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By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Early Bird Tickets Now on Sale
Not long after ReedPop “retired” BookExpo in December, it was announced that a “new American publishing trade fair” would be put into place.
Today (April 14), the US Book Show, that stand-in for what had been the long-running BookExpo, is announcing some early programing elements of what will be a digital event running May 25 to 27.
The programming announced today by the show’s producer, Publishers Weekly, focuses on editors’ opportunities to promote titles to “librarians, booksellers, and publishing professionals,” much as has been done in past years at the now defunct BookExpo in myriad “book buzz” sessions.
There’s to be an exhibition component online in which, organizers say today, will feature “more than 80 publishers and allied vendors.” In addition, there are to be “one-on-one conversations, awards ceremonies, entertainment, and networking” to offer a “prismatic assortment” of “experiences.” It all sounds mildly hallucinogenic but will probably be just fine.
Early bird ticket sales are available now through April 30 at US$89. General admission rates from May 1 will cost $149. Special pricing for librarians, library board members, and booksellers is available, as it is for booksellers, at $35. Ticketing is all-inclusive of the various events being planned.
At a later date, there’s to be word of author appearances, keynote addresses, and streamed live entertainment of some kind.
Here’s what we’re given today in terms of early-announced elements, several “editors’ picks” panels and three other discussion events.
Editors’ Picks Panels
In these panels, editors will tout the books they have coming out this year, and there’s to be live Q&A incorporated into each event. Moderators are primarily drawn from Publishers Weekly, which is the producer of the US Book Show.
Children’s Adult Comics and Graphic Novels
- The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (Drawn & Quarterly), edited by Tracy Hurren
- The Eightfold Path by authors Charles Johnson and Steven Barnes and illustrator Bryan Christopher Moss (Abrams
- ComicArts/Megascope), edited by John Jennings
- No One Else by R. Kikuo Johnson (Fantagraphics), edited by Eric Reynolds
- Power Born of Dreams: My Story Is Palestine by Mohammad Sabaaneh (Street Noise Books), edited by Liz Frances
- The Unfinished Corner by author Dani Colman and illustrator Rachel “Tuna” Petrovicz (Wonderbound), edited by Rebecca “Tay” Taylor
- Magical Boy by The Kao (Graphix), edited by Michael Petranek
- Passport by Sophia Glock (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), edited by Susan Rich
- Himawari House by Harmony Becker (First Second), edited by Kiara Valdez
Moderated by Meg Lemke
Literary Fiction
- Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (FSG), edited by Mitzi Angel
- Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo (Catapult), edited by Jonathan Lee
- Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart (Random House), edited by David Ebershoff
- Still Life by Sarah Winman (Putnam), edited by Sally Kim
- My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson (Holt), edited by Retha Powers
- L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón (Flatiron), edited by Nadxieli Nieto
- Matrix by Lauren Groff (Riverhead), edited by Sarah McGrath
- The War for Gloria by Atticus Lish (Knopf), edited by Jordan Pavlin
Moderated by David Varno
Young Adult
- A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido), edited by Nick Thomas
- Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix (Katherine Tegen Books), edited by Katherine Tegen
- Revolution in Our Time by Kekla Magoon (Candlewick Press), edited by Andrea Tompa
- Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), edited by Kendra Levin
- We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), edited by Alexandra Hightower
- Huda Fare You? by Huda Fahmy (Dial), edited by Dana Chidiac
- All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman (Tor Teen), edited by Ali Fisher
- We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera (Bloomsbury), edited by Mary Kate Castellani
Moderated by Sarah Yung and Sanina Clark
Three Topical Discussions
Bookselling Today
- Danny Caine, owner, Raven Book Store, Lawrence, Kansas
- Kwame Spearman, co-owner and CEO, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, Colorado
- Bryanne Hoeg, store manager, Powell’s City of Books, Portland, Oregon
Moderated by Ed Nawotka
Political Books: What Does the Post-Trump Landscape Hold?
- Tanya McKinnon, principal, McKinnon Literary
- Eamon Dolan, vice-president, executive editor, Simon & Schuster
- Keith Urbahn, president and co-founder, Javelin
- Eric Nelson, vice-president and editorial director, Broadside Books
Moderated by Jimmy So, editor, Columbia Global Reports
Hiring: How to Prioritize Inclusivity in Your Workforce
- Carrie Bloxson, head of diversity and inclusion, Hachette Book Group
- Ayesha Pande, proprietor, Ayesha Pande Literary and head of the Association of Author Representatives’ diversity committee
- Jason Low, publisher, Lee and Low Books
- Stacey A. Gordon, author of UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work (Wiley, 2021)
See the program’s newly posted site for more information, registration, group sales, and exhibiting information.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the industry’s book fairs and trade shows is here, and more on BookExpo is here.
More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.