Art Book Fever

I haven’t been a student in over five years, but every September, as the air changes, I’m moved by the urge to gather notebooks, pens, and books as if they were nuts and berries for the winter. The current art book fair boom isn’t helping: In New York City alone we had the annual Brooklyn Art Book Fair and the East Village Zine Fair in the summer. And this September, two new fairs joined the packed circuit: The Booksmart Fair and the Rehearsal Art Book Fair. Instead of hosting its blockbuster New York Art Book Fair (which often takes place in September or October), Printed Matter revived the Los Angeles Art Book Fair for the first time since 2019. Art book fairs are basically Scholastic Book Fairs for adults. And while fairs come and go, art books are here all year.