Interesting. Especially as I overheard two 'barbarians' outside the Jarvits center (who had come along to explore their beloved book world, meet authors and explore new product) reeling at the entrance fee as they were told by someone that this was designed to keep the event to the trade, and keep the public away. Inevitably they walked away without meeting authors, the publishers behind the books, or finding their next read. What a pity!

I couldn't agree more with you: "fostering fan culture, and generating a sense of occasion" is the way forward, and I think that those publishers who aren't already doing it, can still catch up.

Now that BEA is permanently based in NYC, why not combine it with "New York is Book Country" and include a street fair running down 37th st. to the Javit's center? What about author readings in every bookstore and Starbucks in the city? 100 bloggers in a place where the reading public (and authors) can get at them?

As a book reviewer in another publishing industry which is reeling; newspapers, I find it somewhat ironic that those who are the ultimate deciders in the book publishing and newspaper publishing industries don't seem to have much of a clue as to how to stanch the bleeding. There are creative solutions out here but one must be creative and open minded to figure out what those good ideas actually are. The experts who steered this course into the slough of despond in the first place don't seem to have much of an idea as to how to get us out of it. The wagons are circled, slowly sinking beneath the sands of possibility.

SXSW for books?

Guadalajara is a great model for a book fair - trade fair during the day with events including fantastic author panels and live concerts beginning around 6pm accessible to the public, plus several days of open access barabarian-centric consumer fair fun. Plus Guadalajara is a university town and the fair does a laudable job of reaching out to the students, connecting with the readers of the future. I've wished for several years BEA would go down there and learn how to throw a real party.

It seems to me that BEA is often an accurate mirror on the state of the industry. This year, it seems as though the image was a bi-polar one, with "opportunity" on one side, and "denial" on the other. It was either the most exciting time in the history of publishing or the worst time in the history of publishing.

Granted it's much easier for smaller and less (financially) burdened companies to focus on opportunities, but what was most impressive to me were the few large ones that were embracing the concept. It was also sad that it seemed the show organizers were among those in the denial pole.

This show also reflected that some people were actually doing things, and that the time for hand-wringing and talking about doing things was nearing an end.

One of the reasons the O'Reilly TOC conference was such an undeniable success was that it highlighted (and celebrated) all the positives: action and opportunity.

As epublishers, we were talking about how BEA should become Bookcon, just like NY Comicon opened itself to the masses and went on to become one of the most successful reader events of the year.

I moderate agent/editor panels at writers conferences---for the past 6 years I've been asking this question: what is the industry doing about the web influence? What influence? has been the reply from MOST agents/editors I've asked-big names among them. The fact that one publisher who saw a gal reading from a Kindle on their train ride into BEA said he wanted to 'shoot her' (NYTimes. 6/1/09) says it all.
These inflexible 'old' farts will not be leading us into our future, that's for damn sure.

Good post, but I'd make a minor emendation. Those hand-wringing CEOs are not "managing the demise of the book business." They are merely managing the demise of their own businesses. I walked around Javits lookin at the mess and thought, the book business is alive -- it's just got a few dead limbs.

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same things the same way repeatedly and expecting different results. Sound familiar?

To use a cliche, it seems as if the mainstream industry, including the booksellers, want to have their cake and eat it, too. Must I use another cliche, not to mention mixing my metaphors, and compare them to dinosaurs?

The era when literary elitism--the idea that setting oneself above the common people gave them something to which they could aspire, and would--is over. Consumers today want what they want when they want it in the most convenient and quickest manner achievable. When they walk into a bookstore looking for good SF or romance or whatever and are confronted with shelf after shelf of literary work, and booksellers insisting they really do need to try it because they'll like it...

Isn't that what Mom says when she wants you to eat your broccoli?

The industry, in my observation, has lost track of who their real customers are, and it isn't the reviewers and booksellers. And the booksellers shouldn't be shopping for what they like to read personally--well, not entirely--but what the guy who walks into their store for the first time "just to look around" is likely to be looking for.

Yes, it's more complicated than that. The point is, there doesn't seem to be much inclination to even consider that as a possible way to compete with the Big Stores.

How can publishers resist the chance to connect with the public for virtually the same effort of hosting only trade? I love the idea of a public day or events at BEA for authors to connect directly with readers. That said, despite the economy and downsizing, the convention floor was at times crowded, uncomfortably so. Logistics would have to be considered. -- Susannah Greenberg, Public Relations, bookbuzz.com

"The fact that one publisher who saw a gal reading from a Kindle on their train ride into BEA said he wanted to 'shoot her' (NYTimes. 6/1/09)"

As an eBook author who believes in indie press, I don't even know what to say to this except that the reader paid for that book, and they took her money gladly. Who cares in which format she reads it?

The 800 pound gorilla is losing a bit of weight and by keeping up their archaic ways, they will miss an extraordinary opportunity.

R.I.P.

Big publishers (in NYC) forget that they are not the creators. They are the facilitators and they are becoming irrelevant. I agree with Lori Perkins, I immediately thought of ComicCon. Consumers drive the market, and they LOVE meeting their favorite creators. Creators who go out of their way to connect with fans sell more product, have a loyal following, and increasingly in the future will desert you dinosaurs. Get with the program and understand that you NYC publishers are not in the driver's seat anymore, your consumers are. They could not care less what imprint is on the spine of their favorite author's next book. If that means buying it directly from the author, so much the better. Alienate your CUSTOMERS at your peril. There are plenty of other options for them. And they know it, even if you can't get your heads out of your wrinkly old butts to recognize it too. This isn't sort of like the music industry's reaction, it's exactly like it.

