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Join us for an event previewing select Studio Printers’ work that will be on display at Codex X. This is a great chance to see some amazing artist books if you cannot make it to the Book Fair in February.
Visit our booth at the Codex X Book Fair— where craft and concept unite into exemplary works of art.
Get hands-on with the art of letterpress in this beginner-friendly workshop. We’ll explore the basics of printing on a press, from setting up a design to inking and pulling your very first prints. Along the way, you’ll learn about the history of letterpress, the different kinds of presses, and the tools and materials that bring this centuries-old craft to life.
Each participant will create their own small project to print and take home—whether it’s a card, a print, or a simple design—while experiencing the unique textures and tactile beauty that only letterpress can offer. No prior experience required—just bring your creativity and a willingness to get inky!
Celebrate the season by creating your own hand-printed holiday cards! In this festive workshop, you’ll learn the basics of letterpress printing while designing and printing a set of unique greeting cards on traditional presses. Explore handset type, ornaments, and seasonal imagery as you experiment with layout to make cards that are personal, beautiful, and ready to share with friends and family.
No prior experience is needed—just bring your creativity and holiday spirit. You’ll leave with a set of cards you’ve printed yourself, perfect for spreading cheer this season.
You are cordially invited to our our annual Open House & Holiday Sale. Come tour the shop, celebrate the work of our studio printers, and enjoy merriment including:
Fun & Games
Sips & Snacks
Printing Demos
FREE and open to the public
Join poets Danusha Laméris and Emilie Lygren for an evening of poetry and conversation in celebration of the recent release of their books: Lygren's second collection, Once I was a stone and Laméris's third book, Blade by Blade. Bring a journal or paper and a pencil or pen! We may invite the audience to do some writing of their own.
From the book publishers:
Danusha Laméris’s third book, Blade by Blade, is a book of hungers: Hunger for the bright glare of poppies, for the hidden name of the beloved, for the cracked continental edge, for all we keep in “the heart’s farthest chambers.” These poems are luminous missives tossed on the wind asking us to re-enter the world we’ve forsaken, to set foot, as if for the first time, on the green earth and begin again.
Emilie Lygen's Once I was a stone is an intimate portrait of gender nonconformity rooted in the context of childhood and the natural world. This timely collection catalogues intersections between identity and place, awareness and grief. With an honest and hopeful tone, Emilie Lygren grapples with the complexities of selfhood, power, and loss, offering insight on our intricate relationship with Earth’s ecosystems.
On the poets:
Danusha Laméris, a poet and essayist, was raised in Northern California born to a Dutch father and Barbadian mother. Some of her work has been published in The Best American Poetry, The Sun, The New York Times, The American Poetry Review, The Gettysburg Review, Prairie Schooner, Poetry, Ploughshares, The American Scholar, Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, and Orion. Laméris served as the 2018–2020 Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, California. Laméris's widely shared poem “Small Kindnesses” has been translated into multiple languages, quoted in O Magazine, turned into a short film, and recently read by actress Helena Bonham Carter. She is currently on the faculty of Pacific University’s low-residency MFA program.
Emilie Lygren is a poet and educator whose work is grounded in curiosity and reverence. She’s the author of two books of poetry and dozens of publications focused on nature journaling, outdoor science education, and social-emotional learning. Emilie holds a BA in Geology-Biology from Brown University and an MFA in creative writing from Maharishi International University. Currently, she is a professor of creative writing, a poet in the schools, and at work on an anthology of poems about mental health for youth and teens.
Celebrate the season by creating your own hand-printed holiday cards! In this festive workshop, you’ll learn the basics of letterpress printing while designing and printing a set of unique greeting cards on traditional presses. Explore handset type, ornaments, and seasonal imagery as you experiment with layout to make cards that are personal, beautiful, and ready to share with friends and family.
No prior experience is needed—just bring your creativity and holiday spirit. You’ll leave with a set of cards you’ve printed yourself, perfect for spreading cheer this season.
Drop by the print shop and get festive with us! This special Community Print Day is all about creating your own hand-printed holiday wrapping paper and gift tags. Using our presses, seasonal imagery, and handset type, you’ll have the chance to design and print one-of-a-kind paper goods that will make your gifts extra special.
No experience is necessary—just bring your creativity and holiday cheer. Stay for a little while or the whole session, and leave with beautifully printed wrapping paper and tags made by you!
Your contribution helps keep Community Print Days open and accessible to everyone.
During this class students will create a matrix (plate for printing) out of paper and soft materials, they will then use the matrix to pull prints on the Vandercook. We will use different papers to print with and explore how to create complex matrixes to print an image. These prints can be used later to letterpress a text on to make it a background for a broadside.
