More than 60 authors and vendors set for Trenton Book Fair
More than 60 authors and vendors will participate in the Trenton Book Fair on Saturday, Oct. 10, bringing readers and writers together to celebrate books, storytelling, and the literary community.
The outdoor book fair will be held along West Lafayette Street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. In inclement weather, the festival will move to several local venues, including Classics Used and Rare Books and Much Better Studios.
Donna and Eric Maywar, owners of Classics Used and Rare Books, founded the Trenton Book Fair. The event last took place in 2013.
The first 50 guests who register and are not vendors will receive a Trenton Book Fair tote bag. An additional 250 non-vendor guests who check in at the event on Oct. 10 will receive totes while supplies last.
With so many authors based in and around Trenton, Donna Maywar said she wanted to bring the book fair back and give writers an opportunity to showcase their work.
“We plan to have a different theme every year,” she said. “This year is ‘The Year of the Black Writer.’ There are other people who are not Black who are participating.”
The Maywars have been in the book business for 25 years. They began in New Hope more than two decades ago and eventually brought their business to Trenton after recovering from a flood.
Their entry into the book business grew out of their shared love of reading. “ [My] mom always instilled in me a love of reading. I always loved physical books,” Maywar said. “My husband is a writer. He has an MSA. We both love to discover and go to used bookstores. We were students in Philadelphia when we met.”
Today, Classics Used and Rare Books, located at 4 W. Lafayette St., serves as both an independent bookstore and a community hub. The store specializes in used books while also carrying new titles by local authors, including both self-published and traditionally published works. Authors who own publishing companies also bring writers to the store for events.
For Maywar, that sense of community is one of the most rewarding aspects of the business. “The most rewarding thing is having people come together,” she said. “It’s community. A reader gets to meet their new favorite author. It’s just people who love books and reading, being in one place and celebrating.”
Among the featured authors scheduled to participate are Wahida Clark, a four-time New York Times bestselling author; Rashad Malik Davis, winner of the 2017 Best Indie Book Award and the 2019 Best Indie Illustrator Award for the Carefree Like Me series; Michael J. McLaughlin, winner of the Best Thriller Book Award; and Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers, author of 3/5th an MC: The Manufacturing of the Dumbed Down Rapper.
J. Robert Clark, author of Shadow of Ashes, will also participate. Clark is a science fiction and fantasy author, U.S. Navy veteran, IT professional, husband, and father. His stories explore curiosity, possibility, resilience, and the idea that growing older should never mean losing the ability to believe in the unbelievable.
Writing was not initially part of Clark’s career plans. He became interested in it in his mid-30s after having a dream that he thought would make a good story. He began jotting down ideas and experimenting with writing, but the process took years. “I tried procrastinating,” he said. “Jotting things down randomly. It took almost 10 years to write the first [book].”
Without formal writing instruction, Clark researched the craft online while working to develop his characters and make his stories flow. He also read widely to strengthen his knowledge and add authenticity to his work. “I started reading psychology books, technology books, to expand my knowledge and be accurate as can be,” he said.
Friends and family offered feedback along the way. Clark initially viewed writing as a hobby and a passion project, but as he continued, he began to recognize that he had developed a talent for it. As he approached the final year of writing, he paid for professional copyediting services before publishing. All of his books are self-published, and the Trenton Book Fair will be his first book fair.
“I’m a bit excited about it,” Clark said. “Being born in Trenton makes it special. My very first book fair happens to be in my hometown.” Clark currently lives in Willingboro, but his connection to Trenton remains strong.
In addition to promoting his work through social media, Clark has been participating in comic cons and is working with others to organize a book tour and additional author events. One of his biggest challenges is balancing writing with a full-time job and raising a family. “Fitting the time in, making sure to spend time with my wife and kids, having the quiet time, it’s a hard balancing act,” he said. “My youngest is seven years old.”
For aspiring writers, Clark offers simple advice. “Whatever your thoughts are, write them down. Just because you haven’t done it before, that’s no reason you can’t do it now.”
For more information about the Trenton Book Fair, visit trentonbookfair.com. The Trenton Book Fair is also on Facebook.
