Book party: recap + photos
On a lovely Sunday evening, September 8th, 2024, my publisher Laura of Illuminated Press* and I launched the second edition of It’s OK to Be Sad in Toronto. (Three years and two book launches in, it’s still dreamy to be able to write the words “my publisher”…)
Meeting in the arts co-op store Bazaar on College Street, with family, new and old friends, friends of friends, and snacks, we celebrated the book, the bookmaking, the readers, and—of course—the FEELINGS. Laura and I started with a note on how the project came to be, why the book was made, and what the drawing and design process looked like. I shared some drawings that didn’t make it to the final book (but that became prints from the “solo” series).
Then I did a reading, from the new, second edition copies that I was seeing and meeting for the first time! (Laura had driven them over from Ithaca.) Perhaps my favorite part was the most robust and tender Q&A session that came afterwards. What did I leave out? Which came first, the drawings or the text? What could we say to someone whose sadness doesn’t seem to be going away at all? If you were there in person**, thank you so much for joining, for asking excellent and curious questions, and for our side conversations. I feel so lucky to get to do this, and to get to share it with all of you.
We had books for sale from the current, second edition version (a limited run of 300 copies) and some prints of drawings from the book. More copies of the books and the prints are available for sale in shops around Toronto, including at Bazaar on College Street, Made for Me Marketplace on Dundas Street West, and Savile Studio and Market on Roncesvalles Avenue. If you’d like your copy of the book to be signed or inscribed, happy to do it, just send me a message. Our limited edition launch postcards are available with books for sale, until they run out.
Books are also available for sale in the United States at the Illuminated Press website and select bookstores. If you’re looking to order online for delivery in Canada, I’ll be listing the book on my website soonish.
If you have a copy of the book from either the first or the second edition, look inside the back cover and you will see a handwritten number. It will say, “Out of an edition of 200 books, you are holding number 11,” which is what my personal first edition copy says . I love that Laura included this line. In a time when so much is digital, it’s nice to have handwritten, handmade work, each limited edition copy made with care and good old manual labor.
*Laura runs Illuminated Press from Ithaca, New York. The press explores and shares artist's books, literature, and social change, aiming to bring light amid darkness and uncertainty. Laura’s work is tactile and vivid and gorgeous. It’s also handmade: she makes the paper, she prints the text letterpress, and she binds the books by hand. She works mostly solo, with occasional help from friends and interns.
**Were you at the event? Do you have photos or reflections of your own to share? I’d LOVE to hear from you.