Step into the timeless craft of letterpress printing by learning the art of handset type. This hands-on class introduces participants to the fundamentals of traditional typesetting, from understanding type anatomy and layout to composing text by hand with movable metal type. Students will explore spacing, alignment, and lock-up techniques, and gain a working knowledge of the tools, terminology, and processes that defined print for centuries. By the end of the session, each participant will set and print a small project of their own, experiencing the tactile satisfaction of bringing words to life on paper.
No prior experience required—just curiosity, patience, and a love for craft.
This hands-on workshop introduces the essential skills for safe and confident operation of tabletop and floor model platen presses. You’ll explore how to set up a form, adjust packing and impression, register paper, and pull crisp, consistent prints.
Presentation by Lynn Keller
Many contemporary poets who care about the environment find writing about the solace and beauty to be found in nature inadequate to current realities. Awareness of environmental degradation, environmental crises, or environmental injustice is pushing them to produce alternative kinds of environmental writing.
Within this context, you are invited to explore contemporary eco-poetry and environmental justice with author, scholar, printer and professor Lynn Keller in a thought-provoking presentation on November 13 from 5:30-7pm at the Laguna de Santa Rosa (900 Sanford Rd).
During this class students will make a concertina fold, glue 3”x2” cardstock ‘flags’ into the folds, decorate the pages, make covers and finish the book by gluing the covers to the concertina.
The Flag Book structure was invented by Hedi Kyle. It is made out of an accordion fold, small cards glued into the folds, and a cover.
The Flag Book may be described as a portable, expandable file that can display an array of materials in an animated way. Operating with the assistance of the accordion fold, it has the freedom to expand and retract. It can be read page by page or pulled apart for the full effect of an uninterrupted scenario. Standing, the Flag Book also will turn into a circular of star book as the covers are held together at the back.
Come get hands-on with the art of poster printing! During this drop-in Community Print Day, you’ll have the chance to explore our presses and vintage wood type to create bold, one-of-a-kind posters. Whether you want to print a favorite phrase, experiment with type and color, or simply try your hand at this historic craft, this is a fun and welcoming way to experience letterpress.
No prior experience is needed—our team will guide you through the basics. Stop by for a little while or stay and print to your heart’s content. You’ll head home with a poster (or two!) that you printed yourself.
Your support helps keep Community Print Days open and accessible for everyone.
Join us for a spirited night of words, ink, and eerie inspiration at the letterpress print shop! Our Halloween open mic welcomes poets, storytellers, and lovers of the spoken word to share their most haunting, humorous, or heartfelt creations.
Whether you’re reading your own work, a favorite ghostly verse, or just coming to listen, all are welcome.
Costumes encouraged, creativity required. Come for the chills, stay for the camaraderie—and leave with a head full of haunting lines.
Get hands-on with the art of letterpress in this beginner-friendly workshop. We’ll explore the basics of printing on a press, from setting up a design to inking and pulling your very first prints. Along the way, you’ll learn about the history of letterpress, the different kinds of presses, and the tools and materials that bring this centuries-old craft to life.
Each participant will create their own small project to print and take home—whether it’s a card, a print, or a simple design—while experiencing the unique textures and tactile beauty that only letterpress can offer. No prior experience required—just bring your creativity and a willingness to get inky!
This hands-on workshop introduces the essential skills for safe and confident operation of tabletop and floor model platen presses. You’ll explore how to set up a form, adjust packing and impression, register paper, and pull crisp, consistent prints.
Join us for an evening of poetry inspired by the natural world and the art of letterpress printing. This special reading features many of the writers whose words appear in Watershed Moment, our current exhibit created in collaboration with North Bay Letterpress Arts.
Readers include both established and emerging voices, among them Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Forrest Gander and former Sonoma County Poets Laureate Elizabeth Herron and Gwynn O’Gara, along with judi goldberg, Eric Johnson, Adrian Lürrsen, and Cheryl Pfeil.
Come early or stay after to enjoy the Watershed Moment exhibit, on view in Heron Hall through December 19.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations made more than 30 days before the event will receive a refund, minus a $10 processing fee. Tickets purchased at $10 are non-refundable. Cancellations made 7–30 days in advance will receive a 50% refund. No refunds are available for cancellations less than 7 days before the event. If we need to cancel the event, you will receive a full refund.
Join us for the first annual North Bay Print & Poetry Festival in the Graton Town Square. Poetry, music, and the art of printmaking come alive on a grand scale at this free, daylong community celebration. Watch massive linoleum blocks inked and printed beneath a classic street paver, hear the voices of acclaimed poets from Sonoma County and beyond, explore local vendors, and enjoy live music, food, and community.
