Thursday, December 16, 2010

BEA Announces Italy as focus of Global Market Forum Program

BEA ANNOUNCES ITALY IS GUEST OF HONOR AT  GLOBAL MARKET FORUM

International Initiative to Run Concurrently with BEA

Norwalk, CT, December 16, 2010: BookExpo America (BEA) and the Italian Trade Commission to the USA have today announced that Italy will be the focus of attention and Guest of Honor at the show’s highly successful Global Market Forum. A key component of BEA for international attendees, the Global Market Forum runs concurrently with BEA activities, and is specifically designed to serve all international attendees as well as all domestic publishing personnel with an investment in international publishing and book industry concerns. In the past three years the Global Market Forum has highlighted programs featuring publishing and literature from Spain (2010) and the Arab World (2009) as well as Global English Reading (2008).

BookExpo America officials are pleased to form this partnership with Italy in 2011. Today’s Italian publishing industry alongside with authors and books from Italy will be showcased in professional programs at the largest American book trade show while literary and related cultural programs, highlighting contemporary fiction in translation and in original editions, will take place at various cultural events across the city of New York as part of New York Book Week.

As in previous years, topics for debate will include contemporary fiction in translation, imports and exports of original books, children’s and young adult literature, as well as digital developments in the USA and in Italy and Europe in comparison.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Hi, my name is Steve and I am thin skinned

Well - I don't think I am truly a thin skinned person, but by replying to specific Tweets floating around Twitterdom, I can't have the thickest skin.  The Tweets were from John Kremer's Twitter page.   His comments are not unfair and I can assure any reader, they are major points of discussion in all BEA planning and strategy and have been for years.  So -what is my compulsion to respond?  The tweets which I list below do not take into account facts that went into these decisions that are being critical of BEA.  So, me and my thin skin are offering replies to tweets I felt were not the complete story.

The NYC publisher employees won't come on the weekend but do during the week (because they get paid then).  &  BEA can show increased attendance numbers by getting all the NYC publisher employees coming during the week. BEA has worked hard to eliminate addendees that are not of high value to publishers, this includes employees that are superfluous to the activities taking place BEA.  Toward that end, there are literally 2,000 less publishing staff walking the aisles than there were a few years ago.  Still, for publishing professionals in PR, editorial, sales and marketing - BEA delivers a high value of education that is transformative to the industry.  What is wrong with having the important publishing industry staff take part in the main event for their industry?
Also, the BEA needs to be on the weekend when booksellers can come. The show now is for the NYC publishers ease. Nothing else.    This cuts both ways.  Yes - there are booksellers that prefer the weekend.  The vast majority (almost 90% of the 400+ individual write in comments from the attendee survey) of booksellers prefer midweek as they are busier in their stores on the weekend.  The other driving reasons for BEA being midweek the international component of BEA and media prefer midweek exclusively.
Rotate the BEA as in the past to LA, Chicago, etc. NYC is a horrible convention center. No taxies after the show, etc.  Admittedly Javits is not an oasis in the world of convention centers, but NY State is finally starting their long over due refurbishing of Javits - we will live through this and have a better facility in the end.  Reviewing our exhibitor & attendee research going back to 2002, which includes years of BEA in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC - the worst satisfaction ratings of any NYC BEA ('02,'05, 07, '09 &'10) beat LA, Chicago and Washington, DC by a good margin.  NYC is a big driver for international participation, media and is in closer proximity to more major library systems than LA or Chicago.
BEA to be in New York City indefinitely. Midweek (Tues to Thurs). Cheaper for the organizer but not good for the publishers or booksellers.  This is flat out wrong and this comment is probably the one that drove me to write this posting. BEA in NYC is far more expensive for Reed than any other city and those are costs that Reed absorbs without passing on to exhibitors or attendees.

BookExpo America is dying. Many publishers not intending to attend the next BEA. Sadly, the show promoter is killing the show.  Ouch!! Okay - this is probably the tweet that tweaked me.  I am not the judge here - exhibitors and attendees will do that with their feet and their budgets.  I do know our exhibitor satisfaction when up 10 points from 2009, BEA attendees are nearly 90% 'satisfied or extremely satisfied' with the value of BEA, we have a Conference Advisory Board and an Executive Steering Committee to get direct feedback that is representative of all of BEA's constituents.  We are not perfect and we have made mistakes, but we will do everything in our power to make BEA better, more accessible and a valuable experience for anyone that is involved in publishing.   

Are DVDs apples and books oranges?

I saw the article below on ICv2  Daily Insider (it's a great source for pop culture news) and pondered the correlation for book selling.  I am a firm believer that physical books are not going away.  Proof that physical books remain viable comes from seeing that every Holiday gift list includes books right along side of iPads and Scrabble Flash as must haves to the fact that while eBook sales continue to skyrocket, more than doubling the 3rd quarter in 2010 from the 3rd quarter on 2009  www.idpf.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm  - yet physical book sales remain flat or modestly down, demonstrating ebook sales are not replacing physical book sales, at least in a corresponding fashion.

Moving on to my point - is there a difference when comparing books and DVD sales?  Whether a movie is consumed via DVD or is streamed, the experience for the consumer is still the same on the ever expanding size and quality of their TV.  The difference is the method of delivery - acquired on-line vs. a physical store.  Books are more tactile compared to e-readers, however the experience on an e-reading device does not dramatically change from a physical book.   I get that books are different than movies.   I am reading my way through Keith Richards' Life - I enjoy toting it from my bedroom to my living room and will likely spend 2+ weeks with it.  Movies are generally done in 2 hours and a much less curated experience.  Still, I have to wonder with the litany of tablet devices coming out that will essentially be putting e-reader in more and more peoples hands if the comparison is not more apples to apples than the industry realizes.

The Decline of the Disc

Major Shift to Internet Delivery By 2014

Published: 12/14/2010 07:00pm
The importance of sales of DVDs to the entertainment industry is waning as the home entertainment industry enters a period of profound change with consumers switching from buying actual discs from multiple brick & mortar and online outlets to streaming and digitally downloading movies and TV shows from a few mega suppliers. According to Home Media Magazine, the Arizona-based research firm In-Stat predicts that, while Blu-ray sales will continue to increase, they won’t be enough to offset the drop in sales of conventional DVDs.  The total U.S. DVD market, which accounted for an estimated $13 billion in sales in 2009, will drop by $4.6 billion by 2014.   Taking up the slack will be streaming and digital downloads, which will grow from its current level of $2.3 billion to $6.3 billion by 2014.

