One More BEA in the Books—2014 Edition
I’ve noticed we live now in an age of reunions, with various landmarks in our lives regularly memorialized. There are invitations to school reunions, throw-back Thursdays in our social networks (aka #tbt), and much (re)greeting and (re-)meeting at occasions related to our professions. Most recent among these for me was Book Expo America (BEA), held in NYC May 28-31 at the Javits Center.
I’ve been attending the annual book convention most years since 1978, when I got started in the book business with Undercover Books, the bookstore chain I ran with my siblings and our parents until 1985, when I came to NY and began working in publishing. Over the past ten years BEA has almost always been held in NY, though in earlier decades the book industry held its trade show in Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, Anaheim, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. For a long time the event was called ABA, until the American Booksellers Association, the trade group of indie booksellers that ran it, sold the show to Reed Exhibitions, a corporation that runs such conventions. The regular meetings with many of the same people over many years accounts in part for the warmth and chumminess that makes the book business such a special field to work in.
A hunger for human connections, for friends new and old, in business and in our lives, has long been part of human nature, and I believe it’s increasing. Our society is in the third decade of the Internet, with more and more virtuality in our lives all the time, so true human contact is welcomed, especially with the economic stresses so many live with, leading us to crave actually seeing old friends and establish new relationships, giving us a chance to speak of our latest enterprises and tell our personal stories, while listening to those of our friends and counterparts. I think this appetite for the actual is also responsible for the growth I’ve noticed in the field of educational conferences—public events that have thematic programming, and often quite interesting public speakers, who may speak on their own, often with projected slides, or as part of panels with multiple speakers in conversation.
I think this also helps explain why a company for which I consult, ExpertFile.com has made a good business for itself the past few years. I began working with them after I met CEO Peter Evans at Digital Book World in 2011, when they were known as SpeakerFile. One of the areas in which they’d established themselves was to help meeting planners connect with the right speakers for each event, sort of like an eHarmony for the conference industry. In their name change ExpertFile identifies the gaining of expertise as a great need of modern professionals. They still work in the conference area, but now concentrate on helping organizations amplify and promote their in-house talent through online expert centers created with ExpertFile’s unique software, enabling members of the media, businesspeople, and conference organizers to discover these uniquely talented people. During BEA, I was tweeting tech stories from the floor that I found compelling, like this one.
Enjoyed chatting w/Abe Dane CEO of @tizra, developer of web-based publishing platform that enables storefront sales. http://t.co/0yKeXYaH9K
— ExpertFile (@expertfile) May 29, 2014
Another intriguing company, new to me, if not entirely new in the market, was Mediander, which describes itself as creating “a knowledge engine, and power[ing] contextual discovery.” I was reminded in what they’re doing of Small Demons, the now-shuttered company that emphasized keyword indexing and mapping of publishers’ titles. I look forward to seeing what Mediander does in months to come.
I note that during the recession, while so many industries floundered or sunk, conferences (like Aspen Institute, TED, TEDx, and Digital Book World flourished). Though O’Reilly and F&W Media shuttered Tools of Change after 2013, they still run a bunch of other conferences. By contrast, it must be said that the convention business—with events like BEA, where attendees still stroll aisles of booths set up by exhibitors—is relatively weak. BEA is trying to affiliate itself with more programmed events, but at its core it’s still been a trade show with floor exhibits mounted mostly by, in our case, publishers. Significantly, in 2013, and again this year, BEA has on its last day opened the show to the reading and bookbuying public—fans of authors—an inevitable evolution that I endorse. This latter part of BEA is now called BookCon, and Shelf Awareness reports that next year Reed will extend the the convention by a day, into Sunday with a second day of BookCon. This move, mixing an industry show with a consumer show, echoes ComicCon, a very successful show in Reed’s line-up. This year BookCon seemed to go very well, with more than 10,000 members of the reading public buying tickets and attending, as you’ll see from some photos below.
I’m going to reserve most of my book and publisher commentary for the captions accompanying the pictures below, most of them taken by Kyle Gallup, my wife, a painter, and Managing Editor of Philip Turner Book Productions.
