three upcoming small press fairs: the TIFA Small Press Market (Toronto), The & Books Market (Mississauga) + the ottawa small press book fair,

above/ground press is participating at not one but three small press fairs this fall! (and that's not including the two we're unable to make this time around). Catch above/ground press at The TIFA Small Press Market, 11am-5pm, Harbourfront Centre, September 21 in Toronto, at The & Books Market, October 5 in Mississauga (where Christine McNair will also be on a panel with her new book, by the by) and, of course, at the thirtieth anniversary edition of the ottawa small press book fair, November 16 in Ottawa. Hooray small press fairs! Unfortunately, we're unable to make the Fisher Small and Fine Press Fair at the University of Toronto on September 7, or the Meet the Presses Indie Lit Market on November 17 in Toronto (Cecil Community Centre at 58 Cecil Street, noon to 4:30pm), but I'm sure those events will still be great without us. Right?

above/ground press at the TIFA Small Press Market at Harbourfront Centre Toronto this Saturday!

above/ground press (that's me!) will be exhibiting as part of the TIFA Small Press Market this Saturday from 11-5pm: you should come by! I'll have a whole slew of above/ground press new and recent items, and will be joined by a wealth of other incredible small publishers.

https://festivalofauthors.ca/event/small-press-book-fair/

Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto M5J 2G8

please come! huzzah!

Here's the full list of incredible small presses that will be participating!

Invisible Publishing
knife | fork | book
Anstruther Press
Simulacrum Press
above/ground press
Puddles of Sky Press
Coach House Press
Wolsak & Wynn Publishers
Gordon Hill Press
Proper Tales Press
Teama Publishing
Augur Magazine
nOIR:Z
Dumagrad Books
Gap Riot Press
Book*hug Press
Serif of Nottingham
Nietzsche’s Brolly

All presses attending are also part of TIFA’s Interactive Small Press Map of Canada.
https://festivalofauthors.ca/small-press-interactive-map/

three upcoming small press fairs : Toronto (Fisher + TIFA) + Ottawa (ospf,

above/ground press will be participating in THREE small press book fairs this fall!

Fisher's Fine and Small Press Fair, September 10th, 10am to 5pm (University of Toronto, Toronto ON)

TIFA Small Press Market, September 24th, starting at 11am (Toronto International Festival of Authors, Toronto ON)

and the ottawa small press fair: November 12, 2022, noon to 5pm (Ottawa ON

might we see you at any of these?

above/ground press is on TIFA's interactive small press map of Canada!

In case you didn't see, Kate Siklosi and Dani Spinosa of Gap Riot Press partnered with the Toronto International Festival of Authors to construct an interactive map of small and micro presses across Canada! And an interview with me on above/ground press, where I speak highly of recent titles by George Stanley, Misha Solomon and Amanda Earl, lives there as part of it! It is all very impressive. [remember when they hosted a small press fair? that was totally fun. I wrote a whole slate of reviews following the event, even] The map is incredible, with short interviews and features with small press publishers from across the country, some of whom I hadn't been previously aware, including natalie hanna's battleaxe press, Karen Schindler's Baseline Press, Canthius, Kyle Flemmer's The Blasted Tree, Sacha Archer's Simulacrum Press, Marilyn Irwin's Shreeking Violet Press, jwcurry's Room 302 Books, Dessa Bayrock's post ghost press, Mallory Tater and Curtis LeBlanc's Rahila's Ghost Press, Geoffrey Nilson's pagefiftyone and a whole ton of others. You should check it out!

above/ground press at IFOA's Small Press Market + Small Press, Big Ideas: A Roundtable, Saturday, October 26, 2019

Saturday, October 26, 2019 - 12 - 5pm
Special Event: 40th Festival Edition | Festivals | Free Events
West Bays, Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto M5J 2G8
Cost: Free

Join us for an afternoon in celebration of the small press and its roots as a driver for creative exchange! As part of the 40th anniversary edition of the Toronto International Festival of Authors, the Small Press Market will feature twelve of Canada’s most prominent independent presses:

above/ground press,

Augur Magazine,

Baseline Press,

Coven Editions,

Gap Riot Press,

Invisible,

NoirZ,

Proper Tales Press,

serif of nottingham editions

and Simulacrum Press.

