BookExpo has a long tradition of offering a plethora of conference sessions on the day before the floor opens, including the much-touted industry favorite—the SRO Adult Book Editors Buzz Panel—and a wide range of other educational and B-to-B programming. This year, Wednesday is even weightier, with sessions and panels that get down to the nitty-gritty of analytics, data, and other new tools to expand business. Also noteworthy is that some ABA programming, previously held on full exhibition days, has shifted to Wednesday.

The programming is organized into broad categories representing different aspects and perspectives: Books & Authors, Marketing & Engagement, Independent Bookselling, and the Business of Publishing. Since the rest would be moot without books and authors, let’s begin there.

Buzz Begets Buzz

The main Wednesday event is the Adult Book Editors Buzz Panel, 1:45–3 p.m., in Room 1E12/1E13/1E14, where editors discuss upcoming authors and titles they believe will resonate with readers. BookExpo is justifiably proud of the impressive track record that the panel has demonstrated in picking winners. Among last year’s selections were Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge; Darktown by Thomas Mullen; Caraval by Stephanie Garber; Thieving Weasels by Billy Taylor; Gertie’s Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley; and The Adventurer’s Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White. Moreover, over the past three years, nine buzz books made it onto major bestseller lists, including those of PW and the New York Times. The selection process, composed of three separate committees of booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals, is designed to achieve the widest possible consensus.

This year lineup includes Jackie Cantor, senior editor at Scout Press, who will present the U.S. debut of the award-winning crime thriller Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent, a Dublin writer. Jennifer Jackson, senior editor at Knopf, will tout another U.S. debut with Nigerian-born Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay with Me, set in Adebayo’s native country. Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling, already praised by Stephen King as a masterpiece, will be further lauded by Sarah McGrath, Riverhead Books’ editor-in-chief, while Little, Brown’s senior editor and publisher Ben George will chat up The World of Tomorrow by Brendan Mathews, a panoramic novel set in 1939 New York. Sally Kim, vice president, editorial director, of Putnam, will discuss Chloe Benjamin’s second novel, The Immortalists, and Jennifer Brehl, senior vice president, executive editor, and director of editorial development at HarperCollins will shine a spotlight on The Woman in the Window, a debut thriller from A.J. Finn.

Getting Down to Business

Moving onto the business side of publishing are two key sessions. First, 9:30–11:30 a.m., in Room 1E12/1E13/1E14, is Consumer Centric Data: The New Currency of Publishing, moderated by Porter Anderson, editor-in-chief of Publishing Perspectives. Anderson will lead a discussion about how the consumer/reader is making purchasing decisions and address the urgency of publishers to embrace and understand the data behind these consumer buying decisions. Joining Anderson will be a panel with both domestic and international insights from NPD, Nielsen, BookBub, OverDrive, Audio Publishers Association, ReedPop, and others.

At 1–2:50 p.m., in room 1E07/1E08, Jon Fine leads The Future of Publishing: Building New Opportunities for Growth and Profitability, looking at new ways to reach readers and grow business. Dominique Raccah, founder and CEO of Sourcebooks; professor Renée Mauborgne, coauthor of Blue Ocean Strategy and codirector of the Insead Blue Ocean Strategy Institute; David Ewalt, author of Defying Reality: The Inside Story of the Virtual Reality Revolution (Penguin, Sept.); and Peter Hildick Smith, CEO of Codex Group, will share insight and opportunities to build new business relationships and expand outreach to readers. Topics will range from emerging markets, untapped markets, and new technology that will have a wide impact. Also, the panel will examine the readers of tomorrow who will demand new and different marketing and promotion efforts.

Spotlight on Indies

Noon–1:30 p.m., in the Special Events Hall, the annual Celebration of Bookselling Lunch will take place, featuring remarks by James Patterson, as well as presentation of the 2017 Indies Choice Book Awards and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards. Indie Next List authors and award nominees will be introduced. The annual PW Bookstore of the Year and Sales Rep of the Year awards will also be presented during the event.

Following lunch, several of the authors, award winners, and nominees will be signing books exclusively for ABA members. Please note that a paid ticket is required and space is limited.

Advance registration is required by May 18 for the popular Publicists Speed Dating, which gives ABA member bookstore owners, managers, and event coordinators the chance to meet one-on-one with publicists from several publishers. During the timed “dates,” booksellers are given the opportunity to promote their stores and discover what publicists look for in planning author tours.

The ABC Children’s Group at ABA and the Children’s Book Council have teamed up to bring back the silent art auction to benefit American Booksellers for Free Expression and Every Child a Reader. Also at the auction, 5:15–7:30 p.m., in the South Corridor, the winners of the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards will be announced. Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, serves as honorary chair and will preside over the awards program.

BookExpo Global Market Forum 2017

Wednesday will also feature panels geared toward examining what is happening in international publishing.

10–10:50 a.m.: Translated fiction has played a big role in the American market in recent years, and independent publishers are among the most successful at picking the right authors and finding a broad audience. The “Elena Ferrante” Model: How Independent Publishers Excel in Promoting International Literature session will explore the steps publishers can take to connect authors and their translators with American readers and critics. Speakers include Michael Reynolds, publisher of Europa Editions, which publishes Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels.

11–11:50 a.m.: Sharjah is an up-and-coming publishing power in the Arab world, and speakers including John Ingram of Ingram Content Group, Steve Potash from OverDrive, and Ahmed Al Ameri of the Sharjah Book Authority will discuss the creation of the Sharjah Publishing City Initiative during the session Reaching the Arab World: The New Gateway and Hub.

2–2:50 p.m.: Allowing a Publisher’s Stories to Fly: How Integrated Management of Rights Assets Connects Content in the Global Marketplace will present solutions to problems that arise when trading rights and licenses with numerous partners in different territories. Speakers include David Hetherington, COO of Klopotek, and Chris Kenneally, of the Copyright Clearance Center.—Emma Wenner