The Bow Market Book Fair, a collaboration between Tiny Turns Paperie, All She Wrote Books, Side Quest Books and Read My Lips, is back Saturday for its sixth year with bookseller pop-ups, an author panel, signings and an evening literary drag trivia and charity raffle event.
The first fair was organized in March 2020 by Jen Palacio, who owns Tiny Turns, and Christina Pascucci-Ciampa, who owns All She Wrote. Palacio and Pascucci-Ciampa opened their businesses during the same week in April 2019 and decided it would be a fun collaboration to celebrate almost a year in business.
“March is a time when people are starting to get out, it’s not quite spring but it’s not really winter anymore, and we wanted to do something that could be inside and outside,” Palacio said.
Palacio and Pascucci-Ciampa gathered people and businesses they knew that were books- and stationery-focused.
“It started as more of a market style, and now it’s grown into what we’re doing now with author panels and author signings, and we’re only seeing it continue to grow from here,” Pascucci-Ciampa said.
The first book fair was the last event at Bow Market before it shut down for the Covid pandemic; because of its largely outdoor presence, Palacio and Pascucci-Ciampa haven’t missed a year since. Side Quest Books and Read My Lips joined for the past year, and both are now part of the organizing panel.
This year’s event, centered around the theme “Reading as an Act of Resistance,” runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an after-party in Upstairs at Bow from 7:30 to 11 p.m.
The fair kicks off with an interactive story time for children in the Remnant Tap Room featuring “A is for Activist” by Innosanto Nagara, “Harry the Dirty Dog” by Gene Zion, “Strega Nona” by Tomie dePaola, “Little Blue Truck” by Alice Schertle and “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt. Outside in the courtyard, weather permitting, kids will have access to play and crafts such as postcard making.
“The books chosen focus on expressing emotions, whether it’s expressing something that’s wrong or something you’re proud of,” Palacio said.
Read My Lips, a diverse romance pop-up bookstore, expects to set up in Dearly Studio on the second floor of the main courtyard from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., as Saus at Bow Market hosts its annual cookbook swap. Attendees can bring a book to swap or buy one from Saus’ used selection.
During that time, All She Wrote will sell books in Upstairs at Bow alongside the Narrative Bookshop and Somerville Public Library, fundraising for Friends of the SPL with used books. Lend A Hand Designs, Indestructible Food, One More Chapter Candle Co., Migration Goods and My Gaping Masshole are part of the book-themed market in Upstairs at Bow.
Afternoon programming includes an author panel – “Writing as an Act of Resistance” in Union Tavern at noon – and book signings with authors in the Remnant Tap Room from 1 to 4 p.m. Final details are being confirmed, Palacio said, but authors include Luna McNamara, Tara Tai, Aislinn Brophy, Max Gladstone, Maiga Doocy, Makana Yamamoto, Elizabeth Bear, Laura Brown, Kate Cochrane, Shelly Jay Shore, M.J. Etkind and Hannah Reynolds. Tickets are required for the panel; the link will be shared on the book fair’s event page this week.
Bow Market businesses will have specials all day, including a jalapeño watermelon cocktail with blanco tequila, lime juice and agave (nicknamed a “tequila mockingbird”) from Saus and a meal of carnitas torta with pinto beans, pico de gallo and pickled onions on a bolillo roll from Taquisimo. Maca, Bow Market’s macaron shop, pops up in the Remnant Tap Room. Tiny Turns Paperie plans a sidewalk sale of previously loved books to benefit 826 Boston, a nonprofit writing, tutoring and publishing organization in Roxbury that supports students in grades K-12 and beyond. A dollar from each sale in the shop will also go to 826 Boston. Side Quest will sell used books on the second floor of Bow Market, with proceeds going to the ACLU. At Dearly Studio, each purchase comes with a stamped love note postcard.
“We wanted to lift up literary and social justice charities in line with our theme and everything happening in the world right now, and also provide specials for people to make the day even more fun,” Palacio said.
Last year, the event saw between 3,000 and 5,000 people throughout the day, Palacio said. Pascucci-Ciampa hopes to see that number grow.
“The Cambridge and Somerville area definitely loves a good book fair, loves an opportunity to meet authors and hear authors speak about their writing, so I think this year is going to be a hit,” Pascucci-Ciampa said.
The literary drag trivia and charity raffle after-party in Upstairs at Bow is to support We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit that advocates for increased representation in young literature. The party is free to enter, but tickets are required to join trivia hosted by Mx. Mingle. In addition to the prizes for winning teams, two winners will be drawn from the raffle during trivia intermission and at the after-party kickoff.
“The after-party will be people who love books drinking and dancing, and we think it will be a fun way to wrap up the night and celebrate a long day,” Palacio said.
Sixth Annual Bow Market Book Fair at 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Free.
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