Starting with videotapes, home entertainment sales have been a huge boon to Hollywood, which has seen attendance at theaters lag (record box office numbers are the result of higher ticket prices, not growing attendance).  After continuing growth in DVD sales the early years of this Century had made disc sales the ultimate arbiter of profitability, the box office ticket sales total of $9.87 billion in 2009 overtook sales of movie-based DVDs and Blu-rays, which declined to $8.73 billion for the year.

The amount of change in the home entertainment industry can be gauged by a recent comment from Netflix’s Reed Hastings, who during the company’s third quarter earnings call, said that his company is “now primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail.”

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

BEA Update

BEA's Executive Steering Committee is a group that I depend on to help insure that the decisions we make for BEA are sound for all of BEA's exhibitors and attendees.   I had sent them a letter updating them on BEA just before the Thanksgiving Holiday after the news of the termination of the talks for BEA to co-locate with ALA .  I have included most of the contents of that update and thought this would be good information to share with anyone who has an interest in BEA. 

I am writing to provide the BEA Executive Steering Committee an update on BookExpo America in light of the recent efforts to create a co-located event with ALA. It was a great exercise. I am grateful for the candid feedback that let us make a decision that will best serve all the constituents involved. It was also encouraging to know how vested publishers are in BEA. The results were that BEA and ALA each have very distinct value propositions as separate events and combining them could jeopardize the unique values for both ALA and BEA. BEA will remain focused on delivering that value for the publishing industry.



I want to share we have been trying to secure suitable dates for BEA at Javits beyond 2012. We have been exploring Chicago as an alternative. With the possible exception of 2016, it appears we will be able to lock up dates at Javits either the week prior to or the week after Memorial Day through 2017, which has historically worked for BEA. All of our key strategy points and measurable performance indexes make New York the ideal location for BEA. That includes proximity for buying groups, ease for international participation and media.

The future of BEA will remain mid-week, being a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday event. One tweak for this year is the BEA Book and Author events will all be breakfasts. We opted not to add back an author lunch, feeling that the condensed schedule last year elevated the already lofty quality of the Book & Author events. Also, occupying booksellers’ time for lunch is taking opportunities away from publishers; which we want to avoid.


Two of BEA’s primary focuses for 2011 are the Targeted Attendee Program (TAP) and to re-imagine our communication process. The objective is to deliver high value attendees to BEA, focused on bringing new buyers and special market buyers to BEA. If you want any further details, please drop me a line and I will be happy to share our progress. I have also come to recognize that BEA’s method of communication with exhibitors and attendees was to push a wall of information out to the world and hope it reached its audience. BEA will be more targeted and simpler in our communications. A few examples include the redesign of the BEA website, the BEA directory will be re-formatted so it is easier to use and BEA will partner with Publishers Weekly’s on the Official Show Daily. The Show Daily will now contain all critical programming information in one place, detailing exactly what is happening, quickly and easily.


The BEA Conference Program will be free for exhibitors for the first time ever. The BEA Conference Program annually scores high marks in all of our survey results and is genuinely world class programming that can deliver training, ideas and evolution back to your organization. Yet, we find it is underutilized by the vast majority of exhibitors. This should be a strong value for your organization and hopefully removing the modest fees are a step in that direction. Please note this is not inclusive of co-located events like the Audio Publishers Association or the IDPF Digital Book 2011 events. Lastly – I have been visiting booksellers and retailers as part of our TAP initiative. I have heard time and again they miss seeing more books at BEA. I have explained that it is a big cost issue for publishers. From the retailers I have met with, they don’t expect a free galley, but they miss the tactile experience at BEA of seeing the physical book. I felt compelled to share this as I have heard this sentiment distinctly and frequently. I don’t know  as a publisher if you get this feedback from booksellers.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Facebook: Driving Traffic with Tips, Tactics and & Applications for Publishers and Authors

I pasted a copy below of the press release for BEA's first ever paid webinar program that is going to be awesome.  This will be a great program and something that you will get more value than $25.00 it will cost.

Norwalk, CT, November 17, 2010: BookExpo America (BEA) officials have today announced their first ever Webinar which will take place on Tuesday, December 7, 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST. The seminar will focus on leveraging the Facebook application and it will encourage and demonstrate best practices for book industry professionals. Facebook: Driving Traffic with Tips, Tactics and & Applications for Publishers and Authors is presented in partnership with the Book Industry Study Group and sponsored by Combined Book Exhibit and is the first of several webinars and other initiatives that BEA is undertaking to extend service and enrichment to the book community. All participants should go http://www.prolibraries.com/bea/ in order to register.


With over 500 million users talking and sharing on Facebook, publishers and authors need to know the tips, tactics and applications that are going to enable them to connect to readers in this worldwide community and share content, new publications, participate in contests and other marketing efforts. The noted speakers will be Mari Smith and Cindy Ratzlaff (bios below). Together, these two speakers provide a wealth of expertise about social media networking and they will share their knowledge and insight. Facebook is an integral part of publishers’ and authors’ marketing efforts. Ms. Smith and Ms. Ratzlaff are experts and they will be offering attendees the opportunity to learn about ways to improve their Facebook presence and connect with more readers. The moderator and organizer for BEA’s Webinar is Sally Dedecker, a consultant with 30+ years experience in the book industry.

Mari Smith is well-known for being an expert in social networking, and is especially noted for her Facebook expertise. She is a speaker, trainer and author on the subject of Facebook and she is the co-author of the successful book Facebook Marketing an Hour a Day (John Wiley & Sons) which was published earlier this year. Cindy Ratzlaff comes from the publishing industry. She is an author who is certified in social media networking and she has a business where she trains others in social media networking. As an author, she took her Facebook presence from 600 to over 10,000 fans in a few short months.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

In honor of Election Day

Click for a You Tube video:  The Tea Party Made Simple

Snippets of the future

Two articles in New York Times today caught my attention, one being that News Corp reported it had attracted 105,000 paying customers to the digital versions of The Times (of London) and The Sunday Times of London since it started charging for access to their Web sites in June News Corp. More Than 100,000 Pay .  A second item was about a  New Mobile Keyboard - more later on that.

