The BIPOC Children’s Book Fair Teams Up with Oregon’s SMART Reading

BIPOC Book Fair Banner

We’re pleased to announce that volunteers from Oregon literacy nonprofit SMART Reading will be on hand at the BIPOC Book Fair to offer assistance to kids and teens in attendance in choosing books based on their interests. In addition, parents, teachers, and other adult attendees will get the opportunity to learn more about SMART Reading’s programs, the organization’s Children’s Book Bank, and opportunities for kids, schools, and volunteering.

The BIPOC Book Fair features books for kids ages 3 to 17 from all genres–including adventure, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, non-fiction, and more–all written by BIPOC authors with BIPOC characters. In addition to books available for sale, children and teens attending the book fair will select a book of their choice to take home free. (Get your tickets here!)

“SMART Reading is excited to partner with the BIPOC Children’s Book Fair,” says SMART Reading Program Director, Rashelle Chase-Miller. “Our mission is to bring the magic of a shared book to kids, and we believe that all children deserve access not only to quality literature, but to books that reflect and affirm their identities, families, communities and cultures. We look forward to helping children explore and find books to love at the Book Fair, and to sharing about our programs with families and community members!”

“Ensuring that every child can take home a book regardless of finances was a high priority for me in putting together this book fair,” says K. Tempest Bradford, author and Carl Brandon Society Steering Committee President. “I also felt that it was really important to give kids agency in choosing the book they want instead of having specific titles in a free pile. When I learned that SMART Reading has the same values around helping kids build their own personal libraries I knew they had to be involved.”

We hope to sell all the books the fair has to offer, but we anticipate some will be left over by the end of the event.  We’re raising funds so that CBS can purchase and donate any extra books to the Children’s Book Bank at SMART Reading, local schools, and other literacy programs.

Books will be sold by Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on science fiction and fantasy in the United States.

Attendees will be able to meet and get autographs from award-winning local BIPOC authors:

  • Nisi Shawl (Speculation)
  • David F. Walker (Naomi: Season One and Season Two)
  • Anita Crawford (Old to Joy)
  • Diana Ma (Heiress Apparently and The Unbeatable Lily Hong)
  • Brian W. and Josie A. Parker (The Wonderous Science and Crow in the Hollow
  • K Tempest Bradford (Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion)

BIPOC Book Fair Details:

  • When: December 23rd from 12 – 4PM
  • Where: Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232
  • Tickets: $5/person for attendees ages 3 and older – Order Online
  • A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
  • Masks are required for all attendees.

 

BIPOC BOOK FAIR NOW DECEMBER 23

Every kid gets a book for free!

We’re still having a BIPOC book fair and inviting all kids who want to be there to come. But we couldn’t get all the books in time.  So now we’re asking you to join us on Saturday, DECEMBER 23; that’s when we’ll be at Portland, Oregon’s Norse Hall with a bunch of books by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and all kinds of people of color. Each kid’s admission ticket gets them one free book and the chance to buy as many more books as they like. Bay Area and online bookseller Sistah Scifi is providing a wide selection of titles, fiction and nonfiction.

Meet Local Authors

That includes books by award-winning authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford–they’re coming too! Shawl and Bradford plan to read their books’ exciting parts and answer questions about writing, bugs, and ghosts.

Two advantages to this date switch (in addition to having the books on hand for sure).  First, we can entertain and distract any kids on school breaks who may be driving their parents nuts; second we can guarantee blissful last minute present shopping for those who celebrate seasonal gift-giving.

Masks are required. A limited supply will be offered onsite.

  • BIPOC Bookfair
  • Saturday, December 23 from noon to 4 p.m.
  • $5 admission per person, waived on request
  • Every kids’ admission includes one free book
  • Norse Hall is at 111 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232
  • Buy tickets via our Eventbrite page (a limited number will be available at the door)

Celebrating Octavia

Click here for the Celebrating Octavia video

Today, June 22, would have been Octavia Butler’s 76th birthday. To honor her, we gathered together some of Octavia’s fans and dear friends for a reading of The Books of the Living, the sacred text of the religion found in Butler’s groundbreaking (and prescient) Parable series.

Join Alaya Dawn Johnson, Andrea Hairston, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Henry Lien, John Jennings, K. Tempest Bradford, LeVar Burton, Linda Addison, Nisi Shawl, Piper J. Drake, Sheree Renée Thomas, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, Wayne Brady, and Yang-Yang Wang in celebrating our deeply beloved and missed foremother.

Join us in #CelebratingOctavia by sharing this video and by supporting us in honoring her legacy. Donations to the Carl Brandon Society help fund out major programs, including the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship, the Parallax and Kindred Awards, and (soon) the BIPOC Book Fair for kids.