The promoters of Seattle Bookfest, Saturday and today at the Columbia City Community Center (an old elementary school), promised they’d bring back the rustic, lit-lovin’ fun of the old Northwest Bookfest, only on a more intimate/sustainable scale.

They did.

The site is perfect. If anything, it’s more personable than the original Bookfest site on a waterfront pier. It’s old. It’s cozy. Its natural division into classrooms, auditorium, cafeteria, and portables meant speakers didn’t have to compete to be heard. And it reminded a lot of festival goers of reading, learning, and fun.

The promoters decided (based on limited funding and lead time) to concentrate on local authors and publishers. This further helped focus the event. These weren’t the big NY publishers bringing their lit-celebs. These were folks from right around here, showing off the product of their verbal and design craftspeople.

Immediately above, the Fantagraphics table shows how the little underground comic-book company has bloomed into a leader in graphic novels and in book packaging.

Below, Karl Krogstad and Erika Langley entertain their fellow sellers and buyers in classroom #6.

This classroom had a wall sign implying the room had been recently used for writing classes: