Austinites, prepare for a nostalgia overload as the School-tastic Book Fair for Grownups returns for its second edition on May 16.
School-tastic brings together more than 30 local vendors, book-themed tattoos, a yearbook photo station, raffle prizes benefiting the children's literacy nonprofit BookSpring, and an expanded roster of activities that reflects both the enthusiasm generated by last year's inaugural fair and the growing ambitions of its small but mighty organizing team.
This literary event is conceived by Mike Graupmann, founder of storytelling collective Story Assembly and producer of Mortified, a live show where locals show off childhood "artifacts" to share personal narratives.
"[The book sale] started as a conversation between my friends about how much we all loved the book fair days from our elementary school years," says Graupmann. "We were all inside kids who read constantly, so having a day at school that celebrated reading in this way was always so formative."
The group knew they wanted to include Austin's bevvy of independent booksellers and a charitable component as well. Thus was born the first School-tastic event.
One of the many nostalgic activities at this book fair is a yearbook-style photo session. Photo by Minerva Villa
The inaugural book fair, held last October at the Baker Center, drew a warm reception and an unexpected wave of online attention.
"Almost immediately, we started getting asked by folks on TikTok about when we were going to bring the book fair to their cities," Graupmann says. The organizers, a team of four friends working in their spare time, have held off on expanding to other cities for now, though Graupmann says outside help could make it possible one day.
What they did do, though, is dramatically scale up their Austin event this year. They've moved venues from the Baker Center to the much larger East End Arena at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Center in East Austin, allowing them to double their vendor count from last year.
The lineup is a veritable who's who of Austin's book scene: general booksellers like First Light and Reverie Books sit alongside romance specialists Finney's and Flutter Romance Bookstore, queer-focused stores Bookwoman and The Little Gay Shop, and Cedar Park's Secret Lantern Books and Games, which focuses on fantasy and board games. The Austin Used Book Collective, a coalition of independent booksellers, will also be there.
Curio Mrvosa makes the trip from Taylor, TX, with a specialty in spooky and macabre titles. Austin Books and Comics brings graphic novels and games, while independent small presses American Short Fiction, Awst Press, and Host Publications represent the city's literary publishing community.
"There is something for literally every kind of reader," Graupmann says of the lineup.
Non-bookseller vendors include Paper Place, Pride Socks, and Tomo Mags. Literary nonprofits on deck include the Austin Public Library, the Library Foundation, Inside Books Project, Put It In a Book, and even Austin's beloved We Luv Video.
Unlike the book fairs of the 90s, this one will also include a tarot reader, drag queen story time, a tattoo station, an arts and crafts section co-hosted by the Austin Book Arts Center and the Texas Lego User Group, and, courtesy of Adult Recess, a 20-foot indoor parachute. Because why not combine the book fair with the best part of P.E.?
"We just kept imagining what else we could include to make the experience as immersive and nostalgic as possible for the adults in attendance," Graupmann says.
This book fair for grown ups will take place from noon to 5 pm at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex's East Arena at 1156 Hargrave Street. Tickets ($16 in advance, $20 at the door) are available now with some of the proceeds benefiting BookSpring, which gives books to children in under-resourced communities.