Before that, I’ll say I’ve already read and enjoyed one book I got at Book Expo, Harvey Araton’s newspaper novel, Cold Type, which I made my #FridayReads this past weekend. I also want to add an observation that despite the continuing struggles of book publishing, it was actually quite an upbeat convention. Business has stabilized since the depths of the recession, and people are tired of feeling lousy, and talking as if the earth’s going to swallow us all. And, business has definitely gotten better in some areas. Also, many bookpeople I know were heartened this year by the fact that Amazon is taking it on the chin in many quarters of the press and in public opinion for their quarrel with Hachette over wholesale discount policies that the Seattle company is reportedly trying to dictate to the publisher. I don’t know when or how the standoff will end, but it makes many bookpeople, including me, feel good, or a bit better, to see the shine on Amazon’s reputation get tarnished a bit. With that, I’ll say I enjoyed I seeing many old friends, and making new ones at this year’s BEA. If you there were, dear reader, and we somehow didn’t bump in to each other, I hope you had a good convention, and I hope to see you next year. Here are many of the pictures Kyle and I took:
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- The first day of BEA the Center for Fiction held an excellent panel on the topic of likability among characters in fiction. Participants discussed if the question applies more frequently to the characters of female writers. It was a good warm-up to BEA.
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- I observed that male writers like Philip Roth, J.P Donleavy, and Mordecai Richler as it were had had permission to invent ‘bad’ protagonists, and I wondered if the same was true of female writers.
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- The panel was moderated by Carmela Ciuraru, with (from l. to r.) Zoe Heller, J. Courtney Sullivan, and Elissa Schappell.
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- BEA banner
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- The remainder Company Daedalus had this cool book, designed like an album, on R. Crumb.
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- A new biography of legendary acting teacher Stella Adler, from Applause Books.
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- Coach House of Toronto, established in 1965, is the rare publisher that prints its own books on its own presses. I love their list of fiction, poetry, urban studies, and topical nonfiction.
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- “Great literature, a little off the beaten path.”
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- With many books by and about author Art Spiegelman, Jeet Heer chose to write about his wife, artist Francoise Mouly.
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- Coach House editorial director Alana Wilcox is a friend.
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- City Lights Publishing was started at the eponymous bookstore in San Francisco
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- I’m glad to see more books coming on blueswomen, like this one on Memphis Minnie.
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- Like the bookstore, City Lights Publishing was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
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- With Andy Ross, longtime owner of Cody’s Books in Berkeley, CA, now remade as a literary agent
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- A book on Pussy Riot from Feminist Press.
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- Feminist Press titles are distributed to bookstores by Consortium, a long-running distributor of indie presses.
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- Counterpoint and Soft Skull Press are located in Berkeley, CA. Megan Fishmann is Publicity Director.
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- Rolph Blythe is Publisher of Counterpoint and Soft Skull, where the owner is Charlie Winton, who owned Carroll & Graf Publishers when I worked there 2000-07.
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- Elizabeth Drew’s classic collection Washington Journal, is being reissued by Overlook Press, with new material for what will be the 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation from office.
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- Here I’m talking with Jack Lamplough, Publicity Director at Overlook.
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- A lead fiction title for Overlook is The Illusionists, a novel with elements of the fanatastical.
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- I look forward to reading this history book from Georgetown University Press, especially as I’ve been enjoying the AMC TV series Turn, on spying during the Revolutionary War.
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- An important Cold War memoir from Georgetown University Press.
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- What a great idea for a cookbook–Cast Iron Nation from Oxmoor Publishing.
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- My Tibetan Childhood, from Duke University Press.
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- Fordham University Press brings out excellent books of local NY history.
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- I was surprised to see former Clinton Administration official Webster Hubbell signing a novel he’s published.
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- Webb Hubbell seemed to relish his signing duties.
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- There’s an art to getting galleys ready for an author to sign. Here a Macmillan publicity staffer has done a meticulous job getting the signing ready for author Lisa Scottoline.
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- At the McGraw-Hill booth I was glad to meet legendary business book author Ken Blanchard, author of One-Minute Manager, who was signing Legendary Service.
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- Ken Blanchard had a long line at the McGraw-Hill booth.
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- Again at the Macmillan booth, John Scalzi, a Hugo-award winner in science fiction, had many fans eager to get a signed copy of his new book from Tor Books.
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- Anjelica Huston was signing her memoir from Scribner.
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- Marie-Helene Bertino, signing 2 AM at the Cat’s Pajamas.
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- I ran in to a number of interesting dog books, and dogs.
