BEA 2009 Verdict: Better Than Expected

The 2009 edition of BookExpo America was seen by many as a show in transition, and the changes implemented so far met with a generally good response. In an interview with Penguin president Susan Petersen Kennedy and CEO David Shanks on the second day of the convention, Shanks said he was “happy with bookseller traffic, happy with the booth, happy with the [booth] location.” The show also received an endorsement from Markus Dohle, Random House chairman and CEO, whose determination to hold down show costs prompted a dramatic reduction in the size of the Random booth. “I loved it,” Dohle said of the convention, which he called “very constructive” from Random's point of view. The CEO was at the Javits Center Friday and Saturday, because, as he explained, “It's where my authors are. It's where my customers are.” The small size of the Random booth drew lots of comments (sample: from an agent, “I found the Random booth, where's Crown's?”). Nevertheless, Dohle said, the combination of a booth to host author signings with off-the-floor rooms to conduct business meetings was “the perfect mix.” It is important to have an event like BEA, he said, “where we can come together to talk about the future. It's a great opportunity to discuss how we manage the transition to the digital world.”

Total attendance this year was put at 29,923, with 12,025 “verified” attendees, a number that includes 7,066 book buyers (including 2,100 librarians), plus media (1,700), authors, licensing and rights personnel plus film and TV production personnel. Because of complaints in the past that scanning badges every time attendees entered the exhibit floor was a nuisance, BEA counted them by using barcodes when convention-goers first picked up their badges.

As for what changes might benefit BEA, Shanks believed it would be good for the show to do more outreach with New York City, but Kennedy had no appetite for allowing the public into the exhibit hall. Several publishers said they would like to see more (reputable) book bloggers at the show, though there were more bloggers than ever in New York. The e-galley service NetGalley hosted 45 book bloggers in its booth, where the bloggers signed “blogger trading cards.”

The mood at the convention was helped by the belief that the worst of the recession—and declines in book sales—are over. An executive with a major distributor said business was up in April and May compared to 2008. A number of publishers also hoped that the aggressive reduction in inventory by the chains has come to an end. Shanks noted that with the chains, particularly Borders, cutting music and video, there will be more room for books in bookstores.

The strength of the fall list is a strong underpinning for the hopes of booksellers and publishers alike. But as one publisher said, if customers don't come into stores for the titles being offered this fall, “I don't know what we'll do.”