Ybor Arts Tour

Bookends: Literature & Libations is so excited to be participating in the Spring Ybor Arts Tour. Gasparilla Distillery & Cocktail Bar is once again graciously hosting a space for our pop-up event.

The Ybor Arts Tour is free and open to the public. Follow this link for more information https://tinyurl.com/Ybor-Arts-Tour-Details.  Please register in advance if you plan to join the tour: https://tinyurl.com/2024-Spring-YBOR-ART-TOUR

In addition to the parking information provided in the tour detail, Gasparilla Distillery has a parking lot located on the corner of 4^th Avenue and 22^nd Street. The parking lot behind the distillery is NOT distillery parking and is NOT a City of Tampa lot.
 
Bookends’ Schedule of Events at Gasparilla Distillery

7:00 – 7:30 pm Light refreshments will be served, and drinks (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) will be available for purchase from the distillery.

The University of South Florida’s Library (Special Collections) will have a display of Ybor related items from their archives, as well zines from their collection.

Artist Adam Riches will display samples of his artwork and speak one-on-one to individuals about comic books as a literary art form.

7:30-8:00 pm Author Tyler Gillespie will read selections from Florida Man: Poems, Revisited. His book will be available for purchase and signing.

8:00-8:30 pm Paul Wilborn will be talking about his books, Cigar City: Tales From a 1980s Creative Ghetto," a short story collection that won the fiction gold medal in the 2019 Florida Book Awards, and Florida Hustle, named one of the 100 best Indie novels of 2022 by Kirkus Reviews.

Eugenie Bondurant, star of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It; and Marvel's Werewolf By Night, will read selections from Paul's books.

Both of his books will be available for purchase and signing.

8:30 -9:00 pm Spend the remainder of the evening visiting with the presenters, having your books signed, mingling with guests, and showing us your artistic side by participating in making a community zine.

We are excited to be part of the renaissance in Ybor by bringing an independent bookstore to the area that will provide a gathering spot for artists, writers, and the community. Paul Wilborn, one of the co-founders of The Artists and Writers Ball, will take us on a stroll down memory lane and share the history and photos from the ball. It would be great to resurrect The Artists and Writers “Nouveau” Ball in Ybor!

About the Presenters: 
Tyler Gillespie is an award-winning educator and writer whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, GQ, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Playboy, and elsewhere. He’s the author of the nonfiction collection The Thing about Florida: Exploring a Misunderstood State (University Press of Florida) and two poetry collections Florida Man: Poems and the nature machine! Find out more about Tyler Gillespie at https://www.tylergillespie.com/.

Paul Wilborn’s debut story collection, Cigar City: Tales From A 1980s Creative Ghetto, won the gold medal for fiction in the 2019 Florida Book Awards. His debut novel, Florida Hustle, earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named among the “100 Best Indie Books of 2022” by Kirkus. A native of Tampa, Wilborn collected multiple awards from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors during a journalism career that included stints at the Tampa Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times and the Associated Press in Los Angeles. Find out more about Paul Wilborn at https://wilbornwrites.com/about-paul/.

Adam Riches is a Florida based illustrator, comic book artist, and toy designer. A graduate of Ringling College of Art & Design, Adam’s work has been published worldwide; his work in comic books includes clients such as Marvel Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, and BOOM! Studios. He has designed costumes for many WWE wrestlers, seen by millions of people, but he is perhaps most notable for his work in toys, particularly on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe brand, where he has illustrated the packaging art for over 100 action figures! You can view Adam’s work at ADAMRICHES.COM
 
USF Libraries Special Collections supports scholarly research, enhances teaching, and preserves USF and Florida history through a series of deep University and community partnerships. Find out more about USF Libraries at https://lib.usf.edu/special-collections/.