Rupert Murdoch is at least putting his page views where his mouth is and making a line in the sand that eventually every content creator will have to cross if they want to stay in business by having people pay for content on-line.  The lesson I have learned in reading a myriad of articles and hearing people speak on the subject, people will pay a premium for something they value. 

The second article is about a new mobile keyboard system.  I have no idea if this will work or not, but it makes me wonder as the future comes at us faster and faster these days, what other blind spots are there to new products (and the industries that come with them) like smart phones?  What I am refering to is the keyboard for mobile phones are QWERTY design which is based on a layout created in 1873, when it first appeared in typewriters.  The technology and capabilities are accelerating so quickly that my 2 year old Blackberry Curve is nearly obsolete.  Yet, no one ever considered a better interface than a 138 year old system designed for a mechanical typewriter that likely weighed 50 pounds for a device that fits in a shirt pocket? 

I will happliy admit to not being smart enough for many things, but I know don't have to stick my hand in a fire more than once to know it burns.  As publishing moves forward, digital technology will continue to challenge existing models until there is one that works for both publishers and consumers.  Until that model is found, people have to think beyond their QWERTY blind spots and not apply 138 year old practices to brand new technologies. 

Thursday, October 28, 2010

For Love of the Written Word

For Love of the Written Word is the motto of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF). It is my last day attending the Fair by invitation of their Director, Ahmed Al Amri who I am happy to call a friend as well. The motto is especially fitting of the support and patronage provided by Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah because it his passion for literacy and education that he put into creating the fair, now in its 29th year. Another of SIBF's core missions is promoting literacy and culture as a way for understanding and building ties across all geographic lines. As it has matured and grown SIBF has increasingly invested in providing a professional element to the fair by bringing leading figures from both UK and US publishers to offer insights on the latest developments in publishing, technology and best practices. SIBF is a dynamic book fair, with over 40,000 people visiting every day. It is an especially strong market for childrens books and academic, professional and scientific books, a large amount of which is in English.

A new program this year awarded books in 3 categories, Bestseller, Childrens and Business. The SIBF winners were Stalking the Black Swan by Columbia University Press, How Many Donkeys by Albert Whitman & Co. and Piracy by Univ. of Chicago Press. SIBF invited representives from each press here to receive their awards, which included a cash award that was about $3,500. For each of them it was not only a privilege to receive the award, it also gave them an insight into a new market for their books. Each went away brimming with ideas on how to work in this part of the world with their books.

As always, by this time on the road, I look forward to walking getting back to my family more than anything else, but I will leave Sharjah having had a productive fair while renewing many dear friendships from the Arab world.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Friday, October 8, 2010

Frankfurt and the future

Frankfurt day 3, tomorrow is get away day (I can not wait to walk through my front door - this is too long).   It has been tremendously productive fair.  I have heard some people complain that there are 'less' people in the aisles which is crazy to me - of course there are less people.  How many people in publishing were laid off in the last 2 years?  Too many for sure, but the people that are here are here to do business.  Booths have been humming with activity and my calendar has been full.  Frankfurt also has done a nice job with their Story Drive programs which has stages and programming in the exhibit halls, with most of the programs focused on 'content' and delivery.  I have not sat through many of the sessions, but did peak in on many of them as I buzzed through the aisles from appointment to appointment and they were well attended.  I look forward to combing through the show dailies for coverage on some of the topics, but it is driving the conversation on new formats and delivery with the majority of people I am talking with this week.  

I have to remark on how viceral the emotional attachment is to the printed book.   I say this because it is a topic that dominates conversations with people seeing business models being transitioned one way or another by the digital convergence.  Being pro digital is like wearing a Sarah Palin, NAMBLA t-shirt - you are shoveling dirt onto the coffin that is the publishing industry as we know it.   That train has left the station because publishing is radically different than just a few years ago.   Printed books will remain an important part of that future.  Two things I will reference are 3rd party - one being O'Reilly at their Tools of Change program had a slide showing their digital sales with the expected dramatic growth slope - but that also showed increased digital led to increased print sales for the same titles.  I saw quote from Dominique Raccah from Sourcebooks explaining spikes print sales that they attributed to digital products, either digital books or apps from the printed books.  Print and digital are NOT mutually exclusive  - they are dependently connected.  That is the future. 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

MIPCOM's Big Players Program

I have to share some irony as I have 3 hours to kill trapped in the Nice airport, my reading choice is Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. It is stunning fiction, but I am not feeling very 'free'.

I wanted to share highlights I got at one of MIPCOM's Big Players series. It offered insights and the out look for broadcasting and media for the coming 5 years. Marcel Fenez, Global Leader (great job title) for Entertainment & Media of Price Waterhouse Coopers first presented then had a conversations with Nonce Paoline - Chairman/CEO of TF1 (France's largest media company) and John Smith, Chief Executive of BBC Worldwide. The subject matter was most appliciple to Movies, TV, Video and Internet - but it is relevant to publishing and should be instructive for anyone looking forward.

The major focus for resources and growth will be mobile. That is because technology is catching up with expectations that have existed for years. There will be more choice, more products and more information coming to people via their mobile devices (will that kill the PC???). For consumers, content trumps channels. Consumers will break existing habits and convenience to get good content. Consumers will pay for: quality, convenience and enriched content (using the example of paying a hefty premium to experience music live vs. hearing it in any other format that you aleady have for free). The poor economy accelerated digital transition as people did more and got more on-line. That change will not erode and is permanent.

Mr. Fenez detailed his insights of digital evolution. It will transpire in 3 parts:
1. Digital Migration: Existing products and information move into digital formats to leverage techology and cost benefits.
2. Digital Acceleration: Current formats adapt to consumers wants and needs that are altered by new technology.
3. Digital Transformation: New products and services leverage the market that is created by existing products that were transformed - think of mobile apps.

