Porter Avenue hummed with the sounds and smells of local food trucks parked outside the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum. People filed in and out with pamphlets, books, and art, blinking in the sunshine poking through the rain clouds.
Inside the vast space of the museum itself were lines of tables set up in a maze, each with a different vendor -- local bookstores like Westside Stories and Talking Leaves, graphic designers like Youth + Culture, authors, local literary projects, and small presses.
The Buffalo Small Press Book Fair has been in existence for the past six years. Organizer Chris Fritton began the project as an independent venture between him and Kevin Thurston, another literary entrepreneur.
“I'd been making my own books and traveling to other books fairs around the country, especially those in Toronto and New York City,” Fritton said.
“After I returned home from Maine in 2005, I began laying the groundwork for what would become the [Fair] with Kevin.”
The overall purpose, in his words, is “to give marginalized and small-scale authors and artists a chance to share their work with the public and with each other.”
In the fair’s first year, about 65 vendors and 800 participants took part. 2013’s saw almost double the number of vendors -- 125 -- and 4,500 participants.
“Initially, many of the vendors were just from the Buffalo and Great Lakes region, but as the Fair’s grown, it’s drawn participants from all over the Northeast, Midwest, and Southern Ontario,” Fritton said.
“This year, the Fair boasted participants from Baltimore, Providence, Detroit, Milwaukee, Toronto, NYC, Boston, Pittsburgh - almost all the major metropolitan areas within a day's drive.”
The Fair stretched from Saturday, April 6, to Sunday, April 7, marking the first time that the Fair had ever been held over an entire weekend.
“At first we [had some trepidation] about the turnout on the second day - but all went well, the Fair filled in, and the vendors and participants were really happy,” Fritton said. “Many people remarked that they liked Sunday better!”
Aside from the bookstores, authors tried to get their name out to the public, from married couple Jennifer and Sarah Diemer and their books featuring lesbian heroines, to the out-of-the-ordinary collection Strange Attractors (about extraterrestrial sexuality), to Susan Boger, who wrote a “sort of funny” cautionary tale about genetically modified organisms.
The fair also features more than just books. Handmade art and journals, detailed stationery, and even the popular “Fridge Phrases” word magnets were for sale. Vendors peddled their wares with friendly smiles and tips as to the nature of the work.
One vendor, who sells hand-stitched patterns on cards and pins, said her work takes about an hour or two depending on the size. Another vendor sold intricate book art that fits into the palm of a hand.
The fair filled up both floors of the museum and also featured lectures and readings throughout the weekend.
“Next year I'm looking forward to growing the Fair a little more, and drawing even better cultural work to the region,” Fritton said. He hopes to do that in the time between fairs, when he works as the studio director at the Western New York Book Arts Center downtown.
“I continue to make and author my own small press books and artist's books - when I find the time -
and I do currently visit many local Universities and Colleges to present about typography, book arts, printing, and other book-related media,” he said.
“I've spent years nowbuilding up a culture of book and print enthusiasts here in the region, and I like to think that my role at WNYBAC supportsmy other ventures, like the [Fair].”
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