Dr. Karilyn Crockett, PhD (center), author of “People Before Highways,” displays books with two patrons.

The 4th Annual Greater Roxbury Book Fair made its return on Saturday, May 16.

The fair’s aim was to bring together books, readers, authors and artists at the Boston Public Library, highlighting local, aspiring BIPOC authors along with showcasing “the creativity of the residents of Greater Roxbury,” according to a release from the organizers.

The Greater Roxbury Book Fair is also a collaborative effort among many community organizations, including Savor the Square, an economic and community engagement program rooted in culture under The American City Coalition (TACC), a nonprofit that helps to hold up “the economic, social, and physical well-being of the Boston neighborhoods they serve,” according to its website.

Other organizations that helped with the book fair were the Shaw-Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library and Frugal Bookstore, a community bookstore located in Roxbury.

The Greater Roxbury Book Fair is also supported in part by a grant from the Fellowes Athenaeum Trust of the BPL.

This annual book fair is really a Savor the Square event. The organization came to be during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, initially beginning with three community events.

“We launched Savor the Square as a way to get people to get together in a safe space…so, it’s a culturally driven, economic development and community engagement program through TACC,” said Carole Walton, director of creative economic initiatives and Savor the Square program manager.

“Savor the Square uplifts and supports over 20 BIPOC artisans or vendors. We create a platform where they can come together in partnership with the Shaw-Roxbury Branch Library. We often refer to them as creative micro-businesses,” she added.

Some of the featured guests at the fair this year included Massachusetts Book Award winner Kellie Carter Jackson (“We Refuse”) and Newbery Honor winner Lesa Cline-Ransome (“One Big Open Sky”). The fair also had panels, workshops and exhibitions that featured local authors and literary organizations.

“This year, it was larger than ever,” Walton said “We brought in some fantastic authors, and we acknowledged a couple of iconic individuals from the community.” Those included Roxbury artist Napoleon Jones-Henderson, who died last year, as well as Candelaria Norma Silva-Collins, who died in March.

She added that it was important to honor Henderson and Silva-Collins for this year’s fair as both worked closely to bring the fair to life. Silva-Collins was the project manager for the Fellowes Athenaeum Trust.

Walton said that fair organizers also decided to honor a current leader and master artist, Paul Goodnight, with three citations presented by Willie Bodrick, president and CEO of TACC and senior pastor of the historic Twelfth Baptist Church.

One citation was from state Sen. Liz Miranda, another was from the governor’s office and the third was issued by the mayor’s office. “Being able to honor Paul Goodnight [and] give him his flowers while he’s here with us was just a great opportunity for us to celebrate [in] community together,” Bodrick said.

Walton and Bodrick also spoke about how positive the community response was to the book fair’s return this year.

“It was exciting; we had kids, all ages, who were attending,” Walton said. “Everyone seemed to be having a really good time, which made me feel really, really good about it. It’s an opportunity for students to get excited about their reading list for the summer. I think that is very important.”

Bodrick added that having over 20 BIPOC artists and vendors helped make the fair a “vibrant cultural space.”

“The Shaw-Roxbury Library was lively. We were just excited to have folks in community. We had authors as young as school-age children to seniors who have been writing and doing this work for a long time,” he added.

He also shared why it is important to host the book fair for the community.

“In this moment where books [are] bei ng banned and our history is being erased, the importance of being able to own and tell our stories in Roxbury [is] an act of community resistance and celebration,” Bodrick said. “I just believe that collective storytelling and bringing the community together becomes [an] act of resistance. Reading in itself is an act of empowerment, but reading and writing are acts of liberation.”

Savor the Square has more events planned for the year, including the Roxbury Family Celebration on June 20; Roxbury Cultural + Music Festival on July 18; Peace, Love, and Hope Gospel Fest on August 29; Shop Nubian Square Day on Sept. 26; and Honoring Indigenous Peoples on October 24. All will be held on the plaza at the Shaw-Roxbury Branch Library.