
Ambassadors
This program brings together individuals from various fields, including rare books, ephemera, jewelry, and design, who share a deep appreciation for antiquarian books and collectibles. Ambassadors engage with the fair’s community, exchange knowledge, and contribute to the ongoing dialogue around collecting, preservation, and the cultural significance of historical materials.
Founding Ambassador
Jesse Paris Smith
Jesse Paris Smith is a writer, GRAMMY nominated composer and musician, event producer, and Founding Ambassador of the NY International Antiquarian Book Fair, launching the program in 2024 during the 75th Anniversary of the ABAA. As part of the fair's annual programming, Jesse's events have included 'Sharing the World Of Rare Books,' a heartwarming group discussion exploring the timeless threads and connections innate within the book world, and a presentation of poetry and music celebrating Walt Whitman, Charlotte Brontë, Flaco the Owl, and others. Jesse serves on the Board of Directors of Elizabeth Street Garden in Little Italy, the Advisory Board of Pen & Brush Gallery in the Flatiron District, and is co-founder of climate action organization Pathway to Paris.
Alexandre Assouline
Alex was born in Paris and moved to New York City in 2007. He completed his
undergraduate studies in Montreal, and obtained graduate degrees in marketing, graphic design, and digital strategy prior to starting his career in retail consulting. In 2016, Alex joined Assouline, a luxury publishing house founded by his parents in 1994, and has since forged his own path within the company. Today, as President of the company, Alex plays an essential part in driving strategic business opportunities and spearheading Assouline’s transition from a publisher to a lifestyle brand, launching a Library Collection of objects and home fragrance while also developing the brand’s curated library services.
Isabella Boylston
Isabella Boylston is an international ballet star and Principal Dancer of American Ballet Theatre. She has transcended onto the big screen in the film Red Sparrow, as well as recently starring in Laufey’s "Santa Baby" music video along with Bill Murray. In addition to having an active social media presence, she runs Ballerina Book Club with her cohosts Connor Holloway and AllArts to share her lifelong love of reading.
Meredith Graves
Meredith Graves is a multimedia artist, writer and researcher based in Brooklyn, NY, whose professional resume includes time spent as the anchor of MTV News and as an Outreach Director at Kickstarter (where she initiated and launched successful fundraising programs specifically for occultural artists). Graves is first and foremost a storyteller, who uses her journalistic and analytic skills alongside her lifelong passion for myth, theater and fairy tales to sublimate and reinterpret a broad array of topics and genres ranging from hardcore punk and material culture to political journalism, economics, and criminology.
Connor Holloway
Connor Holloway (they/them) born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, is a dancer, reader, writer, producer, and content creator. Connor moved to New York City in 2013 to dance with American Ballet Theatre, where they met Isabella Boylston and later launched the Webby-nominated Ballerina Book Club, in partnership with ALL ARTS in 2020.
Sarah McNally
Sarah McNally owns and operates McNally Jackson Books and Goods for the Study in New York City. She is also the publisher of the independent press McNallyEditions, which reissues out-of-print books.
Karah Preiss
Karah Preiss is a creative producer living in New York City. She cofounded Belletrist Book Club with actress Emma Roberts, along with Belletrist Productions, a TV and film production company.
Sasha Bonét
Sasha Bonét is a writer, critic, and editor living in New York City. Her debut memoir The Waterbearers, selected by TIME Magazine as one of the best books of 2025, is "a sweeping intergenerational memoir and cultural history on Black matriarchy in America" (Knopf, 2025). Bonét’s criticism and essays have appeared in The Paris Review, Aperture, New York Magazine, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and BOMB among other publications. Bonét has edited monograph collections for visual artists Tschabalala Self and Jacolby Satterwhite. She is also the nonfiction editor for Apogee Journal.
Adam Eli
Adam Eli is a writer, community organizer, and communications person based in NYC. His first book The New Queer Conscience was released by Penguin Workshop in June 2020.
Levi Higgs
Levi Higgs is the Head of Archives and Brand Heritage at David Webb, and a jewelry and decorative arts historian. A graduate of the Parsons MA program in the history of decorative arts and design at the Cooper Hewitt, he has recently begun teaching a jewelry history and pop culture seminar for the department. He has written broadly on the topic of jewelry, and has given lectures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum, and Christie’s. You can follow his glittering day-to-day on Instagram at @levi_higgs.
Sarah Hoover
Sarah Hoover built a career in the art world before turning full-time to writing. Her essays on motherhood, identity, and cultural expectations have appeared in Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The Strategist, and Harper’s Bazaar amongst many others. In early 2025, she released her critically acclaimed, unflinching memoir The Motherload: Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood—an instant national bestseller, January 2025 Belletrist Book Club pick, and Times (UK) Book of the Week. Passionate about dance, Hoover co-founded the Accelerator Committee at the American Ballet Theatre and serves on the board of Art Production Fund.
Camille Okhio
Camille Okhio is a New York–based writer, curator, and historian. Her work has appeared in W Magazine, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, Wallpaper*, Elle Décor, Vogue and more. She is recognized for her ability to contextualize design within broader discussions around history and culture. She has held speaking engagements and participated in critiques at Aspen Art Museum, Noguchi Museum, the New York Studio School, Cornell University, Columbia University, Bard Graduate Center and more. She initiated her curatorial practice in 2024 with a group show, "Residual Energies," at Nina Johnson Gallery. Her work centers on fine and decorative arts and their narrative potential.
Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts is an acclaimed actress, executive producer, and co-founder of Belletrist Book Club alongside Karah Preiss. Under their Belletrist TV production banner, Emma served as a co-executive producer on the critically acclaimed series Tell Me Lies. On the small screen, she is recognized for her starring roles in Scream Queens and multiple seasons of the anthology horror series American Horror Story. Her silver screen credits include We’re the Millers, Holidate, and the upcoming Old Pals.
Images courtesy of BFA, Dan Rubinstein, Renata Pavam







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