Verbatim Text Sound Expo 2025 takes place Saturday, October 4th, 12–10pm at the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts in the Catskills. This unique event brings together small presses, record labels, and performers for a day of literature and sound, blending a poetry festival and a music art festival in one vibrant gathering.
What’s Verbatim Text Sound Expo?
Verbatim Text Sound Expo began during the first year of the pandemic as a way to bring together Hudson Valley small presses and record labels in an outdoor space to share their work. Since then, it has grown into an annual day-long market and performance festival showcasing regional creativity across poetry, avant-garde music, sound art, and hybrid text-sound experiments.
Now in its 5th year, Verbatim returns on Saturday, October 4, 2025, from 12–10pm at the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts in the Northern Catskills, part of the Catskill Mountain Foundation campus.
What to Expect at the Festival?
The Expo blends a literary marketplace with a full schedule of live performances. Visitors can meet independent publishers, explore innovative zines, discover experimental sound art, and experience cross-disciplinary performances.
Local food and drink vendors will be on site, and WGXC 90.7 FM will broadcast live from the stage, bringing the event to a wider audience across the Hudson Valley.
2025 Participants
Small Presses
Spiral Editions, Belladonna* Collaborative, 1080 Press, PS Hudson, Dispersed Holdings, Blue Bag Press, Pinsapo, We Press, Litmus Press, 18 Owls, Lanesville Press, After Hours, Arteidolia, Inpatient Press, Ugly Duckling Presse.
Record Labels
Tripticks Tapes, Infrequent Seams, Notice Recordings, LCollective, cow: Music, Carbon Records, Gold Bolus, Pogus, Wave Farm.
Zine & Self-Publishers
Lea Bertucci, Joshua Gruft (Paper Moon), Manny J. Perez (Death Rattled), Rachel Allen.
Performers
Notice Recordings: Shelley Hirsch & Hand Tammen, Shahzad Ismaily, No Land, Oliver Ray
Tripticks Tapes: Stella Silbert & Nat Baldwin
Infrequent Seams: Joe McPhee, James Ilgenfritz, Anna Vitale
Litmus Press: Tracie Morris
LCollective: Teodora Stepancic, Assaf Gidron, Laura Cetilia, Mark Cetilia, Douglas Farrand
Cow Music: Maeve Schallert
Carbon Records: SQ (Joe Tunis & Marc Faris)
Gold Bolus: Dave Ruder & Woody Leslie
Pogus: Duo Denum (Al Margolis, Tom Law)
Spiral Editions: Ryan Skrabalak and Sam Wenc
Belladonna Collaborative*: Alexis Almeida and Ayaz Muratoglu
1080 Press: Sahar Khraibani
PS Hudson: Matthew Klane
Blue Bag Press: Ry Cook, Alyx Tanner, Death Rattled (Manny J. Perez)
Pinsapo: Ball of Fire (Sparrow & Brigid Slattery)
We Press: Most Serene Congress (Chris Funkhouser, David Hirmes, Leonard Nevarez)
Hypothetical Books: Rachel Allen
Supporting the Arts
This project is supported by the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, administered by CREATE Council on the Arts.
More Performances in the Catskills
Looking for more ways to enjoy the arts this fall? Explore upcoming Catskills events—there’s something exciting for every age and taste.