This September 7, the Harlem Book Fair will enter its next quarter-century, returning to upper Manhattan to celebrate its 26th anniversary. The event, said founder and publisher Max Rodriguez, is intended as a “rebirth” of the historically Black neighborhood’s literary lineage, under the theme of “literary rɛvəˈluʃən (revolution).”
“We spell it phonetically because it alludes to our creative process” and to the particular power of language in Black culture, Rodriguez said. “Language, words, writing, storytelling—all dear and near to us and how we have survived and thrived in whatever adverse conditions have been presented to us.”
For Rodriguez, who is also the founder of QBR, the Black Book Review, the fair is also a personal rebirth of sorts. After a quarter-century at its helm, Rodriguez said that he planned to shutter the fair after last year’s event; he said he felt that “I had done my work,” and was ready to “do something more” following a pandemic that drastically changed the logistics of in-person events.
“I had always been asking, where does this go? At some point in our careers, in our lives, we simply want to invest in our other visions,” Rodriguez said. But whenever he mentioned his intentions to someone, he said, “The response was always, ‘You can’t do that. The Harlem Book Fair is an institution.’”
Rodriguez found a way forward with the help of publishing veteran Yona Deshommes, who has since taken over operations. “It allows me to build and to extend my vision for the book fair,” said Rodriguez, “which is why we say now one of our taglines is ‘global.’”
A global focus is indeed reflected in the Harlem Book Fair’s program offerings this year. In addition to the fair’s 14 panels and roughly 100 exhibitors this year, it has partnered with Harlem’s own Caribbean Cultural Center Diaspora Institute (CCCDI), which will see authors of Haitian backgrounds prominently featured in the programming. The exhibit “Lakay se Lakay,” which translates to “Home is Home” in Haitian Kreyòl (Creole), will host panels on optioning books for film, workshops with editors and book influencers, and a program track for young readers; one panel will bring authors Mildred Antenor, Edwidge Danticat, Francesca Momplaisir, and Ibi Zoboi into conversation with author Roxane Gay.
“We wanted to highlight the first Black republic,” said Deshommes, who is of Haitian descent. “How more revolutionary can you get than that?”
Deshommes, CEO of Riverchild Media, recalled being a junior publicist when she attended her first Harlem Book Fair. The feeling, she said, has stuck with her for over 20 years: “My eyes just got big with wonder, because all I saw was us: Black and brown, beautiful faces, people that loved books as much as me. And then trying to figure out which panel am I going to go to because they’re all good and all my favorite authors are there.”
Deshommes and Rodriguez aim to recreate that feeling this year. While Deshommes stressed that this year’s show is “going to definitely be a different vibe and a different experience,” she noted that “one of the things that Maxwell has always done well over years has been creating these discussions that are not your typical discussions. So people should expect to still have their minds and their souls stimulated.”
Rodriguez added that, as technology continues to democratize the publishing process, the fair will also increase its focus on authors putting out books outside the traditional book publishing business. “We have always insisted that—though we have hosted the Maya Angelous, the Sonia Sanchezes and the Walter Mosleys of the world, the book fair also has to be a place where those whose voices have not yet been heard can find an audience,” he explained. “The Harlem Book Fair is certainly home for them.”
Still, the traditional book publishing business remains central to the fair’s ongoing mission and its sustenance. Among the fair’s supporters and sponsors this year are such publishers and book business organizations as Amistad, Atria Books, Bowker, HarperCollins, Lee & Low Books, Legacy Lit, Macmillan, Mariner Books, NYUPress, Quarto Books, and Victoria Sanders & Associates, as well as the organizations Black Women's Lives Matter and WOCStar and the office of New York District 9 Councilman Yusef Salaam.
When looking for support for the fair, Deshommes said, she specifically reached out to those in the industry who have championed Black imprints. Those included, she noted, Libby McGuire of Atria Books and its Black Privilege Publishing imprint, Krishan Trotman of Legacy Lit, and HarperOne group president and publisher Judith Curr, who oversees the historic Black imprint Amistad at HarperCollins—and with whom Deshommes worked earlier in her career, during Curr’s tenure as president and publisher at Atria.
“I contacted her personally, because she has had an entire career working with BIPOC authors that goes back decades. In 2008, when we had a financial crisis, Atria soldiered on as other imprints shuttered,” Deshommes said, of Curr. “And what are the first ones that closed? All the ones of color.”
With cultural institutions celebrating the centennial of the Harlem Renaissance, Deshommes said, the Harlem Book Fair is more important now than ever. “All these years, we’re always fighting for a place at the table. Why not create our own table,” she asked, “so that other authors and people in publishing will come and work with us?” She continued: “We’re here, and we’re readers, and we can affect change in publishing, and give authors and readers a place to continue to be seen.”
Rodriguez agreed, adding: “Here we are, just planning into the next 25 years.”
