Yesterday I went to a small press book fair put on by The Toronto Small Press Group here in Toronto and have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.  Normally my experiences with small press functions have been comprised entirely of people in what my friend Claro calls the “anarcho-hipster spectrum”.  Here in Toronto we have LOTS of anarchists who love showing off just how anarchist they are.  And don’t get me wrong, a lot of their zines are really amazing, but when the only people that attend and take part in these are the same, they’re just preaching to the choir.  The book fair yesterday took away my hesitation for coming.  There were some “anarcho-hipsters”, yes, but there were also middle-aged Wiccans selling history on Queen St. West, semi-formal old men with science-based poetry, teenage manga lovers pimping out their webcomic and a man who called out to me and said “excuse me, can I interest you in a story about people who have penises for faces?”.  Wonderful mix of people and only $20 got me quite a few presents for the holidays (some I admittedly don’t want to give up).

And now I’ve been bitten by the Small Press Bug, it seems.  I find I’m waiting with anticipation for any more events coming up and I’m looking at Microcosm Publishing and just drooling over some of the lovely finds there (including the art of Cristy Road).  And I’m also considering putting a little something together myself.  We’ll see where that goes, but right now I’m still getting over how awesome itis that I’ve found so many talented individuals.

So let’s see where that takes us.