The Fall 2007 Toronto Small Press Fair Update

Well, this year's fair was as exciting as ever, with the controversy that has been swirling around afterwards just adding to the buzz.

1. This year Carolina Smart (of Shebytches.com fame) joined the fair team as volunteer coordinator. She was the lovely lady organizing the set up of tables and making sure that it went smoothly. She had the early morning shift, so I hope you all introduced yourself and told her what a great job she was doing. Myna and I spent the morning making last minute preparations while Carolina set up.

2. The good news is fair attendance held steady at 300+ throughout the day. Periodical room counts were done.

3. We had a fabulous line up of readings with the dynamo Cynthia Gould hosting and adding music. By the time the last set rolled around the attendance in the room was 35 people, which is near-capacity for the small Chapel. Reader Paul Vermeersch said it was the best sales of his book since his launch. Priscila Uppal did an able job of being the featured reader after last year's featured reader Stuart Ross.

4. There were some concerns about marketing for this fair. We had over 200 flyers passed out at readings and events around town, we were featured on the Quill and Quire Omni Blog, the fair was announced at readings such as the Art Bar Reading Series, I. V. Lounge, The Rower's Pub Reading Series and the Press On launch. The fair was announced several times on CKLN on "In Other Words." As always when you exhibitors received your forms you were asked to please spread the news to all your friends and reading public. In addition, for the first time this fair we had a facebook site. Myna did send in free listings for Now and Eye, but they were obviously missed in the shuffle at those papers. As a small press owner myself I have had that happen to me on several occasions. We have raised the grant level for the 2008 fairs and we plan to use that money to purchase an ad in NOW. For too long the fair has used traditional methods and has languished, and we want to reach outside the community for public support. Now that funding is back on track, we hope to be able to do that. As to postering, well, our thinking has been that postering takes a lot of time and is likely to be ignored or postered over or pulled down in a short time. In the past postering has not made any difference during years when there was dismal attendance. It's part and parcel of the fickle small press world. Also not a lot of people have volunteered to help out with any aspect of the fair except for setting up and taking down. That's why we have Carolina Smart now, to help arrange and help find people to run the kitchen, the spbf table and any other incidentals that occur. However if someone wants to poster the town with flyers, let us know, we'll be happy to take you up on it! Telling us before the fair would help immensely, we are not hard to reach, the e-mail is on the small press site and there is the facebook site as well.

5. We are always open to suggestions, the fair is again going through a change of hands and a growth process, and it's great when the hard work that we put in is recognized and the fact that there will be growing pains while we get kinks out acknowledged. Myna and I are always happy to talk, or receive personal e-mails with suggestions that are constructive. (We really don't appreciate being backed into corners on blogs or public forums before we have been approached privately. I suspect no one would.)

6. We believe in the fair and what it stands for. We are both small press publishers and past attendees of the fair, and we are working hard to make it better than it ever has been, and way more fun!