Step into the timeless craft of letterpress printing by learning the art of handset type. This hands-on class introduces participants to the fundamentals of traditional typesetting, from understanding type anatomy and layout to composing text by hand with movable metal type. Students will explore spacing, alignment, and lock-up techniques, and gain a working knowledge of the tools, terminology, and processes that defined print for centuries. By the end of the session, each participant will set and print a small project of their own, experiencing the tactile satisfaction of bringing words to life on paper.
No prior experience required—just curiosity, patience, and a love for craft.
Watershed Moment by North Bay Letterpress Arts
Saturday, September 6, 2025, from 3–5 PM
Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Free! Donations welcome. No RSVP necessary. Light refreshments provided.
Eventbrite Link: https://watershedmoment.eventbrite.com
Join the Laguna Foundation for the opening of Watershed Moment, a stunning new exhibit from North Bay Letterpress Arts. Featuring original works by local letterpress printers—some in collaboration with poets—this show celebrates the unique beauty of the Laguna de Santa Rosa through the connection of language, image, and place. Some pieces incorporate natural materials, such as handmade inks and paper made from local plants, deepening the relationship between the art and the landscape that inspired it. Art sales support the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation’s mission to conserve and restore this Wetland of International Importance. Watershed Moment will be on view September 6–December 19, 2025.
We’re thrilled to host two incredible poets, Brenda Hillman and Norma Cole, at NBLA on Saturday, August 9th at 4pm.
Brenda Hillman’s latest collection from Wesleyan University Press is In a Few Minutes Before Later, published in 2022. Her first collection of prose, Three Talks (2024), is available from University of Virginia Press. A recent recipient of the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement, Hillman has edited and co-translated many books by others, including At Your Feet by Brazilian poet Ana Cristina Cesar. A former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Hillman lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is Professor Emerita at Saint Mary’s College of California and directs the Poetry Week at Community of Writers.
Norma Cole is a poet, painter and translator. Her most recent book of poetry, Alibi Lullaby, appeared from Omnidawn earlier this year. Other books of poetry include FATE NEWS, Win These Posters and Other Unrelated Prizes Inside, Where Shadows Will: Selected Poems 1988—2008, Spinoza in Her Youth and, Actualities, her collaboration with painter Marina Adams. Her awards include the Fund for Poetry, Gertrude Stein Award, the Richardson Award for Non-Fiction Prose and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation Award for Poetry. Cole has taught at San Francisco State University, University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Naropa University, Otis College of Art and Design and others.
* FREE and open to the public
* Light refreshments and fantastic poetry served in equal measure
* Handset letterpress broadsides of work by the poets will be printed for the occasion and available with a donation to NBLA
Three writers associated with the bookmaking, writing, & reading community at North Bay Letterpress Arts for many years will appear together for a book launch/ reading/ discussion at the printshop in Sebastopol.
We are: John Johnson, whose poetry collection, Toss Repeat, winner of the James Tate Poetry Prize, was published early this year;
judi goldberg, whose innovative memoir Common Currency is about change & the words we use to tell the stories we do, seen in part through the lens of a fictional character named Bess, an old woman coming of age as an artist, whose memoir this is.
Eric Johnson, whose recent book, Journeyman’s Dues, is a memoir of working as a union carpenter in heavy construction 50 years ago.
The books are quite different externally, but we have been friends and colleagues for fifteen years – steadily discussing the aesthetics of poetry and bookmaking – and that conversation will keep going at this event as we listen to each other and reflect on our separate arts.
Sunday, July 13, 2-4pm
* FREE and open to the public
* Refreshments, readings, and great conversation served in equal measure
Learn about the powerful tradition of protest posters while designing and printing your own message for change.
Throughout history, the poster has been a critical tool for social movements—amplifying voices, building solidarity, and creating visual symbols that capture the public imagination.
Experienced printers will guide participants through the process of designing and printing their letterpress own posters. All ages welcome. All materials provided. No experience necessary. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: North Bay Letterpress Arts
Cost: $0-$35 (NOTAFLOF)
Space is limited. Sign Up to reserve your spot.
"As the poet Adrienne Rich wrote, 'Revision—the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new critical direction—is for women more than a chapter in cultural history: it is an act of survival.'"
Join us for an illuminating talk with poet and biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle as she shares images and reflections from her book-length erasure project, which radically transforms The Grapes of Wrath. In her new biography, Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb, Dunkle reveals how Steinbeck appropriated material from Sanora Babb. As she worked on the biography, Dunkle was inspired to remake Steinbeck’s text, reclaiming her own family history in the process. Perfect for anyone interested in where poetry, history, and rebellion intersect.
