Pia Ceres is LEE & LOW’s summer intern. She is a recipient of the We Need Diverse Books Internship Program grant. She’s a rising senior at Brown University, where she studies Education & Comparative Literature, with a focus in French literature. When she’s not reading, you can find her watching classic horror movies from under a blanket, strumming pop songs on her ukulele, and listening to her grandparents’ stories about the Philippines. In this blog post, she talks about her first book fair with LEE & LOW BOOKS.
By morning, a sticky summer swelter had set in, but the anticipation was unmistakable, electric in the air. They would be coming soon. Across two blocks, along 135th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, booksellers, authors, and representatives from nonprofits fussed with tents and paraphernalia. Somewhere I couldn’t see, a live jazz band began to practice; its strident trumpet blared the beginning of a celebration. In moments, the hot asphalt would be teeming with families and lovers of literature from around the country gathering for the Harlem Book Fair.
The Harlem Book Fair is the largest African-American book fair in the country. With the aim of celebrating literacy within the Black community, the fair, held annually, offers a full day of presentations and rows of exhibition booths. Although it kicked off its 18th successful year last Saturday, this was my very first time participating in a book fair. Helping Keilin and Jalissa represent LEE & LOW and sell some of our books, I was open to every possibility.
The challenge came early on: Someone asked me to find a book for her niece, then added, “She hates reading.” Yikes. Sounds like a tall order, but not surprising. Most of the educators and families who stopped by our booth were concerned that their kids didn’t see themselves in the books assigned at school. It reminded me of when I was a kid and had to read about primarily white boys and the wilderness or dogs or something. For this woman, I suggested The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen. Maybe, I hoped, this would be the book that would start to change things.
At a book fair, one sees firsthand that books, particularly children’s books, are a meaningful part of relationships – an aunt wishing her niece a story that reflects her. I spoke with a dad who wanted an exciting bedtime story; a soon-to-be teacher, eager to fill her first classroom with books as diverse as her students; a mom who wanted to share her native language, and her young daughter who wanted to read it. As I listened to people’s requests, the book fair revealed a striking truth: For a lot of folks, books are expressions of love.
Of course, the day ended with a sudden and cinematic downpour, with jabs of wind that caused our white tent to take to the air like a storm-battered sail and had Keilin, Jalissa, and I drenched, scrambling to protect the books! Because if any day reminded us that books are precious, it was this one.
If books bridge worlds, then book fairs are a space for bridging those connections. The Harlem Book Fair allows diverse stories to come into people’s hands and helps create a world-full of readers – reflected, interconnected, loving and loved.
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 12th is the Harlem Book Fair. LEE & LOW BOOKS will be there from 11 a.m., selling some of your favorite titles. We’ll be at table C32!
For a full list of tables and exhibitors, please click here.
LEE & LOW BOOKS, along with some other industry professionals, will be participating in a panel discussion on diversity in children’s books:
ABUNDANTLY RICH: HARVESTING THE WEALTH IN MULTICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHING
- Where: Langston Hughes Auditorium
- Time: 12:00pm to 1:15pm
- More information can be found here.
We hope to see you there!
Filed under:
Activities and Events,
Fairs/Conventions Tagged:
book festivals,
diversity,
harlem,
harlem book fair,
representation 
The Harlem Book Fair’s program is listed here for those who are attending from Saturday, July 17 to Monday, July 19. There’s a full entree of activities, author talks, workshops, readings, exhibitors and events to participate in. 
But one event that has piqued my interest, since my NDLC panel discussion revolves around this topic - is the following:
White and Whatever: Diversity in Children’s & Young Adult Book Publishing 3:55 pm – 5:10 pm
“The United States is an extremely diverse nation. But books for children and young adults hardly reflect that diversity. Only a small percentage of the books published every year are written and or illustrated by people of color. Many of these don’t make it to the market place. Why, in 2010, when the nation has elected its first African American president, is the book publishing industry still not meeting the need and demand for books that explore the width and breathe of our country’s multicultural experiences? This panel will explore the complex issues and suggest solutions to a problem that is garnering a lot of attention.”
I believe this will be broadcasted on C-Span and am looking forward to the discussion.
Picture book author looking to share booth this Sat.@ popular Harlem Book Fair. http://www.qbr.com/
Interested? Know someone who would be? Looks like a great promotional and selling event.
Please E-me: Writer Ross at g mail dot com
(Click on event name for more information)
Asia-Pacific Conference on Children’s Book Publishing~ Jul 1 - 3, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Storytellers of Canada 16th Annual Conference~ Jul 2 - 6, Saskatoon, SA, Canada
4th Iberian Congress on Literature for Children~ Jul 3 - 5, San Sebastian, Spain
18th International Poetry Festival of Medellin~ Jul 5 - 12, Medellin, Columbia
NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week~ Jul 6 - 13, Australia
Multicultural Children’s Literature Conference~ Jul 7 - 8, Boston, MA, USA
15th Tokyo International Book Fair~ Jul 10 - 13, Tokyo, Japan
SCBWI Tokyo Authors & Illustrators Networking Night~ Jul 10, Tokyo, Japan
9th Annual Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference~ Jul 14 - 18, Portland, OR, USA
25th National Children’s Book Day~ Jul 15, Philippines
10th Harlem Book Fair~ Jul 17 - 20, Harlem, NY, USA
Montana Poetry Day~ Jul 18, New Zealand
17th Storytelling Festival at the Edge~ Jul 18 - 20, Stokes Barn, United Kingdom
Children’s Books Ireland ‘Summer Stories’ Family Event~ Jul 20, Dublin, Ireland
19th Annual Children’s Book Fair~ Jul 21 - Aug 8, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Maori Language Week~ Jul 21 - 27, New Zealand
IRA: Heritage Language Literacy Development in SE Asia Conference~ Jul 22 - 23, Jakarta, Indonesia
Hong Kong Book Fair~ Jul 23 - 29, Hong Kong
13th Lima International Book Fair~ Jul 24 - Aug 3, Lima, Peru
22nd World Congress on Reading: Reading in a Diverse World~ Jul 28 - 31, San Jose, Costa Rica
Pia Ceres is LEE & LOW’s summer intern. She is a recipient of the We Need Diverse Books Internship Program grant. She’s a rising senior at Brown University, where she studies Education & Comparative Literature, with a focus in French literature. When she’s not reading, you can find her watching classic horror movies from under a blanket, strumming pop songs on her ukulele, and listening to her grandparents’ stories about the Philippines. In this blog post, she talks about her first book fair with LEE & LOW BOOKS.
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