It was interesting to note that most televion and media (outside of print) will see growth over the next 5 years. One example was that TV subscriptions revenues will increase by 6% in the US where Asia will see almost 12% growth 2010-2014.

One example that stuck with me was that the BBC chose to focus their efforts on the US market and have doubled their revenue in a few years to $440mm and that only represents one half of one percent of the market. That is random in the context of this post, but impressive in that the BBC was able to develop a strategy in an existing market that was growing more slowly than other global opportunities and competed with massive US providers and still doubled their revenues.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Now departing Cannes

I could not get a photo of myself using the ticketing machine, so I am posting the view from the room I have checked out of at the Ermatage in Mandelieu la Napoule - it is 2 train stops on the regional train from Cannes. French trains are efficient, but times are only an estimate. I will post details from MIPCOM later as I will spend a chunk of my day getting from here to Frankfurt - giving me plenty of time to kill and post. I was happy (and surprised) that I figured out how to purchase the train ticket as the instruction is in French. The other photo was from the shuttle ride to the Palais for my morning meeting today. You can see the waves crashing over the sea wall and coming up onto the road - kinda cool...and scary...
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
Mobile: +203-913-8700 srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Saturday, October 2, 2010

On the road again......with not necessarily news

This time off to MIPCOM in route to the Frankfurt Book Fair. First things first -there is a spec of optimism is on the horizon. Reading an article in the NY Times today about the controversial TARP funds that were used to bail out banks, the auto industry and AIG. As AIG is reorganizing and organizing its plans to pay back the US government, things are looking rosey. The initial program set aside $700 billion dollars. In the end, as dispersements have been suspended, only $387 billion was allocated of the $700 billion that was approved and available. Nearly $100 billion has alreadyu been paid back - with interest. Depending on how quickly the auto industry can pay back the funds they were doled and if AIG is able to get on track and make full restitution, there is a a chance that the US taxpayer will make money on their TARP investment. From the times article, the range is a worse case scenario of losing $70 billion to an optimistic projection of netting $70 billion profit. Mind you I am making quotes from an article I read 5 hours ago, but if I am off, it is not by much. Considering your tea drinking neighbors will lead you to believe that $700 billion went up in vapors and that was the doing of Mr. Obama. To give full credit - GW Bush is the one that initiated the TARP program. I am optimistic it served its purpose in propping up the economy and saved it from caving in on itself. The article next to it also detailed that the economy grew by a surprising 1.7% last month, a full 1% more than anticipated.

Moving on from that positive news, which was one of few things (aside from my boys' picture for our Xmas cards) that put a smile on my face today - it buoyed my plans and purpose for going to MIPCOM. At the heart of BEA, the core will always be books, booksellers and authors - but BEA has to be a content event. That sounds like a generic, outside the synergy box type of business-speak jargon. It is not - in my heart and soul, I don't see books going away. However, what is next should be exciting and not scary. No one is sure what is next for publishing. I am certain about one thing - books are stories and content and there will be more formats, platforms and devices for them to be produced and consumed in the next five years than there have been in the last 100 years. Publishing is the fuel of the content engine. That is why BEA will be transformed to make certain that it is an event about content in its nascent form and that is ready to be consumed in books, on digital or mobile devices and be repurposed on-line, developed for movies and television or any place else that content will tell a story, entertain, inform, educate and inspire. My plan at MIPCOM is to marry the fuel of publishing content to the content engine that the entertainment industry represents. More dispatches to follow.

Also best wishes to Lance and Greg for NY Comicon next weekend. I am missing it for the first time since the epic 1st one in 2007. I have only been a spare part helper the last few years as Lance and Greg have driven that show to the great event it has become. I will miss it.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Pilfered Post from Publishers Lunch

I thought the article below from Publishers Lunch was interesting both as someone involved in the publishing industry and more so as a parent with 2 boys who love both books and gadgets.  Both of whom are clamouring for iTouches for upcoming birthday & Holiday presents.  I share that because I am very interested to see if they will use those as reading devices aside from the gaming & fun apps they envision  using them for right now.  I can not begin to tell you how many Pokemon, Bionicle & Star Wars books populate my kids rooms all following the toys or the movies they enjoyed.  I am hoping the things they discover through the iTouch will lead them to more books.  Because they get enjoyment from reading - they also love so many traditional books like Stuart Little, Roald Dahl, the Magic Tree House books and so much more....

Scholastic Confirms Kids Like Devices--Maybe More than Reading


Scholastic hired Harrison Group to conduct their 2010 survey this spring on reading habits of kids ages 6 through 17. As you would expect, the older kids get, the more they spend leisure time online and with their cell phones rather than reading books for pleasure.

Kids love gadgets, and thus 57 percent "are interested in reading an ebook." (But when queried about which type of device, typically only a third answered in the affirmative, so that 57 percent overall interest could be high.) A third "say they would read more books for fun if they had access to ebooks on an electronic device"--but any parent knows the disconnect between what kids say they would do and what they actually do! Meanwhile, most parents believe that electronic devices take away from time their kids spend reading, being physical, and engaging with family.
Six percent of the parents say they own a device used for reading, and 16 percent plan to buy one within the next year (remember that this was conducted in the spring).

Both the press release highlights and full report are available at the link below.
Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Notes from the Moscow Book Fair

I was not sure what to expect in coming to the Moscow Book Fair. I have to admit to being wary based on stories from a fellow Reed employee that had traveled there several times. The one thing that was off putting was that unless you are fluent in the language - it is impossibly tough to get around. There is no system for taxis so you would have to flag down private drivers and negotiate. They will charge you $50 or even $100 to drive you 3 blocks if you can't communicate with them. Fortunately Svetlana Adjoubei who represents BEA in Russia in addition to running the Russian literary press Academia Rossica was a wonderful host. I can go on about what a force she is in Russian publishing, but that would take up this entire post. Suffice to say she and her staff were generous, thoughtful hosts and dynamic in their jobs. It is an amazing city. Describing sites like Red Square and the Kremlin - that would take 2 more posts - so I will move along.