Iris Jamahl Dunkle is the author of two biographies, Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) and Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb (University of California Press, 2024), and four collections of poetry, including West : Fire : Archive, published by The Center for Literary Publishing, Interrupted Geographies and Gold Passage by Trio House Press and There’s a Ghost in This Machine of Air by Word Tech. She was the 2017-18 Poet Laureate of Sonoma County.
Join NBLA at Rare Books San Francisco!
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!” -Jane Austen
Rare Books San Francisco returns on February 1-2, 2025 and brings with it a Regency era flare in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of revered English novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817).
With support from AbeBooks and KQED, this celebration of antiquarian books, rare maps, fine printing, ephemera, and artist’s books will take in the Gateway Pavilion at Fort Mason and for the first time, will include a selection of independent writers, artists, and creators curated by San Francisco Zine Fest.
“We are excited to be back in the City by the Bay and to bring with us exhibitors from as far away as Australia and the Netherlands and everywhere in between,” said Jodi Tolan, Director of Operations for Rare Books LA, which produces events in California and New York. “This book fair is sure to exceed all expectations in terms of the diversity of materials on display and the outstanding free programs taking place throughout the weekend.”
In addition to guided tours of the book fair and a zine making workshop, leading writers and “Janeites” will speak to the life, work, and lasting influence of Jane Austen (1775-1817), author of such classic novels as Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816)
“Whether you are a collector of early printed books or punk zines, the Harlem Renaissance or the Avant-garde, there is no doubt you will find something to indulge your passion at Rare Books San Francisco,” Tolan added.
For more information, including a complete list of exhibitors, visit www.rarebooksla.com
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Gateway Pavilion
2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA, 94123
Saturday, February 1 - 10am – 6pm and Sunday, February 2 - 11am – 4pm
NBLA is thrilled to host a reading with acclaimed poet Elizabeth Robinson on Saturday, January 25th at 4pm.
Elizabeth Robinson has recently received Editors’ Choice Awards from Scoundrel Time and New Letters as well as a Pushcart Prize. She has been a recipient of grants from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and the Fund for Poetry. Recent books: Excursive from Roof Books, and, with Susanne Dyckman, Rendered Paradise published by Apogee Press. In 2025, Solid Objects will publish Being Modernists Together and Northwestern University Press will publish Vulnerability Index.
FREE and open to the public – your RSVP helps with planning
Light refreshments and fantastic poetry served in equal measure
A beautiful letterpress broadside of Elizabeth’s work will be available with a donation to NBLA
You are cordially invited to our our annual Open House & Holiday Sale. Come tour the shop, celebrate the work of our studio printers, and enjoy food, drink, and merriment. FREE and open to the public.
Sunday, December 8th, 1-4pm
North Bay Letterpress Arts
925-D Gravenstein Highway S. Sebastopol (behind Beekind)
& Open Mic - B.Y.O.P
Join us for an evening of literature and conversation with North Bay native Tim Hunt, professor emeritus in Literature from Illinois State University, author of Kerouac’s Crooked Road: Development of a Fiction, The Textuality of Soulwork: Jack Kerouac’s Quest for Spontaneous Prose, and editor of the six volume The Collected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers. Tim, a fourth generation Californian raised primarily in Sebastopol, is also the author of six collections of poetry, all Pushcart Prize nominees, including Ticket Stubs & Liner Notes (winner of the 2018 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award), and his most recent book, Western Where. His “Lake County Elegy” has been awarded the Chester H. Jones National Poetry Prize. Please consider this special occasion as an opportunity to engage with the potential for literature. There will be poetry.
FREE and open to the public.
Join us for an evening of poetry at the intersection of landscape and language, our inner and outer lives, the precarity and wonder of our natural world, as Wisconsin-based poet Catherine Jagoe reads from her latest book, Praying to the God of Small Things (Kelsay Books, 2024).
FREE and open to the public – your RSVP helps with planning
Light refreshments and amazing poetry served in equal measure
A beautiful letterpress broadside of new work by Catherine will be available
Author Heather Swan says of this new work: “These exacting poems telescope in and out, braiding the tangible effects of climate change and keen observations of the leafhopper, the killdeer feigning a broken wing, the 'lemonbright' of finches, moss. Never steering away from the complicity of being human, [Jasgoe] meanwhile wields the very human power of language, deftly speaking for the wondrous more-than-human world, compelling her readers to 'stand still and listen, just listen / trying to name every song.'”
We hope to see you for this special event.
