The St. Martin Book Fair

How the fair began

The St. Martin Book Fair was founded in 2003 as a multilingual, family-centered literary event. Its archive presents it as an island-wide gathering rather than a program belonging to only one side.

The fair grew within an active literary network. House of Nehesi Publishers, which hosts the archive, describes decades of publishing, readings, workshops, and cultural organizing in St. Martin.

North and south

The fair's archive records openings on both the northern and southern sides of the island. That movement matters. It gives a literary event a whole-island shape, and it brings readers, writers, schools, and partner institutions into the same cultural conversation.

More than book sales

Programming has connected books with music, theatre, film, workshops, and schools. The fair's work is literary, educational, and performative at once. It creates encounters between writers and readers, and gives students and families more than one way into a book.

A network of partners

The University of St. Martin announced that it welcomed the 23rd annual edition in June 2026, and named partners and program types. That announcement is a historical record of one edition rather than a current invitation, and it helps show the fair as collaborative rather than the work of one publisher alone.

Find the next edition

The next dates, venues, guests, registration details, and school programs appear on the week page once the organizers announce them. This page stays with what the fair is and why it matters.