What is Printed Matter?

Founded by artists and artworkers in 1976, Printed Matter is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to the distribution, understanding and appreciation of artists’ books and related publications. Our two-story facility in Chelsea, New York, is home to our bookstore, exhibition space and administrative offices. We offer a unique venue for the public to engage with more than 15,000 artists’ books by artists and publishers from around the world. In addition to our NY and LA Art Book Fairs, we offer a wide array of free programs and services, including exhibitions and events; a publishing program; bibliographic services; consultation for museums and libraries; class visits and hands-on workshops; and a new Printed Matter Publisher Work Grant in partnership with Wagner Foundation that offers significant capacity-building funds to artist-publishers.

Visit printedmatter.org to browse our catalogue and learn more about the many ways we serve artists, publishers, and the public.

What is the LA Art Book Fair?

Initiated in 2013, the LA Art Book Fair (LAABF) has grown to be an important moment in LA to gather around artists’ publications, opening space for conversation, discovery, and the celebration of recent accomplishments of artists’ book publishers. A signature program of Printed Matter, this weekend-long event furthers the organization's mission of supporting the distribution, understanding, and appreciation of artists’ books by offering an opportunity for global artist-publishers to find new audiences for their work and engage in a dialogue with the public, as well as to build relationships and share resources with their peers.

The Fair hosts nearly 300 exhibitors from around the world, including a broad range of artists and collectives, small presses, institutions, galleries, antiquarian booksellers, and distributors. LAABF draws tens of thousands of visitors each year, including artists’ book professionals, high school and college students, and audiences from every corner of the cultural sector.

In 2025, LAABF will take place in a new venue, ArtCenter College of Design, in Pasadena, from May 16–18, 2025, with an Opening Night celebration on May 15.

What’s new this year?

The 2025 LA Art Book Fair will take place at a new venue, ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. ArtCenter occupies the region of the ancestral and traditional lands of the Hahamog'na Tongva people. Once a supersonic wind tunnel and aircraft-testing site, ArtCenter’s recently renovated 950 Building on South Campus offers state-of-the-art educational facilities at the foot of the beautiful San Gabriel mountains. With classrooms, exhibition space, archives, letterpress, and typographic studios, this new setting provides opportunities for the Fair to highlight the pedagogical and discursive possibilities of the art book format through special projects and site-specific collaborations.

The Fair will continue to showcase the full breadth of artists’ book publishing with the hundreds of exhibitors forefronting new books from around the world. Signature programs such as the discussion series, The Classroom, and musical performances on The Stage will take place alongside new programs developed in response to the educational context of ArtCenter.

We extend our deepest gratitude to MOCA for hosting LAABF since 2013 and for being such an important part of LAABF’s incredible success on the West Coast.

Who is eligible to apply?

Printed Matter’s Fairs strive to showcase a range and scope of artists’ books and publishers. Breadth in both the publication format and how you publish (e.g. collective, institutional, DIY, small press), as well as international representation, scale, and identity, are taken into consideration during the application review process.

To be eligible to apply:

You must publish, sell, and/or distribute art books or artists’ books.
The majority of your books must be available for sale, although you may include some free items (i.e. digital works, zines, stickers, etc.).
You must have a publishing practice, whether large or small in scope. We are looking for demonstrated dedication to bookmaking and an engaging catalog of published works. This Fair is generally not suitable for showcasing a single title or single book project.

How do I apply to the LA Art Book Fair?

Our application is on Submittable. There is no fee to apply. You must create a free account to submit. Please make sure your account is connected to an active email address. The application deadline is Sunday, January 5, 2025 at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time.

What makes a good application?

Your application should include:

A clear and concise description of your practice or project. Please tell us what kind of work you make, what communities you’re a part of (if relevant to your practice), what past fairs or exhibitions you’ve participated in, and what makes your publication practice unique or special.
We encourage applicants to emphasize new work and/or inventory, and share with us generous responses relating to their interest in participating. If you’re an exhibitor who has participated in many past Fairs, please be sure to share why you’d like to be a part of this one. While we cherish our long-time exhibitors, we also want to make sure we continue to offer new opportunities for artists’ book makers who may not have exhibited before. In reviewing applications a variety of factors are considered in order to expand representation with a focus on identity, geography, scale of publishing operations, and through the welcoming of first-time exhibitors.

Strong images or videos of your publications. You can upload up to 8 files. This can include images of groupings of books, individual books, spreads, detail shots, and photos of past art book fair presentations. Recommended JPG file size: 72ppi and no more than 1000px on the long side. Recommended MP4 length: 3-5min.

Creative ideas for presentation. Give us a sense of how your books will be displayed. If you are applying for an exhibitor table with an accompanying wall, share how you’d like to use the space. You can also share details or anecdotes from past experiences tabling at book fairs and how this may shape your presentation for LAABF 2025.

Feature artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, zines, or related printed material. Again, LAABF 2025 is book focused. You are welcome to include other related media such as limited art editions, prints, apparel, performance, original artwork, etc., but these should not be foregrounded in your presentation.

When will I find out whether I’ve been accepted into the Fair?

The deadline to apply is Sunday, January 5 at 11:59pm EST. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible, as participation is confirmed on a rolling basis. We appreciate your patience. Notifications will be sent in February to the e-mail address associated with the Submittable account. Please double check these settings.

What happens if I’m not accepted into the Fair?

Each Fair, we receive approximately 700–1,000 applications and we have space for about 250 exhibitors. We recognize that Printed Matter’s Art Book Fairs are a vital platform and anticipate receiving far more applications of merit than we will be able to accept. On average, we are only able to accept 20-25% of those who apply. If you are not accepted, please know that things may shift, and we do maintain a waitlist. Also note, Printed Matter has an open submission policy to stock publications in our Chelsea, NYC store. Please visit our website to submit your publications for review.

What is the fee structure for exhibiting at LAABF 2025?

LAABF 2025 estimated Exhibitor Fees:

Zine (4ft / 1.21m table): $175
Zine with wall or partial wall (4ft / 1.21m table): $250–$400
Single table (5ft / 1.52m table): $600
Single table or partial wall (6ft / 1.82m table): $750–$900
Single table with wall (6ft / 1.82m table): $1,200–$2,700. Gallery pricing begins at $2,700.
Two to three tables with wall (6ft / 1.82m tables): $2,700–$4,500
Project Space: $4,500–$6,500

Available spaces include 4’–18’ of table presentation space, both with and without a wall. Larger areas are available for Special Projects, and also include select furniture.

Fees include booth furniture, exhibitor badges, and inclusion in printed and online materials.

How are exhibitor fees determined?

Printed Matter is a non-profit organization. As is the case for all Printed Matter Art Book Fairs, fees will go directly toward the hard costs of this non-profit production. These include space rental, operations and staffing costs, and programming expenses, including honoraria for artists, speakers, and publishers.

Price ranges noted in the application are approximate. An exhibitor’s fee is determined by the size and location of their Fair presentation space and category (i.e. zinemaker, distributor, gallery, small press, arts institution). Fees are also determined by the pricing of applicant’s publications and the scale of operation. Preference will be noted, but due to space limitations exhibitors may be offered placement that differs from their request.

The fee does not include associated exhibitor travel and lodging costs.

Exhibitor fees are due approximately 10 days from the date of acceptance.