At the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, we'll be in Alcove 3. We hope you'll come to see us!

The excitement builds as we approach time for the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. We've been sorting books and putting them in boxes for weeks now in preparation for the book fair. At this writing, we're only a week away, and as always, it seems like an insurmountable task to get all the selections made and everything ready for the short trek over to The Coliseum.

After 34 years, though, we know it'll all come together in the end.

We're looking forward to seeing many old friends who will be coming to town specifically for the book fair. We hope they'll make some time to take in some of the events that are a part of SunLit Festival, the springtime celebration of literature that begins today and runs through the next ten days, including the book fair next weekend. A lot of folks in town have been instrumental in building SunLit Festival 14 events in its inaugural year last year to more than 40 event this year. Follow the link to more information about the SunLit Festival.

When the book fair starts next weekend, you'll find us in Alcove 3, our usual spot. We'll have shelves and cases and tables full of all the books we specialize in, including Florida history, antique maps, vintage prints and more. We expect to see a lot of old friends both in the antiquarian book industry and book lovers who can't stay away from the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Most people coming to the book fair know what to expect but sometimes we encounter book lovers who haven't experienced the book fair before, and invariably, they'll wonder if they will be able to find something that suits their tastes – and their wallet. For the newly initiated fairgoer, we say that you can rest assured that you'll find books of all types, from very rare and very expensive to remarkable inexpensive find of delightful reading copies. We always have a table of $5 books, and we know that many other booksellers do, too.

Above, we're sharing a video that is running on local television stations to promote the book fair. It was made by visitors to the book fair last year.

More later, but we've got to finish packing.

We're in the Tampa Bay Times this weekend

SCOTT KEELER | Times (2014)

We're humbled and honored to be featured in Piper Castillo's Nightstand column in the Tampa Bay Times this Sunday. Thank you, Piper, Thank you, Colette Bancroft, Times Book Editor. Thank you, Tampa Bay Times.

The column was part of Tampa Bay Times coverage of the SunLit Festival, which runs March 4-13. This is the second year for the springtime celebration of literature, and oh, my, how it has grown! Last year there were 14 events over ten days. This year there are 46 events in the same time period. We're grateful for the coverage the Tampa Bay Times is devoting to this endeavor that is made possible by the efforts of so many people and organizations in town dedicated to the written word. The Times' stories come out on Sunday but they're available online at the links above.

It is gratifying to see the attention being paid to the books, writing and reading during this time. The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is now in its 34th year in the Tampa Bay area, and it's a pleasure to see the development of SunLit Festival. We're happy to be a part of it. When the book fair began, we held it at the University of Tampa in what once was railroad mogul Henry Plant's opulent Tampa Bay Hotel. It was a beautiful location but we've long since outgrown it. For many years now, we've been in The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg. It is a superb location for an antiquarian book fair.

We want to thank John Collins at the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, who has helped tremendously to facilitate the growth of the SunLit Festival, as well as other dedicated individuals such as Randi Hillesø at the Arts Alliance and Maureen McDole of Keep St. Pete Lit, who have worked so tirelessly to expand the vision.

We're' looking forward to a fun-filled SunLit Festival and Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Antiques, rare books, and cake! Oh, my!

We’ll be in Jacksonville this weekend for one of our favorite shows of the year — the Pilot Club of Jacksonville Antiques Show & Sale at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds Expo Center. We’ve done this show for many years and we’re always delighted to return. The show runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Florida history and Southern writers are well received at this show, so we’ve got plenty of selections as well as leather-bound books, antique books, and beautiful antique maps. We have a huge selection of maps in our map room, which is also our children’s library and our Civil War library. (Our regular visitors know exactly what we’re talking about.) Anyway, if you love antique maps (as we do) you owe it to yourself to come in and see our collection.

One thing patrons of the Pilot Club show always anticipate is the delicious desserts offered every year. It’s a side attraction to the antique furnishings, paintings, and, of course, antique books and maps, but sometimes you’d think it was the main attraction. We’ve seen otherwise reasonable antiquers come through the doors and make a beeline for the dessert table before looking at anything else. Oh, well! Life’s short! Eat dessert first.

German chocolate cake is always a favorite and we’ve no reason to believe that this year will be any different.

We’re always delighted to be working with Karyl DeSousa, the antiques show manager,  and Gail Pender, the dealer manager. The Pilot Club of Jacksonville is a volunteer service organization of professional businesswomen. The show supports the group’s charitable activities, helping the community.

The Pilot Club of Jacksonville was founded in 1921. The name was inspired by the riverboat pilots of the day “who represented leadership and guidance, staying on a steady course.” After 90 years, looks like the Pilot Club has lived up to that inspiration.

Why do you like used bookstores?

We've long admired the clever and entertaining videos posted by the folks at Bookman Bookstore in Orange, California. So when owner/filmmaker David Hess suggested we make a video together, we were more than happy to participate.

David, who has been making short films since he got his hands on a Super 8 camera when he was 16 years old, offered a script. We liked it and set about shooting our part. We've noticed over time that Bookman Bookstore seems to have a cadre of actor/staffers who frequently show up in his videos. We just have Mike and Sarah, and although they participate in their share of videos, they admittedly do so out of necessity, not for any great love of being in front of the camera. Besides, the script called for multiple characters who couldn't be played by either of them.

We were fortunate to find willing friends, who did an outstanding job in our estimation. Special thanks (in order of appearance) go to Diann O'Connor, who is an avid reader and participates in a local book club; Karleigh Chase, an actor who has appeared in local theater and independent films and recently returned from trip to Los Angeles and Vancouver for an indy production to be distributed nationally; Niki Smith, a local interior designer and long-suffering spouse of our video guy, T. Allan Smith; and Jason Dudney, a local entrepreneur who, so far as we know, has no aspirations as an actor but nevertheless possesses considerable camera presence. We appreciate your participation.

The video is called Why Do You Like Used Bookstores? We think the message is an important one. Local independent bookstores need the support of local book lovers to survive. We are grateful for the support we've received for almost four decades in St. Petersburg. If you agree, you're welcome to share this video with your friends.  We'd be very happy if you did.