Treasures We're Bringing: Stephen King, signed

From Blind Horse Books, Key Largo:
 Stephen King. The Eyes of the Dragon. Signed with Inscription by King on the half title, dated 7/18/92. /For Dan – Best Wishes/. New York: Viking, 1987 Illustrations by David Palladini. (8vo) cloth-backed boards, Dust jacket. First Trade Edition. 326 pages.

TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the antiquarian books, rare volumes, and special titles dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Hope you enjoy it. Watch for more.

Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers touts Book Fair

We're delighted that Stand-Up Libriarian Meredith Myers will be working to help draw attention to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair this year.

Meredith, who holds a masters degree in library science, performs stand-up comedy at libraries and book events across the country. In connection with the Book Fair, Meredith will make appearances around the Tampa Bay area to highlight this year's theme, Children's Literature: Pages of Wonder.

In this video, Meredith introduces herself, gives a brief tour of her studio, and reveals her favorite childhood book. Meredith has been performing stand-up comedy for a dozen years, ever since she checked out a library book (of course) on comedy.

Meredith designs and constructs her own literary-themed costumes and accessories. During a visit to the Book Fair three years ago, fairgoers expressed interest in her book-themed purse and she sold it on the spot. That led to her development of a literary fashion business. You can find out more about Meredith at StandUpLibrarian.com and StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com

Feel free to share this video and others we'll be posting here soon. We want everyone to know about the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair and our celebration of children's literature this year.

Sad loss of O.J. Brisky brings liquidation of store

O.J. Brisky looks over one of the thousands of books at his store, O. Brisky Books, in historic downtown Micanopy
in this photo by Jon Singley in the Gainesville Sun. Here is a link to an excellent article about O.J. that appeared
in the Gainesville Sun. 

We are saddened at the passing of colleague O.J. Brisky, who operated O. Brisky Books in Micanopy for decades. O.J. was a founding member and stalwart supporter of the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association. For many years, he was an exhibitor at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. He is remembered for his sly wit, his exceptional intelligence, and vast knowledge of antiquarian books.

O.J. was a fixture on Cholokka Boulevard in Micanopy, where he opened his 55,000-volume store about a quarter century ago. He specialized in Florida history, military history, natural history, art, and architecture volumes. Many book dealers coming to Florida in the spring made O. Brisky Books a stop on the way. Before he moved to Micanopy, O.J. owned a book store in Tarpon Springs.

Fellow bookseller Gary Nippes, who is a regular at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, is supervising the liquidation of O. Brisky’s. He’ll have the store open only on the weekends, and expects the process to take four to six months. Beginning this weekend, February 15 and 16, all books in the store will be 50% off. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be closed on March 15 and 16 so that Gary can be at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

If you have questions, you can reach Gary at (352) 466-3910 or (352) 373-4541.

Pass this on to someone who will appreciate it

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair theme for 2014 is Children's Literature: Page of Wonder. We're featuring a series of quotations from children's books and from writers about children's books. We hope you enjoy them. Please feel free to share them with people you think will appreciate them.