What I want to share is that Russia is a surprisingly developed market considering it is only 20 years old. Roughly 40-50% of the books published are translated works - the majority coming from English language which sell particularly well. Talking with Irina Shishova, Foreign Rights Director from Eksmo - Russia's largest publisher with annual revenue of over $215mm was very informative. Eksmo is a general trade publisher and they publish about 1,000 titles a month! She bought rights to 1,350+ titles in the last year. There are bigger challenges because distribution network has not kept pace with the growth in publishing. There are 11 times zones in Russia which adds significant shipping costs that can make books very expensive and have huge pricing disparity based on location. That also forces larger print runs so book orders can be fulfilled without having to reprint. We chatted with Arkady Vitrouk, CEO of Azbooka-Atticus Publishing Group, with $50mm in turnover they are Russia's 3rd largest publisher. They are doing 500 titles annually with 70% coming from acquired rights. They do have success in selling some fiction rights in the US. We also met with the PR Director from Ozon.ru - the easiest description is saying they are the Amazon of Russia. They posted 21% growth in 2009 - unheard of considering that was the height of the global financial crisis. They invested without any bank financing in a $20mm new distribution center. In 2009 Ozon processed 1,460,204 orders that were shipped to 105 countries. Their turnover (if I coverted correctly) is around $105mm. They carry 370,000 titles, 200,000 in foreign language. They sell more than 9,000 books a day and sold 3.7 million in 2009. They will be launching their own e-reading device as well. The demo reader was due to be delivered the day after we met with them. There are a number of e-book devices available in Russia, but piracy is a big issue. More than one of the publishers we talked with would be surprised if more than 10% were legitimate and not pirated copies that are being downloaded.

There are also challenges in breaking Russian writers and titles outside of Russia. Once they have some success, they tend to rush subsequent titles to press sacrificing the curation and editing process that enabled the original success, killing long term success for short term gains.

Russian publishing is a market that is growing - which can't be said about larger markets like the US or the UK. They have a vision and support from the Dept. of Press and Mass Communications. We spent a lot of time with their Deputy Director, Vladimir Gregoriev. He intends for Russia's publishing industry to be a player on the global stage. If I had to bet any money on the outcome, I would put it all on Mr. Gregoriev.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Posting in transit from Beijing to Moscow

There is no BEA news in this post other than to share my pain and the effort involved to make some of BEA's initiatives come to fruition that are of value to BEA exhibitors and attendees. While trips to Beijing and Moscow imply cool and maybe even exotic, they are long hours, lots of prep work to set up meetings sandwiched around a wicked travel schedule. The purpose is for BEA to build relationships with the associations, government agencies and publishers that will use BEA as a platform to buy & sell rights, establish distribution partnerships, or bring compelling content/technolgy to be discovered by the BEA audience.

With days like today - that mission is not a cake walk with bon bons. I am in a middle seat in a middle section in the cattle of coach. While that is not unusual - this part I wish was fiction. The passengers next to me arrived seconds before the doors closed and with them out went my hopes for the room of an empty adjoining seat. They are 2 LARGE Russian gentleman. I learned on Air China the Duty Free cart includes Chivas Regal. Also on Air China - you get your duty free purchase for immediate use or consumption. My 2 neighbors and their lady friend finished their liter of Chivas and coke in about an hour. They are now totally passed out. I have had the joy of sharing about 1/3 of my seat with my passed out neighbor for the last 3 hours. Oh yeah - my iPod ran out of battery, there is no in flight entertainment and my overhead light does not work so I can't read anything. After an 8 hour flight, it will be straight to the Moscow Book Fair's Book of the Year awards (which will of course be all in Russian). Oooh - the in flight snack is being served - I am hoping it has eel again like dinner. Cool and exotic, yes?
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Blogging Beijing

The Beijing International Book Fair has been a productive trip. I did not have any expectations before arriving other than what come with working a book fair - long hours, lots of 'book' friendlies to catch up with, the foibles of my linguistic limitations and great dinners balanced by the dreck ingested from any convention hall food.

The fair matches the dichotomy of the city with Mercedes and BMWs competing for space on the roads with scores of pedestrians and motor bikes that have less horse power than a lawn mower and are used to haul everthing from full sized couches to entire families.
The fair has been bustling with dense aisles. It is interesting that business has a rhythm like LBF or Frankfurt with 30 minute meetings but the are lots of walk up activity with attendees drawn in by the booths or books. I do wonder who the attendees are as a whole - this portion of the fair is trade only, but it does not seem like there are booksellers.

All in all it has been impressive - and not just because I was able to get a Brooklyn lager, although that was a treat. I look forward to coming back with a year's experience and the start of some good relationships to build on.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Dispatch from Beijing International Book Fair

I attended the Beijing International Publishing Forum today. One theme rang through several of the presentations - globilization. That was the clear tone from Yan Junqi, Vice Chairwoman, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Chairwoman (that is only half her title) and Liu Bijie, Minister of GAPP. Both shared high points in the progress of Chinese publishing along with global realities that make it clear that there is huge opportunity for willing partners.

They detailed how China is ready to embrace international publishers and support them with changes in Chinese policy that would facilitate access to the Chinese market.

Mr. Bijie went through an 8 point plan on how the future of China's publishing industry will support international access: 1. Enhance Policy Support for int'l publishing cooperation. 2. Promote China's int'l publishing cooperation. 3. Build platforms for int'l cooperation. 4. Let enterprises play their role and support copyright cooperation. 5. Assist and support project cooperation. 6. Boost capital cooperation. 7. Open distribution channels and 8. Build a talent training program.

That was the tone of what is being served leading up to the fair opening tomorrow. Smarter people than me will take what is being offered and assess what that means for publishers around the globe.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Friday, August 27, 2010

Book Fairs abounding

I am pecking out this blog post waiting to board my flight to the Beijing International Book Fair - which I will follow with a direct flight to Moscow for the Moscow Book Fair. I have never been to either city nor their respective fairs. I have not had the time to get excited with this summer being so busy. Aside from missing home (with the best weather all year), my boys starting school and my wife - I am eager to see both fairs and cities.

There will be a lot of BEA news coming in the early fall as we redesign BEA's web navigation, BEA will be hosting a series of webinars with the BISG, the author submission process will move on-line, we will be reformatting the BEA show directory for 2011 and re-doing the event program. One of our primary goals for 2011 will be to make information for exhibitors and attendees easy to 'pull' and stop 'pushing' as I know BEA is guilty of over communicating due to the volume of content and info there is related to share about BEA every year.

