Recently I've been thinking about book fairs and what it takes to successfully set up a booth, at least the technical aspects of doing so — what books to bring is up to each individual bookseller. Some dealers prefer to pack afresh for every fair, targeting their stock to the customers they know have come in the past (great if they come back), or to the city in which the fair is held (photography in Rochester, NY, or automobiles in Lansing, MI, but tires in Akron, OH?); others bring basically the same stock to every fair. My husband and I are of the latter type, modified somewhat by the former ideas, but I don't think anyone has ever gotten it entirely right - though I have heard of the rare case where an entire booth was bought out!

Still, once you've decided to do a fair, have chosen your stock, packed the van and gotten to the venue, you have to set up your display. There is so much that goes into an attractive, welcoming and functional booth, but not much advice available - certainly no tutorials on the subject. As one of my college professors used to say: "There's a subject for your dissertation!" So here I am ...