Reviews & Web Hype

Houston Indie Book Festival: A Review by Kirby Johnson

hibf-300pxI missed my chance to attend last weekend’s Houston Indie Book Festival because I was caught up in various Mother’s Day events; however, I was able to get in touch, through Signe Cluiss, with Kirby Johnson, cofounder/coeditor of NANO Fiction and one of the organizers of the festival. I asked her if she would write some of her thoughts about the day, and after the break I’ve posted what she kindly sent back.

This past Mother’s Day NANO Fiction, Gulf Coast, Domy Books, and CLMP got together to sponsor the second annual Houston Indie Book Festival. The event featured book sellers, publications, and presses from the Houston and Austin areas and was held in the front and back patios of Domy Books. I was asked for a short review of the day so here it goes. 

Warning, as a co-organizer of the event my opinion is completely biased. 

What is so wonderful about the Houston Indie Book Festival is that there is no other event in Houston that seeks to bring readers, writers, bookstores, and publishers together. In fact, there are only a handful of literary festivals in Texas and the closest one to Houston is the corporate sponsored Texas Book Festival in Austin. Small presses, bookstores, and publications often work alone with little help from their peers or outside groups, they get lost among the ranks of chain bookstores, and many are only known about through word of mouth.   

The HIBF does its best to compensate for this lack of unity and invite every local literary group it can for this once a year convergence of the Houston literary scene. As a result, 25 “independent” lit. organizations came together to trade and sell books, meet the public, and meet each other.  

The only downside to this was a lack of planning or consideration for the weather. In fact, as I attempted to put my thoughts together for this review, all I could remember of the day was the sweaty sunscreen grease on my forehead, in the folds of my arms, and the beads of sweat that collected in my boob crack. Everything that happened throughout the day, the readings, the weird guy in a black suit, Dee the wonderful woman from Kaboom Books, and the slightly hung over guy from Dark Matter who  sold me this awesome book (see picture), was a blur.4f83810ae7a0293f2e1fe110_l

However, the more I reflected and the more I moisturized the pealing skin on my arms and face, I realized that the day hadn’t completely been overshadowed by the temperature.  A lot of great stuff happened during the festival by everyone just coming together and hanging out.  

Those of you who live in the Houston area should check out some of these bookstores, magazines, and publishers: 

Bookstores: Brazos BookstoreKaboom BooksBlue Willow BookshopSedition BooksThe Menil BookstoreDark Matter Books, and Heights Books-Libros.  

Magazines: Gulf CoastNANO FictionBat City ReviewArt Lies, and R2.  
 
Independent Publishers: 
Effing PressArte Publico PressBlue Cubicle PressBright Sky PressPanhandler Publishing, NAACPencils, and Projective Industries Press

Thanks, Kirby, for taking the time to do this, and thanks, Signe, for helping.

Everyone, click on some links.

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15 Comments

  1. Kirby's Mom

      I loved everything you wrote- except “boob crack”. Brilliant review despite your departure from decorum.

  2. Kirby's Mom

      I loved everything you wrote- except “boob crack”. Brilliant review despite your departure from decorum.

  3. pr

      I liked boob crack. It made you so vulnerable and funny. Great review.

  4. k

      i am thoroughly embarrassed.

  5. k

      i am thoroughly embarrassed.

  6. Gene

      Boob crack!

  7. Gene

      Boob crack!

  8. michael j

      …uhh, considering I just moved to Texas from Cali… considering I will be living in San Marcos for the next two years…. considering how isolated I felt from the writing community… considering whatever the fuck else… you purely have made not only my day, but the rest of my year.

      Seriously man. Thanks for posting this. I am working my way to apply to UTA (or other schools) in the future, and knowing that their program consists of the Bat City Review, makes me excited to apply.

      Thanks again.

  9. michael j

      …uhh, considering I just moved to Texas from Cali… considering I will be living in San Marcos for the next two years…. considering how isolated I felt from the writing community… considering whatever the fuck else… you purely have made not only my day, but the rest of my year.

      Seriously man. Thanks for posting this. I am working my way to apply to UTA (or other schools) in the future, and knowing that their program consists of the Bat City Review, makes me excited to apply.

      Thanks again.

  10. RRita Mills

      We are in the planning stages of a book festival that will be held at the Children’s Museum……….we are wanting to highlight children’s books, but parents have to bring their kids to the museum, so we will also have adult titles there………

      We would love to get you involved with it if you have time………our projected date is Nov 6 & 7, 2009…………Rita

  11. RRita Mills

      We are in the planning stages of a book festival that will be held at the Children’s Museum……….we are wanting to highlight children’s books, but parents have to bring their kids to the museum, so we will also have adult titles there………

      We would love to get you involved with it if you have time………our projected date is Nov 6 & 7, 2009…………Rita

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      http://www.CreateSpace.com/3417274

  13. Freez Eternal

      Dear Love… Love, Freez by author/poet, Freez Eternal
      ‘Dear Love…’ is a profund collection of a man’s triumphs and struggles with love past, present and future. Freez is able to give insight to women from the heart of a real man. Gentlemen are allowed to feel vulnerable as the text highlights pros and cons of love, especially where bad decisions and happenstance is concerned. The text is table ready, book club worthy and bedside friendly… A pleasure for any reader!” – Se7en
      http://www.CreateSpace.com/3417274

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