A vibrant celebration of creativity is coming to Fairfield this month. The first annual Southeast Iowa Art and Book Fair will be held on Saturday, August 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. Admission is free and open to the public.
This inaugural event brings together over two dozen local and regional authors and artists for a one-day showcase of literary and visual arts. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the creators, purchase original works, and have their books signed—all while supporting the thriving arts community of Southeast Iowa.
The fair will feature a wide range of literary genres, including science fiction, fantasy, children’s books, literary fiction, humor, nonfiction, poetry, interior design, and more—offering stories and books for readers of all ages. The visual arts showcase will include fine art, paintings, and prints, with select works reviewed and curated by Maketricks Collective Arts.
“This is a day to celebrate the extraordinary talent found right here in our region,” said Douglas Rudder from RudderHaven, one of the event’s organizing partners. “We’re thrilled to invite the public to come experience and support the creative voices of Southeast Iowa.”
Tim Pelton of the Heartland Authors and Poets Society recounts how the event came about. “When my publisher told me he wanted to release my new book this summer,” Tim said, “my first thought was to find a book fair I could get into. I did some research and found book fairs all over the country, but they were either next winter, too expensive, or too far away. Then I remembered that, back in my old hippie days, I heard Stuart Brand, the founding editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, say, ‘If you can’t find a commune to join, start your own.’ It wasn’t that big a leap to ‘If you can’t find a book fair to join, start your own.’ And so we did.”
The Southeast Iowa Art and Book Fair is a collaborative initiative among the Heartland Authors and Poets Society, Maketricks Collective Arts, and RudderHaven Publishing LLC.
The Southeast Iowa Art and Book Fair will be held at Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, 200 N. Main Street, in Fairfield. For more information, please contact Leihua@Maketrickscollective.art or Heartlandauthorsandpoets@gmail.com.