Explore their collections of chapbooks, zines and more, to uncover the big ideas created by these small shops. Admission is free and registration not required.

FOLLOWED BY Small Press, Big Ideas: A Roundtable
Panel Discussion, Q & A: 40th Festival Edition | Festivals
Studio Theatre, Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto M5J 2G8
Cost: $18

Join us for a special presentation in celebration of the small press. We’ll learn about the strengths and challenges of the small press by hearing from some key members of the community, and exploring the roots of the chapbook and the zine as objects of creative exchange. Featuring rob mclennan, Stuart Ross, Dani Spinosa and Terese Mason Pierre. Event co-curated and moderated by Kate Siklosi, author and co-founding editor of Gap Riot Press.

some author activity: mclennan, Archer, dueck + Earl,

rob mclennan and Sacha Archer have new poems in the first issue of where is the river :: a poetry experiment; nathan dueck has new work up at Lemonhound; and Amanda Earl reads next week at Toronto's Harbourfront, as part of the International Festival of Authors.

some author activity: Braune, Smith, Beaulieu + Barwin,

Sean Braune has a new essay posted as part of the "On Writing" series at the ottawa poetry newsletter; Jessica Smith is part of a new group publication, RADIO 11.8.16, recently posted by Essay Press; Braydon Beaulieu and Natalie Zina Walschots have started hosting Full Hearts, a podcast "about love and gaming"; and Gary Barwin answers five questions for IFOA.

2016 Battle of the Bards: Best, Maguire, Pinder and Weaver

above/ground press authors Ashley-Elizabeth Best, Shannon Maguire, Sarah Pinder and Andy Weaver participate in the 2016 Battle of the Bards alongside Lara Bozabalian, Chris Chambers, Warren Clements, Michael Fraser, Marty Gervais, Susan Glickman, Maureen Hynes, James Lindsay, Kate Marshall Flaherty, Ruth Roach Pierson, Vanessa Shields, Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes, Blair Trewartha, Daniel Scott Tysdal, Katerina Vaughan Fretwell and Bänoo Zan!

Poetry NOW: 8th annual Battle of the Bards

Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 7:30 PM
Special Event: IFOA Weekly
Brigantine Room
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto M5J 2G8
Cost: $10/FREE supporters, students & youth 25 and under
http://ifoa.org/events/poetry-now-8th-annual-battle-of-the-bards

1 stage. 20 poets. 1 winner.

Our popular poetry competition returns in 2016 to feature readings by 20 of Canada’s upcoming and established poets. Judges Geoffrey E. Taylor (IFOA’s Director), Jen Tindall (IFOA’s Artistic Associate) and Andy McGuire (winner of 2015 IFOA Poetry Games) will select one winner, who will receive an automatic invitation to read at the 37th edition of the International Festival of Authors AND an ad for their book in NOW Magazine!

The event will be hosted by NOW’s Susan G. Cole.

Poetry NOW is presented in partnership with NOW Magazine.

above/ground press at IFOA: Pirie + Young at the Battle of the Bards

Two above/ground press authors, Pearl Pirie and Deanna Young, participate in the 7th annual Battle of the Bards / Poetry NOW event at Harbourfront, Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 7:30pm. Good luck to them, and all the rest of the authors! Check here for further information and a complete list of competitors.

above/ground press at IFOA: George Elliot Clarke, Peter Norman + Christine McNair,

Okay, so perhaps that's a bit of a stretch, but three authors previously published by above/ground press are featuring in Toronto as part of the 34th annual International Festival of Authors (October 24-November 3, 2013; Toronto): Peter Norman at the Poet Summit on October 26, as well as at a second event the same day; George Elliott Clarke on November 1 and again on November 2; and Christine McNair at the Poet Summit on October 26 and again on October 27. I'll be accompanying the thirty-seven-week-pregnant McNair to our first ever IFOA. Looking forward to it!