BookExpo America: It's a Wrap!

A deep recession, declining sales, and the potential disruption of rapid technological change combined to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and caution for the kickoff of this year's BookExpo America. But for indie booksellers -- who attended the show in numbers that equaled their presence at the last New York City BEA, in 2007 -- the show was an energizing four days that combined well-attended panels and seminars; updates about an especially strong fall list; and productive, informal meetings with fellow booksellers and publishing colleagues.

"They say the sky is falling, but apparently it's not falling for independent booksellers," said BEA Vice President and Show Manager Lance Fensterman at ABA's Town Hall meeting last Friday. Following the show, BEA said that more than 7,000 "book buyers" had attended, and that the overall attendance was more than 29,000.

"For our members, BEA '09 was a very productive and important event in what has certainly been a difficult year," said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. "More than 600 indie booksellers attended our Day of Education last Thursday, and we're very happy that attendees have told us they found the sessions extremely helpful and informative. But, beyond that, our members consistently say that the most important thing ABA can do for them is to create venues for booksellers to come together and exchange ideas, and we're convinced that BEA is one of the most important events of the year for indie booksellers for that reason." Paul Yamazaki of City Lights Books, San Francisco, California, noted, "I never get tired of BEA. A national gathering is important, for, no matter how electronic things get, we all need face time."

At the show, Fensterman said that BookExpo America was working to fashion "a smaller show... that is more focused and concentrated," and he detailed new BEA initiatives, including the trade show floor Author Stages and a high-powered CEO Panel, all of which helped attract a record 1,700 media members to this year's show, up by 41 percent compared to the last New York City show. Fensterman said that BEA hoped to help "put a megaphone up to the industry" and "open a dialogue [and connect] key influencers" in the book world. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today, all ran major reports on the show.

Several ABA and BEA education sessions focused on the growing role of digitization in the book industry and the sale of e-books. Perseus Books Group's production of BOOK: The Sequel -- a collection of first sentences submitted by the public for yet-to-be-written sequels to any book ever published -- resulted in an on-the-trade-floor publication in multiple formats that garnered much attention, as did the Espresso Book Machine, which was printing books on demand in the Ingram booth.

But, as always, the focal points of the trade show for booksellers were books and authors. At the ABA Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon, 300 indie booksellers broke bread with 50 authors whose titles they have nominated for the Indie Next List and its predecessor, the Book Sense Picks.

Kelly Justice of The Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, said, "This is by far one of my favorite events. I wouldn't have missed the lunch. It always centers me for the rest of the conference." In addition, authors autographed in the ABA Booksellers Lounge, in BEA's Autographing Area, and in publisher booths on the trade show floor. And this year, BEA offered an Editor's Buzz, a Young Adult Editor's Buzz, and Independent Publishers Editor's Buzz. While there were far fewer galleys on the floor, Sheryl Cotleur of BookPassage in Corte Madera, California, still found plenty to choose from. "There are many, many wonderful books coming out this fall," she said.

ABA's educational programming, this year open to all BEA badge holders, included a full day of education on Thursday, IndieBound, IndieCommerce, and ABA Gift Card users group meetings, and a special session, "How SBA and the Federal Stimulus Package Can Help Your Business," featuring Ana M. Ma, chief of staff of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Michael Goldman, a counselor and past executive committee member for the New York City chapter of SCORE.

At the conclusion of Thursday's educational sessions, Roni K. Devlin of Literary Life Bookstore and More in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said, "I thought the day went pretty well. I always get rejuvenated when I come to BookExpo America. When I'm caught up in the day to day of the bookstore, I can forget how wonderful the world of books is -- so it's reviving to come to BEA." Elizabeth Dulli, whose bookstore, Book King Bookstore, opened in February 2009, attended Thursday's Bookseller Roundtables and noted that "there were a lot of great ideas there. I'm a new bookstore owner, so I need great ideas. It's nice to sit with people who have been doing this longer."

This week, BTW features a look at BEA in photos, new reports on the SBA panel and on the Day of Education panel on viral marketing, featuring Bill Wasik, and a recaps of the Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon and ABA's Town Hall and Annual Meeting. In upcoming issues, we'll continue our reports on ABA educational panels and provide updates on what ABA is doing to ensure indie booksellers' place in the e-book distribution channel. And, of course, all of ABA's BEA education session materials are available to all bookseller members via BookWeb.org. --Dan Cullen and Rosemary Hawkins, with reporting by David Grogan and Karen Schechner