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| BookExpo Proves You Can Have a Trade Show in a Pandemic, Virtually | BookExpo Proves You Can Have a Trade Show in a Pandemic, Virtually |
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| As surely as we turn ahead the clocks in March, in late May thousands in the publishing industry — authors, publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians and others — put on their ID lanyards and mill around New York’s cavernous Jacob K. Javits Center for BookExpo. But not this year. | As surely as we turn ahead the clocks in March, in late May thousands in the publishing industry — authors, publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians and others — put on their ID lanyards and mill around New York’s cavernous Jacob K. Javits Center for BookExpo. But not this year. |
| One of many cornerstone industry events canceled over safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, BookExpo salvaged what it could last week, offering live events on Facebook from May 26 to May 31. The result was a shadow of the usual spectacle, but it reached a lot of people and offered lessons for the industry as future prospects for mass gatherings remain clouded. | One of many cornerstone industry events canceled over safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, BookExpo salvaged what it could last week, offering live events on Facebook from May 26 to May 31. The result was a shadow of the usual spectacle, but it reached a lot of people and offered lessons for the industry as future prospects for mass gatherings remain clouded. |
| Reedpop, the event’s organizer, had initially postponed until late July, with hopes of still staging it at the Javits. It soon became clear that the revised dates would also be unfeasible, and in early May the company announced the migration online. Reedpop had to quickly decide, in consultation with publishers, which parts of the event to preserve. | Reedpop, the event’s organizer, had initially postponed until late July, with hopes of still staging it at the Javits. It soon became clear that the revised dates would also be unfeasible, and in early May the company announced the migration online. Reedpop had to quickly decide, in consultation with publishers, which parts of the event to preserve. |
| “We went for quality over quantity,” said Jennifer Martin, the event director. “We wanted to pick out the pillar events and do them really, really well. That was better than scrambling to do all we usually do, when we have eight panel rooms and three stages on the conference floor and so on.” | “We went for quality over quantity,” said Jennifer Martin, the event director. “We wanted to pick out the pillar events and do them really, really well. That was better than scrambling to do all we usually do, when we have eight panel rooms and three stages on the conference floor and so on.” |
| Some of those pillar events were the “buzz panels,” at which editors talk about forthcoming books by authors they believe are most primed to break out. In the new setup, the editors were in conversation with those authors on Zoom. Sally Kim, the editor in chief of Putnam, spoke with Robert Jones Jr. about his debut novel, “The Prophets,” which will be published in January. Kim surprised Jones with the final dust jacket of his novel, wrapped around another book to give him a sense of what the finished product will look like. Jones’s emotional reaction, seen intimately up close in his home office, would likely not have been as powerful in the hangar-like Javits Center. | Some of those pillar events were the “buzz panels,” at which editors talk about forthcoming books by authors they believe are most primed to break out. In the new setup, the editors were in conversation with those authors on Zoom. Sally Kim, the editor in chief of Putnam, spoke with Robert Jones Jr. about his debut novel, “The Prophets,” which will be published in January. Kim surprised Jones with the final dust jacket of his novel, wrapped around another book to give him a sense of what the finished product will look like. Jones’s emotional reaction, seen intimately up close in his home office, would likely not have been as powerful in the hangar-like Javits Center. |
| Dawn Davis, the publisher of the imprint 37Ink at Simon & Schuster, spoke on a buzz panel with Nadia Owusu about Owusu’s memoir, “Aftershocks,” also coming in January. Davis thought the new format allowed for a more focused and personal interview, but also said the cozier feel came at the expense of the crowds who normally mingle during the fair. | Dawn Davis, the publisher of the imprint 37Ink at Simon & Schuster, spoke on a buzz panel with Nadia Owusu about Owusu’s memoir, “Aftershocks,” also coming in January. Davis thought the new format allowed for a more focused and personal interview, but also said the cozier feel came at the expense of the crowds who normally mingle during the fair. |
| “I missed the energy of interacting with the other editors who are presenting,” Ms. Davis said. She also missed the opportunity to expand her social circle. “Some booksellers I’ve known for over 20 years are people I met at BookExpo; serendipitous encounters, and you look up two decades later and you have these deep friendships with emails and phone calls and maybe even visits if you’re in their town.” | “I missed the energy of interacting with the other editors who are presenting,” Ms. Davis said. She also missed the opportunity to expand her social circle. “Some booksellers I’ve known for over 20 years are people I met at BookExpo; serendipitous encounters, and you look up two decades later and you have these deep friendships with emails and phone calls and maybe even visits if you’re in their town.” |
