Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!  It’s the end of the year here, and what a year it’s been.  Here’s hoping 2009 is even better!

A lot of websites and news sources are rounding off their year-ends with all sorts of different lists, so we’ll be no different.  As we’re closing out our 75^th year anniversary, we’re proud to present our recap in what is:

The Top Stories of 2008 from CBE

In January, Combined Book Exhibit became Library Champions in order to try to give back more to the library industry.

February brought CBE—and a lot of you with us—to debut some great small presses at the American International Toy Fair.

April brought with it The London Book Fair, and the first of three New Title Showcases, which would include the NTS debut at Bookexpo Canada!

Late May saw the 2008 edition of Bookexpo America, and we were lucky enough to sit down with the show’s director, Lance Fensterman.

At Bookexpo America, there was a great panel on “What Librarians Want Publishers to Know.”  We were happy to attend, and tell you what we learned.

To coincide with the American Library Association Annual conference, The Book Checkout was launched, and continues to grow!

Though the entire year was tough economically, it really started to hit hard after the summer, so we compiled some information for you on some possible ways to use these tough times to your advantage.

While the world’s largest book fair takes place in Germany in October, right after that one wrapped, the largest book fair in the Arab World took place in Sharjah, and we were on hand with an exhibit completely full of award winning and best-selling books!

Finally, as the year wrapped, we proudly sponsored the 21^st Annual Indie and Small Press Book Fair.

All of this was separate from our 25 show schedule where we traveled the country and the world to spread the word about some great books.

2008 was a great year to turn 75, and with all the ups and downs, we were able to experience some fantastic books and meet and learn about amazing publishers. 

Thank you for your constant support.  Never hesitate to contact us with any suggestions, concerns or kind words.

We look forward to sharing year 76 with you in 2009, with a full schedule of events, including our return to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.  But first, we’ll see you at ALA Midwinter.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

Seth