Book fairs where you can find my poems – spring 2025 events
Artists’ books, poetry, and zines in Winchester, Bergen, and London
Hello hello.
Today I’m sharing the details of three springtime book fairs where you can find my poetry for sale, in collaboration with artist Lee Shearman and Micro Library Books.
Before I do, I want to mention that I'm writing this after a fairly frustrating flatpack furniture experience, which took about a million times longer than it should have done, and not because of misaligned drill holes (despite me blaming that the whole way through) but, as it turns out, because of our incredibly uneven flooring. As soon as we finally identified the lumpy carpet and wonky boards as the issue, it was bish-bash-bosh: ta-da! But now, as well as sporting some carpet burns to the tops of my feet (aka the ‘dorsal surface’, as I’ve learnt this evening), I am inordinately tired. The IKEA delivery was scheduled to arrive anytime between 7 am and 7 pm today, Sunday, and it arrived at ... 7 am! I was showered and dressed but certainly not ready for small talk, especially after a poor night's sleep. And even less ready for the end-of-day assembling. So, here I am, in a weary state, choosing to write to you with ... times and dates! Ripe for typos. Let’s see how we get on.
First up, a super lovely fair just down the road from me here in Winchester:
Into the Fold
Friday 28 February (2–6 pm) & Saturday 1 March (10 am – 4 pm)
Winchester School of Art (Westside Foyer), Park Avenue, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 8DL, UKBack for its second year, Into the Fold will feature stalls from artist-book and zine makers from across the UK including WSA students, staff, and local artists.
Over the two days, there will also be tours of two exhibitions: Glitchy Kinship curated by Dr Elizabeth Reed in The Winchester Gallery (at the same address) and Nonsuch Memory of My Birth Artists’ Books by artist Joshua Raffell in the WSA Library gallery space. In addition, there will be an opportunity to attend an introduction and handling session on the Artists’ Book Collection at WSA Library, printmaking activities, a talk by James Macdonell from the Library’s Digital Scholarship Team and a performative event with artist Sebastiane Hegarty.
The event is free but please book a ticket: southampton.ac.uk/wsa/news/events/2025/01/into-the-fold-2025-winchester-school-of-art-university-of-southampton.page
Next up, Bergen Art Book Fair, an annual festival in Norway dedicated to artistic publishing:
Bergen Art Book Fair (BABF)
Thursday 3 April – Sunday 6 April
Bergen Kunsthall, Rasmus Meyers allé 5, 5015 Bergen, NorwayBABF serves as a platform for showcasing artists’ books and self-published works by both local and international creators, as well as independent art publishers.
The fair is organised by Pamflett, an artist-run initiative dedicated to self-publishing and promoting artists’ books. Pamflett organises residencies, book launches, exhibitions, and workshops, fostering creativity and collaboration in the art publishing community.
This is such a nice and inspiring event; I’m feeling very lucky to have work there again this year.
Again it’s free to attend (travel and skillingsboller not included, sorry!).
Forming the other bookend to April is the brilliant Free Verse Poetry Fair, run by the Poetry Society.
Free Verse Book & Magazine Fair 2025
Saturday 26 April , 11:00 am – 6:30 pm
St Columba’s Hall, Pont Street, London, SW1X 0BD, UKFree Verse fair celebrates the vitality of poetry in the UK – an unrivalled opportunity to browse the very best in contemporary poetry and to meet publishers, literary organisations, poets, and poetry readers.
The event is free to attend, and while you can just turn up without a ticket, if you do book a free ticket to let them know you’re coming along you’ll be added to a prize draw to be in with a chance to win a £50 spending spree at Free Verse! Dreamy!
All welcome!
Right, I’m off to put some cocoa butter on these dorsal surfaces and then to cook the culinary wonder that is … pasta pesto.
Have a great week ahead!
Pip x