| Despite the lack of face-to-face contact, the number of eyeballs available online is always greater than in the nonvirtual world. On the first day of BookExpo online, a series of panels in which librarians across the country discussed their response to the coronavirus crisis attracted nearly 21,000 viewers, according to Reedpop. The company said that about 400,000 viewers joined over the weekend for BookCon, a relatively new part of the expo during which the public — about 20,000 people last year at the Javits — is invited in for author readings and panels. | Despite the lack of face-to-face contact, the number of eyeballs available online is always greater than in the nonvirtual world. On the first day of BookExpo online, a series of panels in which librarians across the country discussed their response to the coronavirus crisis attracted nearly 21,000 viewers, according to Reedpop. The company said that about 400,000 viewers joined over the weekend for BookCon, a relatively new part of the expo during which the public — about 20,000 people last year at the Javits — is invited in for author readings and panels. |
| In 2019, 8,260 people attended the industry side of the expo. Nearly 500 companies exhibited on the event floor, an experience that was impossible to replicate online. | In 2019, 8,260 people attended the industry side of the expo. Nearly 500 companies exhibited on the event floor, an experience that was impossible to replicate online. |
| Valerie Koehler, the owner of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, said she went to BookExpo in person for 20 consecutive years, and she credited the networking she’s done there as a big part of her store’s success. This year, she especially missed meeting with “the small guys, independent publishers,” she said, or companies offering products like games or stationery. | Valerie Koehler, the owner of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, said she went to BookExpo in person for 20 consecutive years, and she credited the networking she’s done there as a big part of her store’s success. This year, she especially missed meeting with “the small guys, independent publishers,” she said, or companies offering products like games or stationery. |
| Updated August 24, 2020 | |
| But she’s well-versed in what the biggest publishers are doing because, being in a major metropolitan area, she knows field representatives for all of them. She said the opportunity for publishers to extend outreach efforts online was an important one. | But she’s well-versed in what the biggest publishers are doing because, being in a major metropolitan area, she knows field representatives for all of them. She said the opportunity for publishers to extend outreach efforts online was an important one. |
| “I think they’re going to make a lot of information more available all the time, instead of waiting until people get to New York to talk,” she said. “This is a way to reach out to people who don’t go to BookExpo or don’t talk to field reps on a regular basis. They can bring a lot of programming to a lot more people than can afford the airfare, the hotel and all that goes with it.” | “I think they’re going to make a lot of information more available all the time, instead of waiting until people get to New York to talk,” she said. “This is a way to reach out to people who don’t go to BookExpo or don’t talk to field reps on a regular basis. They can bring a lot of programming to a lot more people than can afford the airfare, the hotel and all that goes with it.” |
| Ramiro Salazar, the director of the San Antonio Public Library, said that he received “quite a bit of positive feedback” about his panel, and that conducting the expo virtually spoke to “what I think the future holds for all of us.” | Ramiro Salazar, the director of the San Antonio Public Library, said that he received “quite a bit of positive feedback” about his panel, and that conducting the expo virtually spoke to “what I think the future holds for all of us.” |
| He added: “This virus has changed the environment. Libraries are expected to continue to impact communities in a very real way. We have to figure out how we can do it digitally. Virtual experiences are going to dominate our way of doing things. I’m not saying it’s going to replace; at some point, I see libraries being what they used to be, but not anytime soon.” | He added: “This virus has changed the environment. Libraries are expected to continue to impact communities in a very real way. We have to figure out how we can do it digitally. Virtual experiences are going to dominate our way of doing things. I’m not saying it’s going to replace; at some point, I see libraries being what they used to be, but not anytime soon.” |
| The same goes for book fairs. The London Book Fair was canceled in early March, less than a week before it was scheduled to begin. The Paris Book Fair (March), PEN America’s World Voices Festival in New York (May) and the Edinburgh Book Festival (August) have also been canceled. The Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, a major date on the industry’s calendar, is still “set to take place” in October, according to its website, but HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Bloomsbury and the French arm of Hachette have all said they would not be sending staff to the event because of safety concerns. | The same goes for book fairs. The London Book Fair was canceled in early March, less than a week before it was scheduled to begin. The Paris Book Fair (March), PEN America’s World Voices Festival in New York (May) and the Edinburgh Book Festival (August) have also been canceled. The Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, a major date on the industry’s calendar, is still “set to take place” in October, according to its website, but HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Bloomsbury and the French arm of Hachette have all said they would not be sending staff to the event because of safety concerns. |
| Martin acknowledged that even if the Javits is open for business next year, things will look different. “I don’t think any part of what we used to do is going to be ‘rinse and repeat’ for the future,” Martin said. “What’s happened will change us as a people, and if anyone thinks we’re going to go ‘back to normal’ and everything will be as it was, they’re kidding themselves.” | Martin acknowledged that even if the Javits is open for business next year, things will look different. “I don’t think any part of what we used to do is going to be ‘rinse and repeat’ for the future,” Martin said. “What’s happened will change us as a people, and if anyone thinks we’re going to go ‘back to normal’ and everything will be as it was, they’re kidding themselves.” |