PW's Events Listing: Gaithersburg Book Festival’s 'State of the Book' Panel

Do you have an industry event you would like to share with the publishing community? If so, send details about upcoming happenings to us at events@publishersweekly.com. (Please note, we will not run information about promotional events, such as book parties.)


Gaithersburg Book Festival's "State of the Book" panel discussion. Date: May 21, 2011. Where: Gaithersburg City Hall, Gaithersburg, Md. What: The panel will feature reporter Michael Norris, bookseller Mark LaFramboise, publisher Jed Lyons, agent Gail Ross, and editor Geoff Shandler sharing their perspectives on the business. More info: www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org.

Spring Book Show Up; May Forms GABBS Network

In Atlanta this past weekend, L.B. May & Associates put on its 16th Spring Book Show, featuring some 70 vendors and more than 85,000 bargain titles—including remainders, returns, promotionals, "white sales," and used books. In addition, Larry May, who owns L.B. May with his wife Valerie, announced the creation of the GABBS (Great American Bargain Book Show) network, which will encompass the annual Atlanta event, L.B. May's Boston convention (held every August), and newly-implemented news services like an e-newsletter, a print buyers guide, and a website (www.gabbs.net) that will soon offer training modules and short videos.

PW's Events Listing: 27th Annual IBPA Publishing University

Do you have an industry event you would like to share with the publishing community? If so, send details about upcoming happenings to us at events@publishersweekly.com. (Please note, we will not run information about promotional events, such as book parties.)


27th Annual IBPA Publishing University. Date: May 22-23, 2011. Where: Javits Center, New York City. What: Sessions on how-to topics in publishing led by industry experts in sales, marketing, social media, and copyright; a panel of e-reading prognosticators; an “Everything Google” session; and the 23rd Annual Benjamin Franklin Awards and Reception. Keynote speaker: David “Skip” Prichard, president and CEO of Ingram Content Group. More info: www.ibpapublishinguniversity.com.

C2E2: Lots of New Comics for Kids, Teens

There was no sophomore slump at the second annual Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo as far as comics and graphic novels for children and teens. There were new title announcements from Archaia and Oni Press, an Owly picture book debuting from Top Shelf, and a new Jill Thompson title from DC's usually adults-only imprint, Vertigo.

Attendance Rises At Second Annual C2E2

The second annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) drew 34,000 attendees, a significant improvement from last year's show. Organizers say increased local awareness and branding that emphasized the "comic" part of the show’s name, helped boost attendance.

PW's Events Listing: Digital Book Printing Forum

Do you have an industry event you would like to share with the publishing community? If so, send details about upcoming happenings to us at events@publishersweekly.com. (Please note, we will not run information about promotional events, such as book parties.)


Digital Book Printing Forum. Date: April 5, 2011. Where: New York Marriott Marquis, New York City. What: Digital printing and publishing industry market and technology research and consulting firm Interquest hosts its annual educational forum on trends and opportunities in digital book manufacturing. Keynote speaker: Lulu.com founder and CEO Bob Young. More info: click here.

Writers Raise Money for Nashville, National Red Cross

While brainstorming ideas with her local chapter for Red Cross Month—that's March—Nashville author and longtime Red Cross volunteer Holly Tucker suggested they put together a fundraiser with the Tennessee writing community, which came together less than a year before to raise funds and awareness when Nashville was hit by devastating floods in May, 2010 (an effort spearheaded by YA authors Myra McEntire, Victoria Schwab, and Amanda Morgan).

SXSW: Thinking Beyond Publishing to Storytelling

In PW's first trip to SXSW, we came to the Interactive portion of the days-long event in Austin wondering how best to tackle a show featuring an endless stream of panels, talks, and parties.

Riggio Tells Publishers 'Transformational Growth' Ahead

In an upbeat and optimistic keynote speech about the book market at the annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers, Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio said the industry is on the cusp of "transformational growth" led by the sale of digital content, and he urged publishers to produce different kinds of e-books ranging from novellas to books that can be updated.

AAP Annual Meeting Set for March 9

The Association of American Publishers 2011 annual meeting is set for March 9 at the Yale Club in New York. Keynote speaker will be Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio. The closing panel will be a conversation between AAP CEO Tom Allen and Will Pesce who will retire as CEO of John Wiley at the end of April.

Guadalajara's FIL Launches Spanish-Language Fair in Los Angeles

The Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (FIL, or Guadalajara International Book Fair), the largest and most important book fair for the Spanish-language book world, is launching a States-side fair this spring, LéaLA. The Spanish-language book fair will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from April 29–May 1 and will be free to the general public.

Web Seminar Debates How Self-Publishing Will Lose Its Stigma

Thanks to the well-publicized success of authors like J.A. Konrath, Amanda Hocking, and Seth Godin, the stigma surrounding self-publishing is fading fast. Still, it’s far from gone, and a web seminar sponsored by PW and Digital Book World yesterday titled The Evolution of Self-Publishing covered the reasons for self-publishing’s stigma, how and why it’s losing that stigma, and what the industry and individual authors need to do in order to help self-publishing move even further into the mainstream.

PW's Events Listing: Compleat Biographer Conference

Do you have an industry event you would like to share with the publishing community? If so, send details about upcoming happenings to us at events@publishersweekly.com. (Please note, we will not run information about promotional events, such as book parties.)


Compleat Biographer Conference. Date: May 21, 2011. Where: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. What: The daylong conference will be preceded by a series of research workshops, at such important institutions as the Library of Congress and the National Archives, and a reception at the home of one of the city’s leading biographers. Keynote speaker: Robert Caro. More info: http://www.biographersinternational.org/conference.html.

Toy Fair 2011: Publisher Attendance Down, but Books Presence Remains

The mood at the 108th Annual American International Toy Fair, which ran February 12–16 at New York's Javits Center, seemed optimistic, and the aisles were more crowded and energetic than in the past several years.

AWP 2011: Where Indie Presses, Handselling and Digital Meet

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference (AWP) took place from February 3-6 in Washington D.C. The conference, with its massive book fair, has become the most important gathering for independent and university publishers.

PW Events Listing: L.A. Bookwoman Conference on Book Publishing

Do you have an industry event you would like to share with the publishing community? If so, send details about upcoming happenings to us at events@publishersweekly.com. (Please note, we will not run information about promotional events, such as book parties.)

L.A. Bookwoman Conference on Book Publishing in 2011. Date: Feb. 26, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Where: Marina Del Rey Hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif. What: An all-day event featuring a series of workshops and panels on topics including new self-publishing models, developments in digital publishing (e-books and book apps), new social media book marketing strategies, and pitching to literary agents and producers. Panelists include Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords; Kassia Krozser, publisher of Booksquare; and Wendy Kram, film/tv producer and founder of L.A. for Hire. More info: http://www.wnba-books.org/la/.

PW's Events Listing: ABPA's Meet the Acquiring Editors

Do you have an industry event you would like to share with the publishing community? If so, send details about upcoming happenings to us at events@publishersweekly.com. (Please note, we will not run information about promotional events, such as book parties.)

PW's Events Listing: Oxford American Summit for Ambitious Writers

Oxford American Summit for Ambitious Writers. Date: June 21-26, 2011 Where: Petit Jean Mountain, Arkansas. Topic: A five-day, creatively intense workshop for writers seeking to enhance their literary skills. Cost: $1,000, plus room & board. More info: summit.oxfordamerican.org/.