May, 2009
In This Issue...
Letter From The Editor...
 |
Letter From The Editor |
.jpg){kind=small} |
Interview With BEA Leading Man |
.jpg){kind=small} |
PubMatch at BEA |
.jpg){kind=small} |
Fifth Annual BEA NTS |
.jpg){kind=small} |
In The Next Issue |
.jpg){kind=small} |
2009 Show Schedule and Past Reports |
.jpg){kind=logo}
.jpg)
|
For more information about The Combined Book Exhibit or The Book Checkout , contact us at any time at: |
Dear Publisher
Last month featured a brief introduction into BookExpo America, and this month, we’re happy to get into the meat a little bit more. We’re particularly excited to have, for the third year in a row, a great interview with BookExpo America’s show director and industry VP, Lance Fensterman. We’d really like to thank him for taking time out of his schedule to sit down with us! Also below, read about how PubMatch.org can best serve you for your BEA experience. Finally, some sweet details on this year’s New Title Showcase, and what you can expect from that.
As always, Combinedbook.com, The Book Checkout, PubMatch, and a severly-lacking-as-of-late-but-picking-up-soon-I-promise Comblogged Book Exhibit are around for your benefit.
Happy BEA and Happy Reading!
.jpg)
Seth Dellon
Editor
| Interview With BEA Leading Man... |
|
You all know about BookExpo America by now, and depending on how closely you follow the show’s progress, changes and updates, you probably know that Lance Fensterman is the man behind the scenes, making sure that everything meets your standards (and taking your comments in stride when they don’t). We’re happy to catch up with Lance for the third consecutive year as he takes a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk to us about what’s going on at BEA this year, changes for next year, books he loves, and Brett Favre. Enjoy!
Combined Book Exhibit: Obvious major changes are coming next year, but what are some of the major changes coming this year?
Lance Fensterman: Wow, there are a number of them, so I will do my best to rattle them off as quickly as possible and leave your readers thoroughly confused……
- We have built stages on the show floor to provide more venues for authors to connect with the media and attendees.
- We have created multiple new attendee badges categories with more strict credentials or “proof of trade status.” This allows exhibitors to have a better idea of who they are speaking with and it increases the chances that the individual is of high value thanks to more strict review of credentials.
- We have created a new CEO panel that will take place Thursday evening, hosted by Tina Brown and will include Carolyn Reidy of Simon & Schuster, David Steinberger of Perseus and at least one other publishing CEO.
- We have reduced our number of education sessions from over 100 to around 50 with a focus being placed on quality and relevance. We also formed a Conference Advisory Board to guide all of our programming choices.
- We have instituted exclusive hours for the show floor when little to no programming will be happening of any kind, to keep the emphasis where it should be – on the show floor.
- We have made attendance for ABA members free of charge and also brought the ABA day of Education back to the Javits Center (it had been hosted at the ABA hotel the last 2 years).
- We have created a New Media Zone on the show floor that will highlight new media in many incarnations. Sony eReader and Kindle test stations, a podcast studio, a lit bloggers zone where they can plug into the internet to work for free, Borders.com will be building a large studio to capture content and more…..
CBE: There’s been lots of talk on your blog about putting the book front and center, and thinking outside the light box. What are some strategies you can offer to exhibitors, and how will the strategies benefit the attendees?
LF: We are asking exhibitors to re-think how they approach BEA and to focus on the content of what they create, not the booth or the catalogs they hand out, but to really re-imagine how they can best engage attendees. Perseus and Random House have both embraced this thinking in ways I could never have imagined. Random House has built a new booth that is focused on authors and interaction between authors and attendees. Random House meetings will take place largely in a separate location. Perseus has an amazing, edgy interactive strategy to highlight its unique offerings by creating a book, form beginning to end, in every format, over the 4 days of BEA. It’s so cool.
|
.jpg)
| PubMatch at BEA... |
.jpg) Before www.PubMatch.org even launched, BookExpo committed to recommending it to their exhibitors as a way to network before, during and after the show. The PubMatch banner you’ve seen on www.bookexpoamerica.com may have been your introduction to PubMatch, but here’s how you can use PubMatch to make the most out of your BookExpo America experience.
Show BEA Attendees What You’ll Have at the Show and Where to Find It:
If you’re exhibiting at Bookexpo America, it’s no doubt that you’re bringing new books that you want to create a buzz over. Right on your PubMatch profile, you can post the titles you’re bringing to the show so other PubMatch members can see them beforehand, and make their appointments with you based exactly on what they know you’ll have their. Also, indicate on your PubMatch profile the booth at which you’ll be stationed at BEA so people can find you.
Use PubMatch to Schedule Your BEA Appointments:
You can search PubMatch.org to see only those publishers, agents, authors and illustrators that will be at BookExpo America, see their profiles, titles and artwork, and use PubMatch’s internal messaging system to communicate and set appointments. Waste as little time as possible on the show floor by preparing beforehand at PubMatch.org.
Follow Up:
If you had some successful meetings on site, and need to pass along some sample chapters, why bother sending large files via email or FTP, when you can send someone the URL to the title on PubMatch where you’ve already uploaded sample pages from the book?
All this and more is done at PubMatch for free. Head to www.PubMatch.org to get started now!
|
| Fifth Annual BEA NTS |
.jpg){kind=logo} A couple months ago in London, the third annual London Book Fair New Title Showcase had a breakout year, setting the stage and expectations high for the fifth annual New Title Showcase at Bookexpo America. It’s safe to say that the foundation is there for a successful exhibit, it’s just a matter of seeing how it plays out.
The time between launching the registration for the New Title Showcase, and its grand opening—which is May 28th, a full day before the exhibit hall and the exhibit contained within opens—hasn’t been time spent sitting back and waiting for things to happen: Partnerships with Mom’s Choice Awards, Foreword Magazine and the Independent Publisher awards were all renewed, ensuring their winners and honorees will be well represented within the showcase; the layout of the exhibit has been re-imagined to ensure the most titles will have the most visibility; and, the Buzz Books of the New Title Showcase contest has been created, allowing NTS participants and BEA attendees and exhibitors alike to come to the New Title Showcase, vote for their favorite books, and choose the Bronze, Silver and Gold illustrated and non-illustrated Buzz Books of the NTS (the winners of which will receive a free highlighted display in the 2010 New Title Showcase along with the title of Buzz Book).
All of this shows promise for a breakout year for the Bookexpo American New Title Showcase, which is located once again outside the exhibit hall, in the Crystal Palace Lobby of the Jacob Javits Center. Be sure to come out, see all the best new titles from hundreds of publishers, and be a part of the BEA experience.
|
| In The Next Issue.... |
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2009 CBE Shows and Past Reports (click links to learn more!)
*Visit www.newtitleshowcase.com for pricing and registration Below are rates for participating in all other shows
|