Small Press Expo 2025

Small Press Expo took place on September 14th and 15th, and getting the chance to table here felt huge. When I found out I was accepted, I was ecstatic. SPX has always been the place I knew I needed to be. Two years ago, I discovered the event only days before it happened and drove from Asbury Park to Rockville just to see it for myself. I remember stepping inside and realizing instantly that this was the room I had been searching for, a room full of creators and storytellers showing up with their own voices. I promised myself I would return one day as a vendor. Last year I applied and didn’t get in, and instead ended up at Flower City Comic Con, where I learned how far I still had to go. This year felt different. My friend Matt came with me, and we drove down on Friday with enough time to enjoy a quiet night in D.C. We stopped at a comic reading event, wandered a bit, and then checked into a Marriott that wasn’t the main hotel because we booked too late. Saturday night we attended the Ignatz Awards, and seeing categories like Best New Talent and Best Graphic Memoir made something click in me. Never in my life had I wanted to win a brick so badly. I walked out of that ceremony with a new goal: one day, I want to be nominated.

Being here as an exhibitor was everything I hoped it would be, but it also reminded me how difficult it is to get sales with entirely original content. Even with a stronger setup, I still felt invisible at times, watching people walk past without stopping. It made the need for more recognizable pieces in my booth even clearer. Still, I made connections I genuinely want to build on, and that alone made the weekend worth it. Late Sunday night, Matt and I drove home and talked about what worked, what didn’t, and what steps I need to take to improve for next year. SPX is the kind of event I want to return to every year, not just as a vendor but as part of a community I’ve been trying to find for a long time.