By Leaves We Live 2009: A celebration of artists' books and small presses

The annual one day fair at the Scottish Poetry Library. Browse a range of stalls and displays, and choose from events running throughout the day.

Saturday 26 September 2009, 11-6 pm.

The annual one day fair at the Scottish Poetry Library.

• Stalls, displays and talks.
• Drop in to browse or buy
• Meet publishers, artists, editors, and poets from Scotland and beyond
• Listen to talks artists' books and publishing

For readers, writers, artists, designers, publishers – all welcome. All events are free.

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Exhibiting artists and presses

There will be lots of new exhibitors and regulars, including:

20x20magazine; Artist Book Group; Artists Books Online; The Caseroom Press; Essence Press; David Faithfull; The Fruitmarket Gallery Bookshop; Rag-and-Bone Shop Books; The Ingleby Gallery; Hamish MacDonald; Magma Poetry Magazine; Mariscat Press; Metal Rabbit Editions; The Owl & Lion Gallery; Read This Press; Red Squirrel Press; Roncadora Press; Salt + Shaw; Scottish Pamphlet Poetry; Stichill Marigold Press; Mary Thomson; Unbordered Artist' Books (Susie Goodwin & Anna Davis); Wild Hawthorn Press: the Archive of Ian Hamilton Finlay; Writers' Bloc.

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Events

A schedule of talks will run throughout the day. All are approximately 30 minutes long, no booking required.

12 noon     The Elements of a Book
Bookbinder Isabelle Ting from the Owl & Lion Gallery talks about the process of making a book and answers your questions about bookbinding. A special opportunity to see samples and tools close up and hear an expert talk about her art.

1.30pm   JURA eastward/westward
David Faithfull talks about an artist book created on the Isle of Jura in collaboration with the poet John Burnside, and produced for the Scottish Book Trust and the Isle of Jura Distillery.

2.30pm   9 Things To Do On Holiday
SALT + SHAW talk about how location influences the production of their artists' books. An exploration of words, artefacts, images and stories specific to place.

3.30pm   Indie Publishing: a DIY Guide to Making Books
Novelist and indie publisher Hamish MacDonald will guide you through making a simple chapbook, present other types of DIY binding you can do with common materials, and explain how you can print the inside pages of a book.

4.30pm   Pamphlet Collaborators
Hugh Bryden of Roncadora, winner of the Callum Macdonald Memorial pamphlet publishing award, talks about the process of trying to find a balance between the poetic and visual elements in a pamphlet. Poet Hugh McMillan will join him to read from their recent collaborations.

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Exhibition

25 leaves for 25 years

The Scottish Poetry Library strapline since 2004, taken from the words of philanthropist, teacher and town planner Sir Patrick Geddes, is: "by leaves we live". In response to these words, a group of artists and writers have joined with us to celebrate our anniversary by donating 25 beautiful images of leaves. These will be displayed in the library during the fair.

Visit our online gallery of the leaves, featuring Brigid Collins, Anne Bevan, Norman McBeath, Claire Melinsky, Nicola Murray, Gerry Cambridge, Helen Douglas, Ann Ross, Laurie Clark, Julie Lacome, Sylvia Von Hartman, Iain McIntosh, Jane Alexander, Morven Gregor, Liz Lochhead, Alexander McCall Smith, Mary Hutchison, Stephen Raw, Jean Johnstone, Rachel Hazel, Holly Hayward and Gail Turpin.

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"By Leaves We Live" is an annual event at the Scottish Poetry Library. The theme changes each year to reflect areas of interest in the poetry and art publishing world.

For further information contact Julie Johnstone: julie.johnstone@spl.org.uk