report: Fisher Small and Fine Press Fair 2026

This past Saturday, above/ground press participated, once more, in the Fisher Small and Fine Press Fair in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, which was pretty cool. I mean, I've been there a few times [see my report on the 2022 fair here], but this is my first visit since Star Trek: Discovery filmed part of an episode in this space, which made it far cooler (naturally). They've been holding small press fairs in the space every two years or so since 2013, and I think this either my third or fourth fair, after the first, the 2022 event and now (I think I also attended the 2015 fair, but I can't find a record for such).

The fair leans into more letterpress works, so publishers such as myself have been invited on more of a rotating basis, given the space is only so large, but this time around, the first floor space was held as an overflow, featuring more of the small chapbook presses, including myself, Knife Fork Book [above], Anstruther Press [above] and Proper Tales Press (Gap Riot Press had been scheduled, but they were unable). The main floor, below us, held many of the usual suspects, including Flycatcher Press, Book*hug Press, Wesley Bates, Grayweathers Press/The MacOdrum Library Book Arts Lab at Carleton University, George A. Walker and Coach House Books.

There was even Jason Dewinetz [above; above/ground press author of a quarter century back] of Greenboathouse Press, who I hadn't seen in person in some two decades-plus, so that was quite nice.

It was good to see above/ground press author Ken Norris (one of the most published authors through the press, at this point; his new title is forthcoming momentarily) and Toronto writer, artist and lawyer Kate Sutherland [above], who I hadn't seen in a while. Poet and critic Bruce Whiteman came by, briefly, as did Canadian poet Sheila Stewart, Victoria writer/editor Kathryn Mockler, former Ottawa-based poet Barâa Arar, above/ground press authors Cary Fagan and Lillian Nećakov and Mark Goldstein and plenty of others. It was far busier than I might have thought, given the small press material was a bit of a side-bar for the letterpress publishers, but there was a consistent crowd most of the day. above/ground press author Conal Smiley (with a new title with Anstruther, by the way) came by to introduce himself, which I appreciated. Always good to actually meet my own authors, face to face. Although it was rather odd to have a couple of tour groups float through, twenty-plus circling our tables, taking photos of the space. Keep moving, keep moving. But an impressive day, all in all.

[Jay MillAr, Book*hug] A young person floated through, introducing themselves as the partner of above/ground press author Noah Sparrow (I didn't catch his name), in Toronto for two years for school; we ended up in a half-hour long conversation on late 1980s Montreal punk bands, which was cool. As well, Brendan Allen introduced himself as a long-time admirer of the press, having been mentored by above/ground press author Megan Kaminski in Kansas, as well as spending time at Temple University, interacting with such as Philadelphia poet Pattie McCarthy and above/ground press author Kevin Varrone, among others. Clearly this fella, in Toronto studying digital poetics, has some very good taste in mentors.

above/ground press participates in the Fisher Fine and Small Press Fair at the University of Toronto, Sept 19, 2026

Given the success of their prior small press book fairs, The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is once again holding a small press fair in their space! See my report on their 2022 fair (I wasn't able to make their 2024 event).

Come by and see what above/ground press (and numerous other publishers) have been up to lately. I mean, there's a lot happening, quite honestly (and watch soon for 2027 subscription information).

"The Fisher Library will again be hosting some of Canada's finest book and print makers and artists when it hosts the 2026 Fisher Small & Fine Press Fair. A biennial event since 2013, this year's fair will be larger than ever, with plans to use the library's seminar room, the Maclean Hunter Room, as well as the exhibition area."

The date: Saturday September 19, 2026
The time: 10am-5pm

Location: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, 120 St. George St. (corner of St. George and Harbord)

https://library.utoronto.ca/event/fisher-small-fine-press-fair

report: Fisher Small and Fine Press Fair 2022

So: this past Saturday above/ground press was in Toronto as part of the Fisher Small and Fine Press Fair, an event that has returned after a three-year (covid) hiatus! Plenty of (masked, mostly) fun was had by all, and I was even able to introduce the chapbook rack that Christine found a while back on one of her buy-nothing groups (honestly, it worked far more effectively than I might have considered, so expect to see it returning for future fairs). It was good to get the whole top row-plus of the festschrifts I've been putting together over the past year, able to actually sell copies of some of them, which is nice (oh, so that's what these are).

This was actually the fourth curated fair in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto (and a limited curation, given the physical limitations of the space), as librarian John Shoesmith originally founded the event around an exhibit of small press items from their collection that above/ground press happened to have items as part of (which is how I got invited). I was there for the first event (which Ryan Pratt was good enough to recap over at his blog), and even the second! Apparently the hopes is to curate a new version of the event every two years, so hopefully they can get back on that particular schedule for future events.

