Printed word is alive and well at Eastern Market's 2025 Detroit Festival of Books

Dante Lamb says he works out so he can give hugs and carry books.

He'll likely be hugging this week, because he spent Sunday, July 20, lugging a load of books that stretched from his navel to his neck while navigating the crowd in Shed 5 at Eastern Market.

"I love books," the Livonia literati said. "It's so exciting to see so many people excited about books still in a digital age."

Lamb was in good company at the 2025 Detroit Festival of Books, where thousands of bookworms went from table to table perusing tomes and talking to authors.

In attendance were Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame members Patty Montemurri, who displayed her array of books about local Catholic schools and churches, and John Gallagher, whose wares ranged from architecture criticism to a new memoir, "Rust Belt Reporter." Both are former Free Press reporters.

This is the eighth year of the Detroit Festival of Books, known to near-sighted friends as "Detroit Bookfest," a free event which claims to be the largest book festival in Michigan. More than 250 authors and vendors flogged books, records, comics, posters, and just about anything folks with a penchant for print might purchase.

M.J. Kuhn of Farmington and Claire Winn of Dexter shared a table laden with their sci-fi and fantasy books with titles ranging from "Thick as Thieves" to "City of Vicious Night."

"Every year is new — in the best way," Kuhn said. "It's always so busy!"

Author, M.J. Kuhn stands for a photo with her book “Among Thieves” during the Detroit Festival of Books at Eastern Market in Detroit on Sunday, July 20, 2025.

Kuhn, a veteran of the event, invited Winn to join her.

"She asked 'How many books should I bring?'" Kuhn said, adding her response was: "Twice as many as you think."

Kuhn likes selling books in person.

"I like to do the hand-to-hand events," she said. "First of all, I get a bigger cut. And I love to meet readers."

Kuhn offers about 30 percent off at book festivals, and sold about five dozen books by mid-afternoon.

Winn, like Kuhn, has a day job. Writing books doesn't always bring in enough to write checks for things like, say, rent and utilities. This was her first Bookfest, and the busiest book festival she's attended.

"It's very cool to see people who aren't expecting you," she said of her encounters with readers, one of whom once told her they named their chickens after her characters.

Author Claire Winn sits for a photo with at her booth during the Detroit Festival of Books at Eastern Market in Detroit on Sunday, July 20, 2025.

Winn said that fan encounter did not happen at Eastern Market, which is is probably good for the chickens, given the number of slaughterhouses nearby.

Lamb's armload of books was laden with titles about art and artists.

He said he looks for a different genre of books every year, always sets a budget — and leaves his credit cards at home.

"Once I'm out of money," Lamb said, "I'm done."

For those of you feeling a little salty that you've just read about a super groovy event too late to make the scene, next year's Bookfest is scheduled for July 19.

Put it in your book.

M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, director of student investigative reporting program Eye On Michigan, and host of the ML's Soul of Detroit podcast. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X at @elrick, Facebook at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Printed word is alive and well at Eastern Market's 2025 Detroit Festival of Books