BOOKS GO LIVE! – The London International Antiquarian Book Fair

The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association’s London International Antiquarian Book Fair features a range of special activities in the LIVE! zone at this year's fair which will be held at the National Hall, Olympia from Thursday 13th to Saturday 15th June 2013. They proudly present a variety of events: Lectures, Guided Tours and workshops, which will appeal to experienced collectors and bibliophiles as well as those just starting out.

Among the exhibitors in the LIVE! section of the Fair, visitors will find a number of associations, societies and companies, who all deal with aspects of making or conserving books, but are not themselves booksellers.

Look out for the innovative exhibition 'Books NOT Books', featuring an outstanding collection of items - either books posing as other objects or objects posing as books (see separate release).

A special area has been set aside for the many workshops taking place across the three-day Fair. Alongside these will be demonstrations at exhibitors’ stands. Many of these have been designed to attract and include younger visitors.

The Fair's official charity partner, the St. Bride Foundation - created in the 1890s and housing the only library in the UK devoted to the history of printing and allied crafts – will offer workshops and lectures. When the new Printing Workshop (re)opened in 2010, it brought the teaching of printing back to Fleet Street. Chief Executive Glyn Farrow will be giving a talk about the Foundation and its important contribution to the preservation (and transmission) of the arts of printing, typography and design. For those keen to have a go, the Foundation will offer wood engraving, letterpress workshops and demonstrations on all three days of the Fair.

Other LIVE! activities include: Modern, Contemporary and Historical Sewing; Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Care of Books; Digital Photography for Booksellers and Collectors; How to Make a Manuscript Book; Try Your Hand at Calligraphy; Bind a Book in 30 Minutes, and you can also find out about Literary Publishing.

This year's Lectures given by ABA members, all experts in their field, include: Leo Cadogan on Death and Beauty in Popular Religious Book Art (highlights include a 1745 mass book for the dead with a paper skeleton pasted to its covers); Carl Williams of Maggs Bros. Ltd will offer a unique insight into collecting ‘Counterculture’ - a rare opportunity to hear one of the very few experts in the field. There will also be a helpful introduction to collecting books by Jolyon Hudson of Pickering and Chatto.

On Saturday, visitors have a chance to join Guided Tours around the Fair with one of the ABA experts. A perfect opportunity to find out more about a certain area of collecting - whether you already have a book collection or are just beginning. Shaken and Totally Stirred (Literary Heroes in 20th Century Literature) is an introduction by Adrian Harrington to some of the great names in recent literary history; Brian Lake of Jarndyce brings the classics of the 19th Century to life and explores the importance of first editions; Christopher Edwards takes visitors on a tour of all things Shakespeare.

Further Guided Tours will encompass: illustrated books and decorative bindings (Camilla Szymanowska, Bernard Quaritch Ltd); science books (Andrea Mazzocchi, Bernard Quaritch Ltd); the literature of railways (Julia Elton, Elton Engineering Books); mountain exploration and climbing books (Barbara Grigor-Taylor, Cavendish Rare Books) and introductory tour of Ephemera (Valerie Jackson-Harris, Quadrille).

There will also be a rare chance to see booksellers engaging in physical work, when they show off their skills in the inaugural book packing competition on Friday 14th June at 4pm.

GO LIVE! at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair, Olympia!

13th to 15th June 2013, National Hall, Olympia

>>> For more highlights, the book fair programme and all detailed information, please visit the official website www.olympiabookfair.com