History of Harlem Book Fair of Long Island

History of Harlem Book Fair on Long Island - The original Harlem Book Fair was established in 1998, by Max Rodriguez, publisher of QBR the Black Book Review. It has become a major annual event in Harlem, New York City. Over the years other venues have been established in cities across the country. Working closely with Mr. Rodriguez, AAGS established Long Island as an additional venue, in a joint venture with the Long Island Partnership for Community Education, in 2003. It was a concerted effort to promote community education, literary arts and literacy. A well-attended Authors Reception gave local residents an opportunity to meet and greet the authors who came from as far away as California. A balloon -sculptor who told stories and a clown who painted the children's faces captured the attention of the young people. All this and panel discussions featuring a popular radio personality and a host of noted authors made the debut of the Harlem Book Fair on Long Island a great success. All of this would not have been possible without our primary supporters: support of Verizon and Astoria Federal Savings. In 2004, AAGS and QBR joined forces again and hosted the second annual Harlem Book Fair on Long Island. The activities were enhanced by a lecture on the thursday evening prior to the actual book fair. The Authors Reception was again held on friday evening and a Writer's Workshop was held on saturday morning. During the fair, a Children's Pavilion was set up where the youth participated in a read-in. Authors of children's books and the balloon-sculptor told stories; and the clown painted faces. Panel discussions, poetry readings and special guest appearances rounded out another successful event. This time, the person who traveled the furthest to be there came from Australia. Pictures being so highly valued over words for depicting situations, we invite you to check out the 2003 and 2004 events by logging on to www.aagsinc.com and clicking on Harlem Book Fair of Long Island. We are looking forward to even greater success in September 2005. Log on to www.aagsinc.com for updates on the Harlem Book Fair of Long Island.