The Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) will host more than 60 vendors each day across two free events on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, according to Concentrate.

The Printmaking Festival runs Saturday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The A2 Community Bookfest follows Sunday, Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both take place at 343 S. Fifth Ave.

Saturday’s drop-in demonstrations run from 1 to 4 p.m., with papermaking by Ypsilanti-based Rhizome Studio and screen printing by Detroit’s CopyCat Community Print Studio, according to AADL’s schedule. No prior experience is needed, and the event is open to families and children, Concentrate reported.

Three printmakers will give talks throughout Saturday. Detroit-based artist Elaisha Hilliard presents “Perfectly Impractical” at noon, discussing how she develops her work. Delia Touché, a Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and Assiniboine printmaker, follows at 1:15 p.m. Melih Meriç, who was born in Turkey and lives in Akron, Ohio, closes the speaker series at 2:30 p.m. with a talk on stitched print editions. An exhibit of Meriç’s work is on display in the library’s lower level through Dec. 9.

Vendors will sell letterpress works, screen and block printing art, linocuts, risograph works, woodcuts and other hand-printed goods. The University of Michigan Book Arts Studio will also demonstrate with a press and art materials.

Sunday: Bookfest and Katie Kitamura

The A2 Community Bookfest, formerly known as the Kerrytown BookFest, features bestselling author Katie Kitamura as its headliner. Her novel “Audition” was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize and was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Kitamura had been scheduled to headline the previous year’s event but canceled after the Booker shortlist announcement, Concentrate reported.

Kitamura’s session runs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 15. AADL’s program description lists identity, immigration and the development of her writing voice among the topics she will discuss.

The rest of Sunday’s schedule includes a picture book writing workshop with Amy Nielander at noon, a session on author-editor relationships at 1:30 p.m. featuring editor Ronit Wagman and author Tiffany Graham Charkosky, and a self-publishing panel at 3 p.m. Attendees can also drop in between noon and 2 p.m. to make decorative garlands from old book pages.

Bookfest vendors include Booksweet, Dzanc Books, Literati Bookstore, Crazy Wisdom Journal, Groundcover News and the Ann Arbor Observer, among others.

Both events are free. Residents can email [email protected] to join the Bookfest mailing list.

Upcoming community events

  • Saturday, Nov. 14: AADL Printmaking Festival, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.
  • Sunday, Nov. 15: A2 Community Bookfest, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.