2026 Fore Edge Fair
The Fore Edge Fair: An Online Artist Book Sale
What is the Fore Edge?
MCBA’s Fore Edge is a quarterly newsletter sent to curators and librarians at universities and institutions across the country. Its purpose? To highlight artists’ books and zines available for acquisition. Acquired pieces are added to Library Special Collections and become resources for students, faculty, and members of the public. Some public libraries, like the Hennepin County Library, even have a zine collection with pieces available for browsing and borrowing. Work featured in the Fore Edge includes artists’ books and zines by artists in MCBA’s Artist Consignment Program and/or exhibiting artists with work in MCBA’s Gallery.
What is the Fore Edge Fair?
MCBA’s Fore Edge Fair is a new initiative to spread awareness of the Fore Edge and highlight artwork available for acquisition. Selected artists’ books and zines will be spotlighted in an online artist book fair and will be available for acquisition. This year’s fair goes live May 4, 2026, so mark your calendars! We’ll feature a curated selection determined by a jury.
Artists with selected works for the Fore Edge Fair will become part of MCBA’s Artist Consignment Program and their selected piece(s) will stay in MCBA inventory for at least one year after the Fore Edge Fair (or until sold). Consignment artists receive a 60/40 split with 60 percent of the sale price paid out to the artist. Current consignment artists are welcome to submit work. All artists will be notified of sales of their work and the name of the acquiring institution.
How do I apply for the Fore Edge Fair?
The application window is March 2 - 31. All applications must be received through Submittable by 11:59 CT on March 31st. Please plan to submit quality photos that represent your submitted piece, as well as an artist statement, personal bio, and pricing information. Submissions that do not include this information will not be considered. Because this is an online sale, we’ll use photos from your submission when publishing work online. Artists may not submit more than three artist books to the call and artists must submit a separate application for each artist book. MCBA staff may request more than one copy be sent if possible.
What type of work will be accepted?
Artist Books and Zines only.
Application Timeline
March 2nd - Application opens
March 31st - Application closes at 11:59 pm CT
April 10th - Selected artists notified by April 10th
April 30th - Selected pieces must arrive to MCBA
May 4th - Fore Edge Fair goes live on the website
Accepted Artwork Stipulations
- Artists are responsible for the cost of shipping work to MCBA.
- All work must be ready to sell. All zines, artist's books, and chapbooks retailing for under $30 should also be in plastic sleeves, with a display copy available to be looked through.
- Artists agree to sell work at MCBA under consignment terms of 60/40, with the artist retaining 60% of the purchase price.
- Artwork will remain on consignment in the MCBA Shop for at least 12 months after through April 2027. We often get orders from collections long after features have been sent!
- After April 2027, unsold work will be returned to the artist. MCBA will pay for return shipping.
- If more than one edition is available, artists may be asked to send multiple copies upon acceptance.
All submissions to the Shop (wholesale and consignment) are reviewed using the linked criteria.
If you have any questions about the submission process, e-mail aschneider@mnbookarts.org. Best of luck!