A Conversation with NYIABF Ambassador 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.

Adam is serving as an Ambassador for the 66th Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, joining a dynamic group of passionate collectors, influencers, and industry leaders who are shaping the conversation around collecting, preservation, and the cultural importance of historical materials. Ahead of the fair, we had the opportunity to ask him a few questions.

Collection & Inspiration

What do you collect?

I love when a book becomes a movie and they re-print the book with promo images of the movie on the cover. With a classic it is sort of tacky and absurd but I like to imagine that the covers are actually elaborate photoshoots done by the publishing house to honor the book's gravitas. How cool would that be? My copies of Maurice, The Age of Innocence and The Line of Beauty are especially prized possessions.

What is the most remarkable or unusual item in your collection, and how did it come into your hands?

I own a first edition of the English translation of Towards a Gay Communism: Elements of a Homosexual Critique by Mario Mieli. There is an incredible queer bookstore in Milan called Libreria Antigone and it was displayed high up on one of their bookshelves. As a fellow cross dressing Jew I’ve always been a fan of Mario Mieli and knew I had to have it!

What pieces in your collection excite you most?

I write about books, which means that I am lucky enough to sometimes be sent galleys or advanced readers copies. A galley is traditionally paperback, has larger margins and is sometimes printed on lower quality paper. The back cover often lists the book's marketing plan and it is not considered a final edit. But recently, there has emerged a market for galleys and advanced reader copies. I have a few galleys in my collection that I suspect will age very well.

If you could own any antiquarian book, manuscript or artifact in the world, what would it be, and why?

I am convinced that when the film Evita came out in 1996 they printed some sort of biography with the movie images as the cover. There is no evidence that this happened but my homosexual delusion won’t allow me to let it go. If you see it, or proof that it exists, let me know!!

Is there a historic library, archive or reading room anywhere in the world that has left a lasting impression on you?

I was floored during my visit to Qwien—Austria’s first queer cultural center, archive and research library. The collection includes everything from books, papers, T-shirts, art pieces, porn, protest signs and more.

Plugs

What’s a recent discovery, be it a book, essay, podcast or exhibition, that’s reshaped your perspective on collecting?

Handle with Care refers to themselves as “the podcast you didn’t know you needed about curtains, chairs, lamps and ornaments” but it is really all about decorative arts, interior design and often collecting. The podcast is by legendary antique dealer Laura Kugel and Adam Charlap Hyman who is, full disclosure, my husband!

Is there a collector you really admire?

I am a huge fan of Isabella Burley who runs Climax Books, which is an incredible and highly curated store filled with hard-to-find ephemera, VHS tapes, anthologies, and “books on art, photography, and counterculture that have often been overlooked or forgotten.” Her New York outpost has basically one book shelf but is a raging success because every single piece is that good. If you’ve found yourself reading this interview you probably already think collecting books is cool and of course I agree. But nobody makes collecting look cooler than Isabella.

Which past or present figure in the literary world do you most admire?

The girl to my gay, the Grace to my Will, the Marie Antoinette to my Léonard Autié, the Kimmy to my Titus, the Loulou de la Falaise to my Yves Saint Laurent—Coco Mellors. She stays completely true to herself while never compromising her craft. She is confident but never conceited and always lets me borrow her clothes.