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- Lassie meeting her public.
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- I think the woman meeting Lassie couldn’t have been more thrilled.
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- Lassie, showing that BEA is really all about shaking hands and making new contacts.
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- Lassie was helping Abingdon Press promote their new title, Man’s Best Friend.
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- hootchi and little b looks like an emotional true story.
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- The inaugural catalog of the new publisher Flatiron Books is an homage to the NYC building in which they’re located. Their lead book is Oprah’s memoir.
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- Always lots of great books to see at the Abrams booth.
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- A tempting topic.
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- This Abrams book explores our interest in ruins over many centuries.
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- A children’s title from Abrams, Digging a Hole to Heaven.
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- Facing the camera is longtime Abrams friend, consummate book salesman, Lawrence Adamo.
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- Chinese printer Artron creates some lavish book productions.
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- I picked up a copy of Ray Robertson’s I Was There the Night He Died, which I’m enjoying very much. It has a smart and interesting narrator.
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- Biblioasis is a small press located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. They are also distributed by Consortium.
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- Biblioasis is one of many Canadian publishers that exhibits at Book Expo America.
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- Cider Mill Press is run by John Whalen (l.). One of their lead titles this fall is radio host Michael Smerconish’s novel, Talk.
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- A panel on comics and graphic novels included (l. to r.) Michael Cho, Jules Feiffer, moderator Calvin Reid (center), Raina Telgemeir, and Farel Dalrymple,
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- Jules Feiffer, famous for his dancers, draws boxers who might be terpsichoreans.
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- The cover of Micahel Cho’s graphic novel The Shoplifter.
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- The iconic Big Boy, from a photo book on Coney Island.
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- Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel in the distance.
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- C-Span’s Book TV has a veritable studio in the Javits Center concourse, just outside the exhibit floor.
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- Many app companies and ebook providers had booths in the Digital Discovery area.
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- I ejnoyed talking with Abe Dane, CEO of Tizra, a company that helps sellers open bookselling sites on the Web.
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- “The future of Ebook apps.”
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- South Korea seemed to making a big play for North American customers for their ebook services.
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- A digital book fair coming up this fall in South Korea.
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- Hoopla
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- Mediander was to me one of the most intriguing new companies at this BEA. It describes itself as a knowledge engine.
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- Mediander says it “powers contextual discovery and exploration,” so you can “dive into millions of topics, images, videos and books—all intelligently connected, all in one place.
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- The entrance to BookCon was a hubbub of activity and excitement generated by fans waiting to meet some of their fave authors.
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- BookCon drew a young audience, for whom I heard the price of admission was discounted to as low as $10.
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- The autograph lines at BookCon were long, but people were patient.
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- Macmillan had a lengthy agenda of authors signing at BookCon.
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- I enjoyed speaking with Peter Barrett, at Columbia University Press. We were colleagues at Carroll & Graf, in the mid-2000s.
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- From McGill-Queen’s University Press in Montreal, You’re Not Dead Until You’re Forgotten: A Memoir by John Dunning, longtime indie filmmaker.
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- Dunning is said to have been influenced director David Cronenberg, and actor Bill Murray.
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- A biography of William Blake, also McGill-Queen’s University Press of Montreal.
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- A book of labels for home brewers, from Chronicle Books.
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- I was unaware of Interlink Publishers until this BEA. They publish in travel, cookery, and on international subjects.
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- Interlink also had this tempting looking NYC photo book.
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- Some of Interlink’s travel titles, cultural guides.
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- University of Illinois Press is publishing the AIA Guide to Chicago. I once published the AIA Guide to NYC.
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- Illinois’ lead title was this biography of Jimmy Rodgers, who played with Muddy Waters, among other blues greats.
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- I didn’t know there was a biography of American guitar great, John Fahey, from Chicago Review Press.
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- Live Dead, a photo book of the Grateful Dead, by Bob Minkin from Insight Editions.
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- Valerie Merians of Melville House, a favorite indie press, located in Brooklyn,
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- The look of Melville House books is very recognizable.
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- Dennis Loy Johnson runs Melville House with his wife Valerie Merians. Dennis was talking with Bill Strachan of HarperCollins.
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- University of Minnesota Press is another of my favorite publishers.
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- One of Minnesota’s lead titles is The Price of Thirst, on global water policy.
