Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL Antiquarian Book Fair

Attendance was up…

at the Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL Antiquarian Book Fair March 14, 15, & 16, 2003 for a total of 2230, 174 more than the 2002 Fair and the second highest on record, reports Larry Kellogg, fair manager.

I was at the show as a seller this year, my second time as a dealer but 4th or 5th time attending the show. I like the show from both perspectives: it is extremely easy to set up a booth as a dealer and the facility is a beautiful building so attendees have a lovely and comfortable setting in which to spend time shopping. The Coliseum is the place where the dance sequence for the movie Cocoon was filmed. With wood floors, a balcony and stage, and lots of twinkle lights hanging down from the domed ceiling, the setting is much less austere than the shows which are held in big warehouse-like buildings.

This was the 8th year in this location and the 22nd annual fair. The “St. Pete” book fair had 116 dealers from 26 states and countries (including Canada and Germany) so the international flavor has been maintained over the years. Sponsored by FABA (Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association), the show has had a waiting list for many of those years (I don’t know the early history of the show). This year there were 22 new dealers who were selected from the waiting list of 70. If there is a last minute cancellation, Larry calls numbers down the waiting list and the first person who agrees to come gets the booth – he doesn’t have the time to wait for callbacks – his job is to make sure that the booths are rented and he is relentless in getting the job done! There is a formula for the total number of FL dealers, FABA Dealers and out-of-state dealers and placement on the list to keep the show interesting to a wide variety of collectors.

The most expensive book I saw FS was Hemingway’s first book: Three Stories and Ten Poems offered for $65,000 by Between The Covers, ABAA, Merchantville, N.J. Tom Congalton, owner. I have a ‘worst’ category but I’ll let it go.

I’d like to highlight a unique dealer at the show: Costin Graphics had only one book for sale. And it hasn’t been finished as of yet (actually it is not bound so isn’t really a book). And I purchased one page of it 2 years ago and it has already appreciated almost 50%!

Another interesting dealer was Haslam Marbled Papers. Debbie Haslam was demonstrating how to make paper and selling individual sheets of the finished product. You could ask for specific colors and watch it being made or just select from various colors and sizes already to wrap. This paper can be used by book binders or crafters.

Both booths added a nice touch to the show. There was also an insurance company at a booth handing out information on the cost of insurance book collections and a table of handouts. Not present this year were Alibris and ABE, both prior exhibitors.

Attendance aside, how were sales with the war looming at any moment? Well, the best response I received when I asked a number of dealers the question was from John Berryman: “The Fair far exceeded my lowered expectations!”. Can a response be any more oblique? John (Sandy & John Berryman Fine Books, Orman Beach, FL) is a long time fair dealer and I’m guessing he has answered this question more than once! Over the years I’ve heard dealers complain about sales, brag about sales and hedge about reporting exact sales but this response has to be the best I’ve heard yet.

Isn’t that always the way?

If you have an interest in visiting or showing at The Tampa/St. Pete Book Fair, contact Larry Kellogg at flapr@tampabay.rr.com for further details (or call 727-822-3278). Next year’s show will be March 12-14th starting at 5:30 PM on Friday night. Saturday hours are 10 am to 5pm and Sunday hours are 11am to 4pm. The $6.00 ticket is good for all three days but is not refundable if the weather isn’t at least in the 70s! Attending the Florida fair is a very good way to get a jump-start on spring because chances are very good that the weather won’t disappoint you.

Respectfully submitted,

Madlyn Blom, Punta Gorda, FL http://www.CenterAisleBooks.com Member IOBA, FABA

The Arizona Book Festival – April 5th, 2003

On Saturday, April 5th, I participated in the Sixth Annual Arizona Book Festival, held for the first time at the historic Carnegie Library (Phoenix’s first public library) on West Washington Street in downtown Phoenix. The event started at 10 a.m. and officially wrapped up at 5 p.m.

The Festival is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council, the Maricopa County Library District and the Arizona State Library.

It is a free event held to celebrate the book in all its forms. It features four stages on which a continuous program of panel discussions, readings, author talks, question and answer sessions, and even theatrical performances are held. Attendees can attend the presentations, buy books, have books appraised, and even attend cooking demonstrations (and sample the results). There is even a special children’s area with a program of hands-on activities and storytelling. This year a featured guest for the children was the famous character Dora, from the acclaimed Nickelodeon show “Dora the Explorer.”

The Carnegie Library first opened its doors on February 14th, 1908–four years to the day before Arizona became a State. The building served as the main Phoenix Public Library until a new spacious site was constructed in a more centralized location a little to the North and East. The building underwent a $1.3 million rehabilitation in the mid-1980s and has most recently been equipped with public-access computers through which visitors will have access to a wide range of information.

Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and philanthropist, funded the construction of more than 2500 buildings worldwide between 1898 and 1919, two-thirds of which were built in the United States.

The building now houses the Arizona Woman’s Hall of Fame Museum.

A variety of food vendors were in attendance as well, providing everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to Mexican Food and Indian Fry Bread.

I have been participating as an author guest at this event since they first started and always look forward to spending a pleasant day with fellow authors and booklovers. This year some 150 published authors attended. I do not yet know the attendance figures for this year, but last years attendees numbered some 14,000.

Dozens of booths displayed books and book-related literature. Booksellers, educational institutions offering classes about literature, small press publishers, special interest groups and clubs all offered pamphlets and merchandise, answered questions and generally spent the beautiful day smiling. The temperature remained in the 70s throughout and there was a light breeze that occasionally gusted and sent things flying. It was not uncommon to see sun-reddened faces by the end of the day.

I found this year’s event significantly different from previous outings because of the change in venue. For the last five years, the Festival was held at the Margaret Hance Deck Park located behind the main Phoenix Library downtown just West of Central Avenue. At the Deck Park location (actually a park located over a downtown transit tunnel) the crowds could be quite large because passers-by could see the tents and banners and curiosity would bring them to check things out. Since it was at the normally busy Main Library, people would spend time at both and the audiences for specific presentations could be rather large. Parking was on the site and very convenient.

At the Carnegie Library, the chance of attracting passers-by is significantly reduced. There is less street traffic, especially on the weekend, and parking is somewhat less convenient – though there was free parking nearby. The available space is somewhat more confined making the event appear smaller. The grounds of the Carnegie Library are fenced and gated, however, so the site is considerably more secure.

Essentially, the change in venue made the Arizona Book Festival a destination point instead of drop-in event. From what I observed, the crowd was smaller than in previous years, though no less enthusiastic.

The guest authors are sponsored by various clubs and organizations like Sisters In Crime, the Arizona Authors Association, and (in my case) by the Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society. Modest Grants are given to these groups to aid them in attracting well-known authors who will attract fans to the event and provide a high profile.

My sponsors brought Hugo Award Winning Author David Brin (author of Startide Rising and Earth) to Phoenix from San Diego, and the balance of the authors participating with us this year were already resident in Arizona, including Jennifer Roberson, Doranna Durgin, Ernest and Emily Hogan, Michael Stackpole, Dennis McKiernan and myself. And, remember, the Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society is only one of many clubs sponsoring author appearances.

We conducted our panel discussions at one of four program areas–ours was called the Literary Stage. Following a reading by David Brin, panel topics included Writing Influences, World Building and Writing In Someone Else’s Universe.

Featured authors at the event included Jack Gantos, Kent Haruf, J.A. (Judy) Jantz, Maxine Hong Kingston, William Kittredge, Annick Smith, E. Annie Proulx and Alberto Alvaro Rios.

In conjunction with the Arizona Book Festival, there is another program called OneBookAZ, a statewide effort that brings readers together through literature by asking each adult to read the same book and participate in discussions and programs throughout the month of April. This year’s selection is Kent Haruf’s Plainsong. There is a separate selection for children, Jack Gantos’ Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.

All in all, it was a beautiful day and a fine time was had by all.

Adam Niswander adamn@worldnet.att.net Phoenix, Arizona

Author of The Shaman Cycle Novels: The Charm, The Serpent Slayers, The Hound Hunters, The War of the Whisperers, The Nemesis of Night and The Primal Pipers; as well as non-Cycle novels The Repository, and The Sand Dwellers.

The Neutrino Effect by Michael E. Kirshteyn

The Neutrino Effect

E-book, 552 pages

13 figures $6.95

ABOUT THE BOOK

Told from Vlad’s perspective, the story unfolds as a first-person account of the great events shaping man’s first encounter with extraterrestrials. This exciting narrative brings us right into the character of Ustinov, as we learn of his childhood and his fascination with NEUTRINOS, the sub-atomic particles that give shape to the universe. His theory is that the constant flow of neutrinos in the universe can be tapped to create a transmission frequency capable of reaching billions of miles into outer space. His theory gains him early admission to a prestigious science institution in Russia, and he graduates with honors, going to work on a top-secret weapons project for the New Soviet Union. After a terrible accident that costs the lives of many friends and co-workers, Vlad defects to the States, where he takes a teaching position and begins New World Science Industries with a small group of like-minded colleagues.