I hope your summer ends well as mine will be spent flying around the world, missing home but excited for what there is to be learned from both events I will be attending.
Sincerely,
------------------------
Steven Rosato
Event Director-BookExpo America
srosato@reedexpo.com
Sent from my BlackBerry

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Is reading a zero sum game?

Zero-Sum Game:   A situation in which one participant's gains result only from another participant's equivalent losses. The net change in total wealth among participants is zero; the wealth is just shifted from one to another. 

I ask the question, Is reading a zero sum game? because from the press I hear and read about Kindles, iPads or eBooks in general and the future role of bookstores presumes there has to be a winner and a loser because there is only so much that will be read in any format. 

I don't think that is the case.  EBooks are here to stay and will continue to evolve, but books are not going away.  I ride the Metro-North commuter train into New York with great frequency.  This week I shared a seat with a woman that went back and forth from her Blackberry to reading a hardcover romance book to reading on her iPad.  I noticed everyone with some sort of ereader also had newspapers folded under their arms or a book tucked into briefcases and backpacks.  Michael Shatzkin's recent blog was very interesting reading,  He simply did the math based on the expected growth of eBooks and extrapolated the fate of bookstores (Where-will-bookstores-be-five-years-from-now).  I think he raises some very real and salient points, but the premise only works if reading is a Zero-Sum Game.

For the 'explosive' growth of e-books, retail book numbers have been  mostly flat based on the monthly numbers from the AAP.  While people are buying a lot more eBooks and just as many are still buying printed books.  There is no doubt that the future of publishing will be digital.    Certainly all the current controversies in publishing are around digital issues.  The Wylie Agency stuff has been fascinating to read on a daily basis for the last week or so.  However I don't see that printed books will drop in a corresponding number to the total # of eBooks sold.  I may be naive, but the day to day examples I see - people still love books.  The Pequot library in Fairfield (where I reside) had their annual book sale, it was front page news for the 3 local papers and drews crowds from hundreds of miles, I did my regular home book purge in my company kitchen and 30+ books were scooped by by almost as many people within an hour.  I was at the Bank Street Bookstore in Mystic last weekend, it was busy and we bought books for our boys.  Even, if I did own a KindlePadeReadingNook and did read somthing like Matterhorn on it, it would not stop me from buying books for my boys or people from grabbing a good read in my company kitchen or people going the annual Pequot Library Book Sale.....

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

And the results are..........

.....mostly good to great, with areas that need to be addressed (which I will get into).  I am referring to the exhibitor and attendee results of BEA 2010 from the BEA Exhibitor & Attendee Post Show research.  It is critical information that is one of the biggest drivers in planning and strategy for BEA 2011.  This is a publishing industry event, so people do love to write - we received 40 pages of write in comments aside from the survey questions - well over 1,000 comments.  Every single one of them are read.  The comments that match up to the survey results are pulled out and held up when we as saying 'how do we fix this issue?'. 

Some top line results:
Attendee Satisfaction:  65% of BEA's attendee's are Completely or Very Satisfied. 
Attendee Loyalty: 71% are Extremely or Very Likely to attend in 2011.
Exhibitor Satisfaction:  62% are Completely or Very Satisfied (up from 47% in '09)
Exhibitor Loyalty: 69% are Extremely or Very Likely to attend in 2011.

There is always room to improve these numbers, but we are thrilled that 2/3's of BEA's exhibitors and attendees rate BEA so highly.  The numbers from what we term detractors (people who are not happy with the event, get no value and are not likely to return) has trended downward 3 straight years and is less than 10% of the overall BEA audience. 

Let me address the biggest complaint we did get, which was lumped under 'Organization' - that was the crowding and the congestion mostly in the Autographing Area as well as the show floor.   We have already expanded the amount of space for 2011 between the autographing and the exhibit stands.  We will have satellite signing areas and address autographing in booths so it will reduce the congestion around the show floor.  I promise - this will be fixed, you can plan that BEA 2011 will be easier to navigate.

I have to admit being confused by some results.  The #1 reason for attendees who love BEA to recommend attending  is "Number of Publishers & Authors".  The #1 reason for attendees who did not like BEA that would recommend NOT attending is 'Not Enough Vendors'.   There are other areas where we get conflicting data of people attending the same event at the same time have the opposite perceptions.  We will dig deeper into those, but please feel free to contact me to let me know how I can make BEA a better event for you.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

There is a glass and is half full of something

I came across a recent article in Entertainment Weekly discussing if To Kill A Mockingbird or The Catcher in the Rye were to be released in today's world, they would have likely been marketed as YA titles.  They raise an interesting point as to what that would have meant to their longevity and if there is a  bias in terms of critical success  for YA titles.   The thing I took from this article: for all the dire predictions on the future of publishing, the venerable 'old media' that publishing is deemed to be, it has the enviable postion of a growing and young fan base.  From Twilight to Lemony Snicket to Harry Potter to the Wimpy Kid to the Hunger Game books - there legions of kids and teens that are already reading books and the vast majority in the tradtional format, not via a device.  It is not a zero sum game between video games, the internet, television or music - a good product will find its market and a good story will find its audience.  

I am optimistic that as long as there are good books to read, the legions of fans from all the series and books I already listed will want that experience again and again and again.

Entertainment Weekly - To Kill A Mockingbird Turns 50

Monday, June 28, 2010

Ramping up for BEA 2011

BEA 2010 seems like it happened years ago and not just 5 short weeks.  I was at ALA this past weekend and enjoyed getting feedback that ranged from positive to outstanding.  I will be out in earnest the next few weeks getting in front of BEA's exhibitors and attendees to review their results, focusing on the things that went well and what BEA needs to improved upon.  If you are here, reading this post, you have license to provide your feedback.  I will look at any comments posted which will be intructive as the BEA team formally executes our 2011 strategy planning over the next few weeks. 

