Of Kerouac, the Flamingo, and a literary roast

I had a delightful time on Saturday hanging out with Tiffany Razzano, the driving force behind Wordier Than Thou, the literary arts organization. We were on the deck outside the Flamingo Sports Bar, Jack Kerouac's favorite St. Petersburg dive bar back in the Sixties. Wordier Than Thou is presenting a Literary Roast of Jack Kerouac Fundraiser from 6 p.m. to 9  p.m. on Sunday, January 20 at The Studio@620 in downtown St Petersburg.

We did a LIVE broadcast from there and over a couple of beers talked of various things literary in St. Petersburg. The original was broadcast on Facebook but there's recording of it embedded above. 

Tiffany told me she had developed the idea for a literary roast with plans to roast living local authors. Funny thing, there were no takers. Local writers didn't want to be targets of gentle, good-natured mockery. Hmmm.

So she turned her attention to authors who couldn't take umbrage, and Kerouac, with his local connection (he lived here about five years) seemed to be the perfect choice. Perhaps. Some say Kerouac's spirit haunts Haslam's Book Store. If so, might he make his way to The Studio@620? Who knows? You can bet he'd have had plenty to say if he were alive.

– T. Allan Smith

What you missed on the Rare Book Cafe on Saturday, including a special limited-time, limited quantity ticket offer

So, on Saturday on the Rare Book Cafe,  we announced the special offer you see at the top of this blog. It's something we've never done before so this is an experiment of sorts -- and an opportunity for you, book lovers.

For a limited time only, you can purchase four tickets for the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in April at a special price and save $10. The key is that you have to act quickly because there are only a limited number of these tickets available and it is available only for a limited time. Be sure to use the special code to unlock this hidden ticket offer. The code is in the graphic above. The button below will take you right to the Eventbrite.com page for the book fair.



Our guest on Saturday's show was veteran bookseller GiGi Best Richardson, a longtime exhibitor at the book fair. GiGi and her husband Skip have just opened the Best Richardson African Diaspora Literature and Culture Museum in Tampa.

You can view the Rare Book Cafe episode below.

With 118 days left before the book fair, tickets are available at a special price for a limited time so act now to get them

This is the sort of secret that might have to be kept a secret in the dark. And it seems as if that's what Allan is doing in this very first (very dark) LIVE video broadcast on Facebook today. This is the beginning of the much awaited coverage of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. At this writing there are just 118 days left until the book book fair. Depending on how you look at it, that's a lot of time or just a little.

For us at the book fair, it seems like just a flash. The book fair will here before you know it. In the meantime, we'll be doing a series of LIVE chats on Facebook and elsewhere to keep you updated about the developments for the book fair.

In this particular video, we reveal the secret code you'll need to purchase tickets for a limited time only at a special price. You can buy two three-day tickets for just $15. This is a special price for book lovers while we're still in the middle of the holidays. So, as you might expect, this isn't going to last long. In fact, it ends on New Year's Eve, just as the old year is closing and the new one is on the way.

But don't wait until late on Monday night to decide to make your purchase. Do it now. Why? Because there are only a limited number of tickets available at this special price.

You'll need the secret code. It's mentioned at the end of the video. Watch the video (actually you can just skip to the end.) Get the secret code and enter it on the Eventbrite.com page for the 38th annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. (Look for the place where it says Enter Promotional Code.) Type in the code and you'll reveal the specially priced tickets.

Subscribe to the posts on the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair blog and you'll get notifications when there is something new. 

Congratulations to the winners for the 2018 Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize: five young women who love books

Word comes today of the 2018 Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize winner and runners-up. It was announced in The Paris Review daily blog. The winner is Jessica Jordan, a graduate student in English at Stanford University and former bookseller. Her extensive collection of books illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winning artists Leo and Diane Dillon captured the judges' attention. The couple worked together for half a century and produced illustrations for children's books, magazine covers, and adult paperback books, some of which are shown in the images accompanying this post.

Heather O'Donnell and Rebecca Romney, owners of Honey & Wax Booksellers in Brooklyn, N.Y., created the prize last year to encourage young women book collectors. It is open to women book collectors under 30 years old. The winner receives $1,000. Four runners-up are chosen, too, and they receive $250 each. Congratulations to the winners. We are proud to provide tickets to the next Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in April to all the winners.

You can get more information about the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize on the bookstore website.