Correction to a comment above: I believe it was the wonderful author Sherman Alexie who made the awful comment to the Times about wanting to hit a kindle reader. Perhaps this was more about his other point: I think he said kindles were elitist. This is true in the sense that they cost too much and so many of us, even in the book biz and avid readers and early adopters, will not yet buy a kindle more because of the price than format issues. Then, there is another issue, of protecting intellectual property, for both authors and publishers, to get fair compensation -- and so I guess Mr. Alexie should hit (metaphorically I hope) either Amazon or Google or his publisher in the face, not his reader -- :D

-- Susannah Greenberg, Public Relations, bookbuzz.com

I like the idea of opening BEA to the fans on Sunday. It would help promote books; get the fans up close to their idols, and might bring some fresh air into the arena.

BEA might take a page from the fine craft world. The ACC (American Craft Council) holds shows that combine days of wholesale-only trade followed by public sale days. Craftspeople take orders from stores during the first days that keep them working for months, and then sell at retail for three days when individual buyers and collectors throng the show. They have the expense of travel and display once but reach both types of buyers.

To Vick Mickunas's comment above: It's not just that publishers have no idea(s) how to "stanch the bleeding." They have no idea what caused it. Which is equating books with potato chips in the marketplace. Publishing houses marketing depts. took over the book biz. Sales/marketing is adept at selling books to booksellers--chains to discount monoliths. What's left the equation is selling books to the people who buy and read them. Editorial had the say and expertise in that once upon a fondly remembered time. Which also goes to the dead tree vs. electronic conundrum, as it isn't a conundrum at all. Dead tree or ebook is a format. A delivery system. People don't buy books for the delivery system. That's a personal preference and to an extent, pricing decision--hence the hoorah over ebooks costing near the same as discounted trad books, since many fixed production costs remain regardless of format. Books are bought for the content and editorial quality/expertise that shape them. All focus swerved to the mousetrap. For too long, none has been aimed at the mouse. We'll know it's nudging back again when content providers are retro-referred to as writers. And ya know, I'm willing to bet, on a demographic scale, writers are among the larger, if not largest book-buying consumer group. Alas, like editors, no one consults with or listens to we mice, either.

I keep reading about how wonderful the e age is and how many bookselles loved what Harper and Random House and some others were doing. I heard none of that, and I was on the floor all three days. To the contrary, the booths with books, and catalogs and authors were jumping! The afore metioned booths were empty! Booksellers were thrilled by displays like Abrams and Workman to name two very busy spots! Many commented "now this is what book publishing is about!"
As to letting in the public, there were several people with Visitor Badges on Sunday, and all they wanted was to steal anything that wasn't nailed down. I MEAN THEY WERE WALKING OFF WITH BULKING DUMMIES AND THEN ONE THEIF BROUGHT ONE BACK COMPLAINING THAT THE BOOK DIDN'T HAVE A FINISHED BACK COVER!
These folks didn't offer to buy anything, they just tried to sneak whatever they wanted into their bags! Am I the only one willing to tell the truth?

You make an excellent point. The Frankfurter Buchmesse has been letting in the barbarians for close to 20 years, and European hardcover sales have been well head of those in the US in that same timeframe.

My introduction to the industry was on a public day in Frankfurt in 1992, fighting the crowds to discover new books, interesting publishers and, over the years, meeting new clients and even my first wife. If it can work in Frankfurt, it can certainly work here (although not everyone will find a future spouse).

In response to Sherman Alexie's comment that Kindle's are elitist, when has new technology =not= been expensive at first, then come down in price? The computer I'm sure he writes on would have cost thousands of dollars not all that long ago, and everything from VCRs to MP3 players to HD-TVs started out pricey, then dropped, and I'm sure the Kindle/e-readers in general will drop in price, too. And speaking of elitist, I'd like to know if he and the Kindle woman were sitting in first class or steerage. I'm betting the former, so in my book that makes him pretty elitist himself, along with completely and inexplicably ignorant of how the world works. (Oh, and for the record? A writer friend was talking to her convenience store clerk, who started raving about how much she loves her Kindle, and last I heard, clerking at Quick-Stop wasn't one of your more elitist professions.)

As for the barbarians walking off with stuff. Why bring so much of that? ARCs are going away, or should. Bring merch to SELL! Bring that stuff out for the public and put people in the booth to service customers. You could even come out ahead $ at the end of the show, and ship less stuff back

I'm a reviewer for several dozen newspapers and magazines, yet I was actually REFUSED catalogs by three in-booth reps. They said it was because I wasn't a bookseller, so I shrugged my shoulders and walked away. Two other in-booth reps told me they couldn't give me a catalog without my "proving" that I'm a reviewer. I handed over a business card and they deigned to give me a catalog. Imagine this kind of attitude to consumers if they open up the show to the public.

I was told by publishers at BookExpo that they were not allowed to sell retail at the show. There is absolutely no point in opening the show to the public if they aren't going to give them catalogs, ARC or even sell them anything.

In a day when each and every customer is important, you hold a show that keeps the public out. One could easily distinguish bookseller from the 'barbarians' Elitist and stupid