Ken Norris

Bruce Whiteman and Ken Norris

Christopher Patton (right) with his new above/ground press chapbook

Kirby, who radiates joy

And I was able to see so many folk I hadn't seen in moons! Why does Ken Norris (who lives in Toronto these days) look no different now than he did twenty years ago, when I last saw him? I mean, I've done numerous chapbooks of his lately (his tenth above/ground press title landed this past July), so it isn't like we haven't been in touch, but odd to think how long it's been since anything in-person. It was also good to see folk such as Aaron Tucker (with a new knife fork book title), Ralph Kolewe (who has a forthcoming Talonbook, the manuscript of which expands upon his above/ground press title), Christopher Patton (who I met for the first time, coming by to collect his copies of his new above/ground press title), Drew McEwen (should we do another chapbook? we should probably do another chapbook), Lindsay Zier-Vogel (honestly, I simply presumed we'd met years earlier at something, so it was good to finally correct that), Cary Fagan (who mentioned I'd published his stepson in an issue of Touch the Donkey, a connection I wasn't aware of), Bruce Whiteman, etcetera. So many people!

Should I mention I spent the afternoon pretending not to eat an egg and bacon English muffin? Probably not, given it was in a library, after all. Fortunately, I am very effective in my pretending. Other exhibitors included Aliquando Press, Alan Stein/Church Street Press, Art Metropole, Book*hug, Coach House Books, George A. Walker, Greyweather’s Press, JackPine Press, k|f|b, Liz Menard, Massey College Press, Natalie Draz, Nietzsche’s Brolly, Porcupine's Quill/DA, Shanty Bay Press and Wesley Bates.

Given the hour it took to drive in from Andy Weaver's house out in Burlington on Saturday morning, I secured the "final table" in the space, set between JackPine (doing some neat things I hadn't seen physical copies of for some time) and Massey College Press (college printer Kit MacNeil is clearly doing some interesting things worth paying attention to), who were doing some very cool things, including allowing the public to letterpress print upon wee postcards! I collected a small handful of publications, although not terribly much (Kirby exclaimed, when I went to check out the k|f|b table: Why are you looking? You have everything!), and even managed issue five of JUST LIKE CREAM BUT WORST that Daniel F. Bradley handed over when he wandered by (we traded publications, naturally), which includes a new interview he conducted with Alice Burdick (email him at fdriveshesaid (at) gmail.com if you might be interested in attempting a copy).

Tim Inkster explaining something to Jay MillAr, as the Right Honourable Marshall Hryciuk
prepares his own table in silence

And: sales were good enough, audience was good enough, most folk were masked, so that was all good.

Stephen Cain and Andy Weaver

And after: I even got to hang out with Andy Weaver and Stephen Cain. And the drive home? Hitting the Big Apple, of course, to collect nonsense as wee gifts for the children. I think I got them pens with different coloured inks, and some Pez. Who doesn't love the Big Apple? Scream until your mother stops the car, I say. Oh, and there's another small press fair I'm returning to Toronto for on the 24th, curated by Kate Siklosi as part of TIFA; and of course, the ottawa small press book fair in November. Might we see you at either of those?

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?

some author activity: Barwin, Hancock, McNair, Ladouceur + Fisher Small Press Fair: a report,

Gary Barwin writes on the work of Nico Vassilakis over at Jacket2; Brecken Hancock features at In/Word's The Reading Series in Ottawa on September 25 (Clocktower Pub, 575 Bank Street, 9pm); Christine McNair and Ben Ladouceur get mentions over at the Toronto Book Dump; and Ryan Pratt was good enough to mention above/ground press (among other presses, such as BookThug) in the report he posted over at his blog on the Fisher Small Press Fair we recently participated in at the University of Toronto.

above/ground press participates in the fisher small press fair at university of toronto, september 7, 2013

Fisher Small Press Fair

To celebrate the small and fine press publishers whose work is represented in the current exhibition A Death Greatly Exaggerated (including above/ground press), the Fisher Library is holding its first-ever small press fair. We're extending the exhibition for an extra week into September and holding the fair on the first Saturday of the month.

Featuring many of the publishers represented in the exhibition, the fair will provide visitors the opportunity to meet these talented and dedicated publishers, chat with them about their work, and to purchase their books and items. It will be a special event that you won't want to miss!

Confirmed publishers include: Coach House Press, Porcupine's Quill, Ewa Zebrowski, George A. Walker, Shanty Bay Press, Alan Stein/Church Street Press, above/ground, Greyweather's Press, Thee Hellbox Press, John Grande's Go If Press, Imago Press, Thomas Dannenberg, Pas de Chance, Lindsay Zier-Vogel's Puddle Press, as well as above/ground press and Chaudiere Books. Check this link for more information, and updates on more publishers as we confirm their participation.

Saturday September 7, 2013
10 am-5 pm
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, 120 St. George St. (corner of St. George and Harbord)