I had been participating in art book fairs for about 4 years, when I started to realize that no one was really writing about selling books. During my research, I discovered that while many books provided guidance on making books, none focused on selling them. Specifically when it came to artist books. At this point, I had participated in the Printed Matter Art Book Fair in both New York (NYABF) and Los Angeles (LAABF), sharing a table with a friend for a couple of years. My sales were very poor in the beginning, mainly because of a low price point. Over time, I began improving my sales and made more connections in the art book community. Inspired by this progress, I decided to create a how-to guide for participating in an art book or zine fair.
In 2018, I purchased my first Risograph printing machine. For years, I had sent my books to be commercially printed, but now I had immediate and direct access to produce them myself. In the past, I had made a few publications as handbooks or guides, but most were playful and didn’t really teach anything. I worked on the How to Art Book Fair text over the course of a couple months, then reached out to Christopher Kardambikis (Papercuts, George Mason University printmaking chair) for feedback. After incorporating his suggestions, I posted on Facebook about creating the guide and added some practical and playful advice from others. I designed the book in Illustrator and InDesign and printed the first 16-page version on whatever paper I had in my studio, producing a small edition of 100.At that year’s NYABF, I distributed copies to friends and other publishers—some of whom had contributed and others I thought might offer feedback for future editions. This first version had an immediacy to it, just getting the idea out there. As I often do with my publications, I continued refining it, paying more attention to quality and construction.
HTABF Second Edition (2019)
For the second edition, I concentrated on both my retail experience and the practicalities of sitting for six to ten hours selling books. What do you need? How should you engage with attendees? How do you make the event work for you as an artist or bookmaker?
Having worked in retail for more than a decade (Gadzooks, Sunglass Hut, Pacific Sunwear, and the Gap), I was used to selling products, so art book fairs felt natural to me. Instead of selling camisoles and jeans, I was promoting books, concepts, and ideas. I understood that every person walking by was both a potential customer and a chance for meaningful interaction. At any art book fair, the hope is your book will find its way into someone's home, a library or collection. Artists shouldn’t feel bad about selling and making money from their books. It’s incredibly difficult in most art fields to make money and have a middle class life. Books such as Be Oakley’s Publishing Now: GenderFail’s Working Class Guide to Making a Living Off Self Publishing attempt to start discussions about this.
These interactions often influence the work itself. Once, someone asked if I had any prints or books that weren’t negative. At the time, my table showcased a series of “No prints,” so the comment resonated. A year later, I began developing a more positive series, though still tinged with humor and irony. That newer direction remains central to my practice today.
Engaging directly with an audience is one of the great things about being at an art book fair. Oftentimes this audience will be artists and bookmakers themselves, but with the diverse audience that attend art book fairs you will also encounter people from all fields who will give you insight you won’t find in your studio. Sometimes that insight will be how they engage with your books, or how they don’t.
How to Art Book Fair video
During this time, I also created a video adaptation of How to Art Book Fair. Leah Mackin, who teaches print and bookmaking at the Rochester Institute of Technology, had a project called Internet Art Book Fair, a web-based platform that, in many ways, anticipated the shift to virtual events during the pandemic.
In the video, I sit at a table alone, pitching my book while growing frustrated as no one approaches or shows interest. The piece functions both as a promotion for my books and as a standalone work, capturing the loneliness that can accompany art book fairs. The video stands apart from the book, because it addresses in real time the boredom, tedium and frustrations a tabler can go through at a book fair, while with the book I try to remain practical and positive.
Marlene Obermayer, the founder of Das Kunst Buch and the Vienna Art Book Fair, became a strong advocate and secured a grant to bring me and a few other publishers to the first Vienna Art Book Fair. There, I performed a live version of my video, dramatically pitching to an empty table and eventually overturning its contents.
The second edition debuted at the 2019 Printed Matter NYABF and the inaugural Vienna Art Book Fair. Over the next four years, it was sold primarily through Printed Matter and my website. In 2020, I added a one-page sheet titled How to Virtually Art Book Fair on one side and How to Table Post-COVID-19 on the other, which I included with book orders. These additions, along with other notes I had jotted down over time, would later inform the third edition.
HTABF Third Edition (2023)
With each edition, my goal is to expand the content and incorporate more diverse perspectives.
Ingrid Schndall, who runs IS Projects (now the Miami Paper & Printing Museum) and organizes the SPF fair and Tropic Bound in Miami, contributed insights not only as a fair organizer but also on launching and running events with an international focus.
I’m especially grateful to Ingrid and Marlene, as their perspectives reflect the modern art book fair scene—deeply embedded in their local communities while actively engaging with the global landscape. They leverage extensive networks to create vibrant and inclusive events.
Like many art books, distribution poses challenges. I was fortunate to work alongside Cynthia Connolly, a curator and self-publisher of Banned in D.C. since the 1980s. I first met Cynthia as a young artist in Southwest Virginia (Floyd, Blacksburg, and Roanoke), so it was rewarding to collaborate and learn from her DIY/punk-inspired approach to publishing. One lasting lesson from her is the importance of self-distribution and keeping your work in print. Personally, this is important to me because in my early twenties I made comics but failed to get the work out. In the early 2000’s it wasn't as easy as it is now to create, share, distribute and share your works. It's much easier now, but no one is going to get your work out for you.
Through international distribution via Antenne Books in the United Kingdom, my books are now reaching a broader global audience. I make my books, not just for an insular art audience or institutions, but for the general public. I’m aware that in How to Art Book Fair, I’m presenting a perspective on art book fairs in the west. My hope is that as the book is available globally, more global perspectives will help shape it.
My primary aim with this guide is to support bookmakers and help them thrive. To that end, I offer educational discounts to teachers and class packs for students at a reduced price. I’ve also tried to maintain the book being priced low. The first version was $10 and the newest is $12, even as the book has more than doubled in size.
I’m currently working on the fourth edition of How to Art Book Fair, and I welcome any advice or suggestions!
Part Two of this post will share excerpts from How to Art Book Fair, including the forthcoming fourth edition.
Paul Shortt is an artist, curator, and educator based in Florida. He makes signs, books, videos and social practice with a bit of humor. As the creator of How to Art Book Fair, Shortt has participated in over 50 national and international art book and zine fairs.
