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If your perfect afternoon involves flipping through risograph zines or daydreaming about starting your own small press, the Vancouver Art Book Fair is back, right on cue.
The 14th annual fair returns to the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, bringing together more than 100 artists, galleries, and publishers for a weekend dedicated to all things printed and bound. With around 80 tables to browse, expect everything from DIY zines and handbound poetry chapbooks to meticulously produced art books.
Now in its 14th year, the fair has long been a key hub for art publishing on the West Coast. “This is a great testament to the importance of publishing on the West Coast and how internationally connected Vancouver is,” shares co-manager Sharon Bradley in a statement. That international reach is reflected in this year’s exhibitor list, which includes participants from New York, Shanghai, Veracruz, and Taipei, alongside a strong showing of local talent.
Among the new additions are Page Bureau, a design-focused publishing unit working across print and digital formats; Publicaciones Salvajes, known for playful, tactile books that lean into experimentation; and 大囍包 tōa-hí-pau, a newly formed Taiwanese collective inspired by the nostalgic chaos of childhood “surprise bags.” Closer to home, Vancouver-based exhibitors such as Fingers Crossed Press and Rungh Magazine will showcase the city’s independent publishing scene, while poet and artist Winston Lê is set to lead a workshop on asemic writing.
It’s also the chance to meet the people behind the work, flip through pages with the artist standing right there, and maybe learn a thing or two about risograph printing or letterpress techniques along the way. As co-manager Jonathan Middleton put it in a release, “So many of the books at the fair have either been handcrafted, handbound, or printed on unusual printing techniques like Risograph, silkscreen, or letterpress. Others have precise, museum-quality offset printing and binding that often exceeds the cost of the sales price. In virtually every case, you’re going home with a special publication that you won’t find at most bookstores. It’s a rare opportunity.”
Beyond the tables, the fair’s programming highlights that idea of access and exchange. A panel co-produced with the Art Libraries Society of North America will bring together librarians from UBC, Emily Carr University, UVic, and SFU to talk about artists’ books, collections, and how these works circulate in academic spaces.
When: May 15 to 17
Where: Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre
Admission: Free