybe an ethnic food bar or a portable tattoo parlor would help. Or maybe every dealer should be required to bring at least one shelf of vinyl records and one bookcase full of books priced $15 or less. One of the big sellers this weekend was the aforementioned Pete Masi, who reported, “Many sales; average about $15. Maybe tripled booth rent, but that’s ok or not-so-ok depending on who you axe.”
I did this show because I’ve got about 8000 books out in the Great White Whale
that I need to sell, and sell fast. In this, I failed miserably. My stock was priced at about 2/3 market. But fair-goers didn’t know this. How could they know that the books I brought to the fair were dealer’s books – things that might look good to dealers rather than college town event-goers? They thought they were attending a…
Of course, all this small-town craft fair blather is just a theory. However, I do have one piece of supporting evidence. The only book I saw being carried around by a customer was a rather worn paperback copy of “Our Bodies, Ourselves.”
I was the other half of the booth with Greg. Sold him a book for $200 and another to a colleague for $30, but I only own half, so $15. we dined decently and as left as we might be, Northampton took it way further, and the bulletin board, which featured much about dance and crafts, also announced a future talk by the Black Feminist Book Club. The Onion come to life (this display was near the unisex bathrooms, although one noted on the sign that it had urinals and stalls, the other just stalls). Nevertheless, good company abounded, as well as good management. So long as your expectations are modest, these will be met.
Tattoo pop-up – featuring book related designs (could work?!?)
I am puzzled by your comment that a classic of women’s health care is in the category “small town arts and crafts fair”, a book I might add that is a pillar of the American women’s movement.
There may be potential. At the 2023 Seattle show I had a little $10 humor book ca. 1910 with a funny cover….during the fair I would estimate that it was picked up and examined by at least 12 men and women mostly in their 20s, a few of whom must have read almost every page…no one bought it but they all went away saying what a great book it was. But…in 2024 I actually did see men and women in their 20s much more engaged and actually making purchases, which few had done the year before. Hope springs eternal.
Puzzle away. I didn’t suggest everything posted was whacky, but much was, and I did not suggest that they had no right to do so.
However, doing so might well open one to scrutiny.
I like scrutiny.
I had a great time at the fair as an attendee. I was happy to see how busy it was and I bought quite a few nice things. Thanks for the report, I hope the fair will return next year.
Greg,
Happy New Hear!!
Thank you for keeping my name alive. I still have the clipboard.