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- The Essential Ellen Willis is a follow-up to an earlier collection, Out of the Vinyl Depths. The late Willis was an articulate critic on everything from rock n’ roll to women’s issues.
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- In the sport coat is Doug Armato, Marketing Director for University of Minnesota Press.
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- With longtime friend George Gibson of Bloomsbury Publishing.
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- Mel Parker and George Gibson.
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- Herman Graf and I worked together at Carroll & Graf from 2000-07.
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- Herman now works with Skyhorse Publishing.
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- Herman is a great storyteller who I always enjoy seeing at BEA.
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- Talking with Jon Karp, President and Publisher at Simon & Schuster. We were colleagues at Random House/Times Books in the late ’90s.
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- With Beverley Slopen, Toronto literary agent.
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- With Josh Marwell of HarperCollins. Josh sold Undercover Books as a book rep back in the day.
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- With Chris Finan of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) for whom I work as the coordinator of their affiliate program.
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- ABFFE organizes Banned Books Week each fall.
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- A biography of the novel, from Harvard University Press.
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- Interior of Song of the Broad-Axe.
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- Song of the Broad-Axe, a Walt Whitman edition.
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- Out-of-Print Clothing is a great line of book-related t-shirts and paper goods.
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- Two fave books on t-shirts.
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- Mighty Bright lights are great reading lights for all kinds of situations, from people laying in bed to workers, like orchestra conductors and stage managers who have to read in the dark.
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- Star Wars characters constructed of Legos.
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- Chewbaka in Legos.
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- I first learned about David Icke from author Jon Ronson’s The Psychopath Test, where he wrote about Ickes, a one-time BBC broadcaster who then became a proponent of many loopy theories, including that human beings are descended from 6-foot tall reptiles. I was surprised to see he has a book imprint.
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- A Hillary Clinton Coloring book
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- This new collection of short stories by Hilary Mantel has a pretty arresting title.
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- Imagine Film was started by Benny Hung. IF encourages people to think about their fave book that could become a movie.
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- Modern artist biographies.
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- Uptown Grow Lab, a new press with a book devoted to artistic photography of marijuana.
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- A handsome quilt book from STC
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- Invasion of Heaven is a high-concept self-published novel, combining history, myth, and fantasy. The author had a proper sword at this booth, as you can see in the center of the photo.
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- Longtime member of The Band Robbie Robertson assembled Legends, Icons, Rebels, which includes 2 CDs of music (Random House Canada).
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- A son writing about his father–Jonathan D. Moreno (who earlier wrote Mind Wars on Pentagon research on the mind) has now written a book on his father J.L. Moreno, influential psychologist (Bellevue Literary Press).
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- A galley of the Annotated H.P. Lovecraft from Liveright Publishing, out this fall.
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- Schiffer Publishing has expanded their list of visual books from antiques and collectibles to a broader list of titles. Kyle snapped this while I seemed to be peeking around the corner.
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- Chronicle’s books are always ingeniously, designed and imagined and this forthcoming title on books intrigues me.
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- I’ve always enjoyed the comedy and commentary of Aasaf Mandvi, on the Daily Show and in his film, “Today’s Special.” No Land’s Man is his first book.
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- Nothing but the Truth was a new press I was really glad to learn about at this BEA, “specializing in works by female authors and artists from around the globe,” a sort of women’s collective from the Bay Area.
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- Visit them at NothingButTheTruth.com
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- The booth of Nothing but the Truth was anchored by Karen Lynch’s (seated) book Good Cop, Bad Daughter.
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- A fun idea, Worn Stories, is a collection of true tales told in the personal voices of many writers, about old and trusted garments (Princeton Architectural Press).
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- My bags of swag, carried home from BEA over the three days of the trade show.
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- I was really excited to get a galley of Eula Biss’s essay On Immunity (Graywolf Press) and The World Afloat, a collection of miniatures (Talonbooks).
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- Galleys and finished copies I picked up at BEA. Among the books I’m eager to read is former editor of Publisher Weeekly Michael Coffey’s book of short stories, The Business of Naming Things (Bellevue Literary Press) and Talk, radio host Michael Smerconish’s first novel (Cider Mill Press).
Great post, Philip. MJ circulated the candid of Mr. Adamo. I’m sorry I missed you and Kyle this year. Let’s do lunch soon!