I am thrilled to share the Book Bloggers Convention BEA will eagerly be welcomed them back to the BEA Big Tent for 2011.  We will be looking to make the process easier and more streamlined for everyone who participated this past year, which might be hard because things did run so well despite being the 1st year where glitches are expected.  Also, BEA will continue our partnership with the IDPF Digital Book event.  That was a huge success that we will look to grow that content as part of BEA.

Out of the gate I can share a few things:  As it has been announced, BEA will be 3 full days.  We will address the scheduling to make sure BEA retains the vibrancy for the entire event, but be mindful that ending Thursday early enough to reduce hotel nights for people that can return home without having to wait for a morning flight.   As more and more info is consumed on the web and smart phones - BEA will expand our mobile application.  We will also do away with the giant event program we mailed 6-8 weeks prior to BEA which was always out of date the day it went to the printer.  We will look to combine the Event Program, Autographing lists & Show Directory into a new format that will live electronically and have a simpler printed version available on-site. 

There will be a lot more to come - but that is what we are working on 47 weeks out.  PLEASE don't be shy with your opinions, they are valid and will help the direction we go in for BEA 2011.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Gone fishing

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback from BEA over the last week.  It is enourmously helpful and I will look forward to catching up with many people in the next few weeks as we will take the momentum from 2010 and make BEA 2011 a stellar event. 

For the next week - I am not sure how relaxing it will be, but I know it will be great fun taking the family to Disney for the 1st time.  I will be back to my desk on June 14th. 

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

BEA splits baby down the middle!

The title is a bit how I feel from the e-mails that are landing on both sides of being in favor of or being against BEA returning to a 3 day format.  Below is most of the content of a communication I sent out to the BEA Exhibitor Steering Committee.  I hope sharing details and context that went into our decision will help make sense of our reasoning.  The bottom line is that it was critically important for too many companies that needed 3 days to get the full value out of BEA and all I care about is delivering ROI.  BEA came back from grave predictions in 2009, 2010 was a great event by all the feedback I have gotten.  We are listening, we are engaged and BEA will surpass expecations again in 2011 no matter how lofty.  I hope that we have proven we will deliver over the last 2 years because you are going to have trust us that we will do this right.

Also below is a link to an article from Inside Higher Ed - which is typical of the feedback we are hearing from all corners.    

The overwhelming feedback has been extremely positive with BEA having delivered a dense, energy charged and productive event last week. That said, I wanted to take this opportunity to uniformly reply to questions I have been getting about our quick decision to restore BEA to a 3 day format.
 

People have suggested that BEA reacted too hastily without building a consensus as to what would have been preferred. I hope sharing the facts that went into our decision will alleviate this perception. Yes – there are certainly some participants who favor the 2 day format. But there are also many exhibitors who favor the 3 day format and for these exhibitors it is not just a question of "like or dislike"; these participants made it very clear that they critically need the additional day to complete their business and this genuinely impacted the value of BEA for them. This was both international exhibitors and smaller to mid sized publishers.  We consulted with ABA and AAP as well to share with them the concerns we were facing and they both understood and endorsed the need to go to the 3 day format. The main reason BEA was compelled to make this decision quickly was to secure the participation from so many of the international collective stands who would have refused to re-new their space for 2011. BEA without participation from Spain, Mexico, France, the UK, Italy, China, and so many more of the international collective stands would be a greatly diminished event for everyone.


We will address the exhibit hours to make the switch back to a 3 day format palatable and help reduce the number of hotel nights. Our initial plan will be to have the conference program along with the ABA program on the Monday at Javits. The exhibits would be Tuesday 10-5, Wednesday 9-5 and Thursday 9-3. We understand that we will have to strongly program the last day of BEA to make sure all 3 days are relevant. We know the biggest and best change for BEA was moving to mid week, having the last day end on a Thursday at 3:00 p.m. will be far different than a 3 day event ending on a Sunday afternoon.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

BEA Restores 3 Day Format for 2011

I have to admit that I could not have hoped, planned or imagined for a better event this week than what has unfolded for BEA 2010.   The focus on quality over quantity delivered one fantastic event after another.  I ran up to our show office to peck out this post after Jon Stewart's wonderful opening of the Adult Author Breakfast - I had a hard time pulling my self away from Condoleezza Rice's inspiring talk on her book that is about her upbringing and her parents.  I am typing fast so I can get back to hear Mary Roach and John Grisham speak.

BEA this year was about change and making a good event great that served the publishing industry in a meaningful way.  Moving to mid-week was absolutely the right decision.  We also felt strongly that the 2 day format was the right thing to do because the value of BEA is in the audience we deliver.  We executed a strong plan that we knew would deliver that audience for BEA 2010 and that the quality would prove that was the right choice as well.  A lot of people genuinely like the 2 day format and it did work for them.  However - I have to acknowledge while people liked the 2 day format - a lot of people genuinely need 3 days to meet their objectives at BEA.  While our mantra has been quality of quantity - there is a reality of what people can  accomplish in 2 full days.  We will always do what will make BEA the best event possible for the people we serve. 

In the end while many people liked BEA as a 2 day show - more people need BEA to be a 3 day show.  We will remain mid week with the show days being Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday.  My plan right now is to keep the conference program on Monday because the impact of the conference this year running on Tuesday without competing with the show floor was tremendous.  There were great sessions that had overflowing audiences.  I look forward to getting the CEO Panel that was the Plenary session with the ABA and the Editor's Buzz Panel video posted later today. 

P.S.  Lance - you were missed and talked about often.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

BEA opens with a bang!

The BEA conference opened along with the ABA Day of Education, IDPF Digitial Book 2010 program welcomed more than 700+ conferees and Library Journal & School Library Journal Day of Dialogue was packed with more than 500 librarians.  The CIROBE Remainders Pavilion is enjoyed brisk business with busy aisles all day.   Everything has been stellar across the board - starting with the opening plenary session on the Value of the Book.  Moderated by Jonathan Galassi the panelwill included: 
  • Bob Miller, Group Publisher, Workman
  • Esther Newberg, Executive Vice President, International Creative Management (ICM)
  • Skip Prichard, Chief Executive Officer, Ingram
  • David Shanks, Chief Executive Officer, Penguin Group (USA)
  • Oren Teicher, Chief Executive Officer, American Booksellers Association (ABA)
  • Scott Turow, Author, Incoming President, Authors Guild
It was a terrific conversation with 1,100 people watching throughout.   I look forward to the 7x20x21 panel in a bit, followed by the Editors Buzz and fittingly ending the day with Barbra Streisand's much anticipated appearance.  There are still seats available - but people have started to line up!!!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Day 1 at Javits

As the sound of forklifts fill the air here at Javits, I am eager for what I am confident will be a resoundingly successful BEA.  I recognize I am not the one who gets to be the judge of BEA's success - that will be for BEA's exhibitors and attendees who have invested their time and resources who make that evaluation. 

