Saturday, May 10, 2025
Doors open at 12 Noon
Coney Island USA
1208 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Step Right Up!
Get ready to be shocked, amazed, informed, and amused! Coney Island USA and The Lady Aye are proud to present a day-long event celebrating the literary side of sideshow, burlesque, oddities, and New York City.
During the day, guests of all ages are invited to attend out panels and browse the best book-themed marketplace since the Scholastic Book Fair of your youth.
When evening falls, the curious (ages 18+) can marvel at the minds (and other parts) of the bookish beauties of our all-star variety show.
Ticket Info
Book Fair (12-6p.m.) FREE
Author Panels (1-5p.m.) $20
Variety Show (7 p.m.) $25
Show & Panel Pass $40
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Buy Books & Oddities!
In the Shoot Gallery Annex
12:00 noon-6:00PM
An extraordinary bazaar that reimagines the classic Scholastic book fairs of our youth with a delightfully twisted, sideshow-inspired flair. This one-of-a-kind event assembles a curious collection of publishers, authors, and curators, each dedicated to the eccentric and the extraordinary in literature and art. (Free)
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Authors a Go Go!
In the Sideshow Theater
1pm-6pm
Our author panels are a carnival of minds, where curiosity is the main attraction and the unexpected takes center stage. From haunted histories and New York noir to burlesque memoirs and literary oddities, each panel is a high-wire act of insight, humor, and revelation. Come see acclaimed writers, fringe thinkers, and fabulous weirdos dive into the bizarre, the beautiful, and the boldly autobiographical.
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Sip, Search, and Swap Stories!
In the Freak Bar
12 noon-Last Call
Quench your curiosity—and your thirst—at the Freak Show Bar. Relax with a brew or two to fuel your literary mischief. The company is witty and the conversation flows, as do the refreshments. (Free)
After Dark Delights
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The Body of Work: A Literal Variety Show
On the Sideshow Stage
7pm
Featuring everything from Shakespeare to shimmy to sideshow, we’ll cap off the day with a show of polymath performances. Hosted by The Lady Aye, the Fakir of Nonfiction and featuring the naked talent of authors Jo Weldon, Johnny Porkpie, and Fancy Feast. Plus, bawdy book reports by Victoria Vixen,Garth Schilling, and more. It's a full-sensory celebration of ink, intellect, and irresistible spectacle.
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Sip, Search, and Swap Stores
In the Freak Bar
12 noon-Last Call
Quench your curiosity—and your thirst—at the Freak Show Bar. Relax with a brew or two to fuel your literary mischief. The company is witty and the conversation flows, as do the refreshments. (Free)