The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on fairs, festivals, and other industry meetings both in the U.S. and abroad last year, and the outlook for 2021 remains uncertain. Two major international book fairs, Bologna and London, have shifted their events from early spring to June. The Bologna Children’s Book Fair changed its dates from April to June 14–17, while the London International Book Fair will be held June 29–July 1.

In the hope that the Covid-19 pandemic will subside in time to allow for an in-person event, some fairs have opted to provide two possible dates, one earlier in the year and one later. Organizers of the Madrid Book Fair have proposed hosting the fair either June 11–27 or, if it is necessary to cancel those dates, then September 10–26. “While the decision to establish two dates might seem heterodox, it was taken after responsibly evaluating the circumstances,” says Manuel Gil, director of the Madrid Book Fair. “For 2021, we know we will have to prepare hybridized content, hopefully holding a face-to-face fair, but with a parallel online program.”

In addition to Bologna, London, and Madrid, scores of shows that have appeared on PW’s annual fairs and festival listing have been canceled, postponed, or adopted some sort of online presence. For the balance of the year, then, PW will provide a two-month look ahead at conferences, listing only those events whose plans are firm at the time of publication.

January

ALA Midwinter Meeting, online, January 22–26

Albuquerque Comic Con, Albuquerque, N.Mex., January 15–17

Angoulême International Comics Festival, Angoulême, France, hybrid, January 28–31

AniMore Anime Con, Baltimore, Md., canceled

Cairo International Book Fair, Cairo, Egypt, postponed to June 30–July 15

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Dubai, U.A.E., January 29–February 13

International Kolkata Book Fair, Kolkata, India, postponed

Jaipur Literature Festival, Jaipur, India, online, January 28–February 1

Taipei International Book Exhibition, Taipei, Taiwan, January 26–31

February

ABA Winter Institute, online, February 18–20

Amelia Island Book Festival, Amelia Island, Fla., canceled

AniMangaPOP, Plymouth, U.K., postponed to 2022

Foire du Livre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, postponed

Latvia Book Fair, Riga, Latvia, postponed to May 7–9

PubWest, online, February 2–4

San Francisco Writers Conference, San Francisco, postponed to 2022

San Miguel Writers Conference, online events, October 2020–March 2021

Savannah Book Festival, planning online events

Vilnius Book Fair, Vilnius, Lithuania, postponed to May 6–9