My expectation is that BEA's focus on quality over quantity, content over consumption and relevance over redundancy will have exhibitors and attendees sharing my enthusiasm for the transformation of BEA to match that of the industry BEA serves.

On my new quote - no apologies for the homage to Lost.  As far the finale goes I have to sit with it for few days before I get a better sense of my thoughts.  I know with the Sopranos - the more I thought about that ending the more brilliant I realized it was from my knee jerk reaction of - HUH???  The quote from Lost - I thought it was perfect for this week.

If I don't personally get to say Hi or Thank You for participating in BEA this week - please know I am grateful and humbled by the chance to lead this event.  There are so many wonderful and brilliant people in this inudustry (you know who you are) - it is a priviledge that I don't take lightly.  Also - to the wonderful team that makes BEA happen - with a smile - THANK YOU ALL.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

BookExpo America 2010: A Pivotal Moment in Show History

Publishing Perspectives gave me the opportuity to submit an editorial for today previewing my expectations for BEA 2010.  I consistently enjoy their coverage and thank them for the platform. The link below will take you to that article.
   

As people are readying themselves for 3 jammed days of BEA events - let me offer 3 tips that will make your time at BEA more comfortable and productive:
  • Baby Powder/Talc - this is the most important thing I pack when I travel - particularly for my feet.  12-14 hours on your feet and walking miles of aisles, follow this and you will thank me at the end of every trade show you ever work again. 
  • Make appointments.   Make appointments.  Make appointments.  Whether you are exhibiting or attending, trade shows provide the greatest concentration of people in an industry that are important to your business - make sure you see the 10 most important people to your interests, otherwise you are leaving your success to chance encounters. 
  • Notes/Follow Up:  After any meeting, take a few short notes on what was promised by you or who you met with.  You will end up talking with hundreds of people over 3 days, don't let a great opportunity end up lost in a sea meetings. 

Friday, May 14, 2010

Make Plans to Attend the BEA 2010 Tweet Up Today!

Meet your book and publishing friends that you've only known with an "@" sign in front of them.  Come hang at the BEA 2010 Tweet Up!  It will be fun, funky and it is free.

Drinks, Food and DJs Dana Trombley (aka DJ danaSkully) + Russ Marshalek (aka DJ RussComm ) playing the fun party jams of yesterday, today and tomorrow.


Wednesday, May 26, 2010  - 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Powerhouse Books  37 Main St Brooklyn, NY

BEA 2010 Tweet Up

Party Hosts:    #BEA10, #beatweetup, @katmeyer, @powerhousebooks, @bsandusky, @russmarshalek

Hashtag::  #BEA10, #beatweetup

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Brace yourself for a packed day on Tuesday May 25th - plan well my friends!

BEA opens its doors in 2 very short weeks on what will be a very busy Tuesday May 25th with the Opening Plenary session from 8:30am – 10:00am.  Both the BEA and ABA conference tracks commence following the CEO Panel, a discussion on the “Value of a Book”.    The CIROBE Remainders Pavilion as well as the IRC and Exhibitor Meeting Rooms will also be open on Tuesday May 25th from 10:00-5:00.   The Library Journal/School Library Journal Day of Dialogue will be a packed program and the co-located IDPF Digital Book 2010 is on track to sell out.  I am sure that Tuesday evening will see loads of events throughout New York for booksellers and librarians with publishers and authors!


Here is the BEA slate that Tuesday morning - chock full of fantastic programming:




- TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2010 -
425
conference
New Digital Technologies in Spain and EuropeTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 9:00AM - 10:00AM
Location: Room 1E17
99
conference
Bringing Your Authors to the Social Media Party...and Getting Them to StayTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 9:30AM - 10:30AM
Location: Room 1E02
100
conference
Building Online Reader Communities with an Eye on ROITuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 10:30AM - 11:30AM
Location: Room 1E13
426
conference
Publishing in Spain: An OverviewTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 10:30AM - 10:45AM
Location: Room 1E17
427
conference
Spanish Children�s BooksTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 10:45AM - 11:30AM
Location: Room 1E17
101
conference
Copyright in MotionTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 11:00AM - 12:00PM
Location: Room 1E02
428
conference
Spanish FictionTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 11:30AM - 12:15PM
Location: Room 1E17
104
conference
When Gutenberg Meets ZuckerbergTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 12:00PM - 1:00PM
Location: Room 1E13
429
conference
Spanish Publishing: Distribution of Spanish Books in the USATuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 12:15PM - 1:00PM
Location: Room 1E17
102
conference
"I'll Never Pay Over $9.99 For E-Books!" and Similar LiesTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 12:30PM - 1:30PM
Location: Room 1E02
103
conference
Mobile Apps: A Publisher Roadmap for Creation and UseTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 1:30PM - 2:30PM
Location: Room 1E13
105
conference
20 Simple Ways to Reach LatinosTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 2:00PM - 3:00PM
Location: Room 1B01
248
conference
Growing Up Digital: Kids and the eReading Experience - CANCELED!!Tuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 2:00PM - 3:00PM
Location: 1E02
430
conference
Translations from Spanish into English: Overview, Potentials, and HurdlesTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 2:00PM - 3:00PM
Location: Room 1E17
431
conference
Selling Rights into Spanish Language MarketsTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 3:00PM - 4:00PM
Location: Room 1E17
106
conference
Leading Latino Authors Are Representative of a Vibrant MarketTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 3:15PM - 4:15PM
Location: Room 1B01
107
special event
BEA Editors BuzzTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 4:30PM - 5:30PM
Location: Room 1E13
249
special event
Opening Night Keynote: Barbra StreisandTuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Location: Special Events Hall