Fifteen years later, Vlad is older and somewhat wiser, a rich and respected research specialist whose company has contributed to the betterment of all mankind through advances in power generation and quantum light physics. His core team of eccentric scientists and philosophers include the brilliant Xan Huxley, a half-Asian physicist with a mind towards understanding “the beauty of the equation.” Herbert Eastman, Xan’s partner from a long-abandoned Neutrino research effort in the Antarcticas, is a nerdy young man whose passion in life is for speculative science and digital perfection. David and Lindsay Romano are the lovers of the group—David, a raging ego and outrageous joker with a lust for life, Lindsay the mother hen of New World. They are each brilliant mathematicians and hard workers, while they keep everyone grounded in a family atmosphere. Rounding out the core group is Harry Northrop, an aged former engineer, now head business administrator for the company. An ex-alcoholic and chronic womanizer, Harry is about to go through an ugly divorce and is battling the temptation to give in to his old youthful ways. This is Vlad’s family.

On Christmas Eve 2076, a practical joke gone awry at an office party ironically leads to the discovery that allows Vlad Ustinov’s team to build the first-ever Neutrino-based transmitter. Shortly thereafter, they beam their first message into space, under the watchful eye of General Jake Vicobs, a robust middle-aged go-getter in the new American government who has championed the various reforms that have helped humanity pull back from the brink of self-destruction. The transmission is a success . . .but our transmissions quickly attract another watchful eye.

The eye of the Ign’takk.

In their own language, they refer to themselves as The World Builders—a highly-telepathic race of aliens whose technology and wisdom is millions of years in advance of ours.

In an attempt to prevent us from utilizing the limited Neutrino bandwidth as a transmission frequency, thereby exposing ourselves to potentially hostile invasions by other civilizations, The World Builders quickly journey to our planet and initiate an explosive confrontation. In the fiery aftermath, thousands of their crewmembers end up scattered across the continental united states—a photosynthetic race of subservient creatures called the Truh’ll’zst, which in the language of The World Builders means ‘from the light.’

A conference with the president is quickly organized to discuss the crisis. Vlad Ustinov and his team are invited by the aliens to attend and are given carte’ blanche at the White House as negotiations for peace and plans for the capture and removal of the Truh’ll’szt from earth are discussed.

After an exciting series of encounters and confrontations, including the invasion of our world by a war-loving race of feudal barbarians known as the Shkk Renn, a deal is struck with the World Builders in which they are allowed room on our world to conduct research and create outposts. In exchange, they will protect the Earth from further invasions and allow us to become students of their science.

Speaking for the World Builders is a headstrong female ambassador, whose name—Or’hikk—literally means Wise Light. It is her fascination with the enigmatic Xan Huxley that brings her to the decision to unite her people with those of earth. Though her feelings of love are cloaked in denial, she cannot slight her bond with Xan, and the two become close friends and liaisons. Various intriguing subplots regarding the supporting characters develop as the story progresses, each building to a climax.

Amidst all this intrigue and action, Vlad Ustinov becomes ambassador to the World Builders, and he shares many adventures with them as they fight to protect our planet and battle the invaders who set upon us. As these adventures mount, an intriguing dynamic develops between humans and aliens, one in which the World Builders must learn to overcome their self-righteous position as a superior race, and accept humankind as the unique and fascinating species we truly are. Along the way, Huxley and Vicobs conspire against the powers of our government to execute a radical new experiment in organic matter transportation that will lead to an unprecedented leap forward for our people—and the universe. This bold action on our part also helps to decide our nobility in the eyes of The World Builders. In this way, the title of the book now refers to both humans and aliens, as we each struggle in our own way to build the future.

In the end, Vlad must deal with the tragic death of his comrade Harry Northrop at the moment of humanity’s most selfless collective act—when we, as a species, decide to give up our newly-claimed relocation planet to a race of nomad aliens who are left without a home when their star system goes supernova.

Filled with nonstop action and intrigue, and written in a quick and friendly prose style sure to attract readership of all ages, THE NEUTRINO EFFECT is thoughtful, character-driven science fiction recalling elements of Heinlein and Asimov, while possessing a powerful voice all its own. The story threads weave together to create an allegorical fable tinged with reality, and finally topped by a super surprise ending.

In a literary universe of stock pulp serial characters, Vlad Ustinov is an offbeat and refreshing change of pace. A chronicler of history to come, and a hero for the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raised in Cincinnati and educated in public schools, he eventually found his way to the University of Cincinnati and, over the protests of the school administration, managed to annex a series of degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science and Computer Engineering, up to and including a Ph.D. He infiltrated a series of companies and climbed the corporate ladder, ignoring all cries of outrage, until he found himself hitting the glass ceiling. He is married to Vlada Berman, a business analyst with whom he shares two children. The Kirshteyns live in Cincinnati, Ohio.