ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Whale West Asheville is inviting adult readers to relive the Scholastic book fairs of their youth in a new way at a “Whaleastic” book fair this weekend.
The Whaleastic Grown-Up Book Fair will be held between 1 and 5 p.m., Saturday, April 12 at The Whale, 507 Haywood Road.
The event will feature six different local booksellers, as well as local authors and artists. The sellers include:
Each seller brings a different personality to the local book market.
For a few vendors, the book fair will be the only place to find them until their next event. Chapters Book Stop and Cuentos y Café are both mobile booksellers.
For others, the event is a new way to support a local favorite. For instance, while Firestorm’s brick-and-mortar shop is right down the road from The Whale, the radical bookshop will bring a curated selection of reads to Whaleastic.
“It’s a fun way to get out in the community and sell books in a different kind of environment,” said Justin Souther, senior buyer for Malaprop’s Bookstore. “I guess a way you’d think about it now is kind of a pop-up.”
For Cuentos y Café owner Tamara Olmedo, the book fair is an opportunity to put her stamp on the book fairs she loved growing up.
“I would look at all the shelves, and I love books and I would love going to the book fair, but I never saw books, or rarely ever saw books with any kind of representation in them,” Olmedo said. “I think what I’m enjoying and what I’m excited about is being part of a book fair and finally being able to show that representation in what’s being offered.”
Olmedo’s display will heavily feature books by queer and BIPOC authors as well as books in the Spanish language.
“I think that’s the most exciting part for people who find this,” Olmedo said. “Like, oh, yay, there are all these amazing authors that are finally getting attention in a way that they normally wouldn’t.”
For more information, visit The Whale West Asheville Facebook page.