Reed Has Big Plans for BookExpo Canada

Reed Exhibition Companies Canada, which acquired the Canadian Booksellers Association Convention and Trade Show late last summer (News, Aug. 21, 2000), has big plans for BookExpo Canada, which will run June 22-25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

"We are working to expand the focus of the event to include the entire book community--our tagline is 'The meeting place of Canada's book industry,'" Jennifer Sickinger, show manager for BookExpo Canada, told PW. "The floor space is about 75% sold--it's been a huge acceptance from the industry." Included in the plans for this year's show is a new Rights Center located on the show floor and presented by Reed in conjunction with rightscenter.com and Publishers Weekly.

"This is an important first step for the Canadian publishing rights trade," Sickinger said. "We hope to be able to accommodate the growing international interest in Canadian books by offering the Canadian publishing industry an opportunity to showcase their titles to the world."

The nature of the show will differ from previous years since BookExpo Canada plans to open its arms to other groups in the book industry, according to Sickinger. "In addition to the independents, we are welcoming chain bookstores, librarians and other industry stakeholders," Sickinger told PW.

Librarians will have their own track at the conference. In addition, the conference program will be further developed to address changes in the book industry marketplace.