It's BookExpo time! It happens every May: BookExpo America draws booksellers, publishers and other assorted industry players to a mega-convention of what's happening. Here's what on this year

Black Issues Book Review, May-June, 2003 by Diane Patrick

BookExpo America (BEA) is more than the meeting place for the entire publishing and bookselling industry. It's an event where thousands of industry professionals from around the world come together to network, learn and make deals.

The annual major trade show for book publishers will take place on Wednesday, May 28, and continue through Sunday, June 1, 2003, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Now in its 103rd year, BEA was, until a few years ago, called the American Booksellers Association Convention; so you'll hear some industry veterans still refer to the event as ABA.

This year, more than 2,000 exhibitors are expected to showcase their books as well as book-related items.

At BEA, booksellers attend educational panels to learn about the business of books; gather to discuss issues and solutions affecting their business; and connect with publishers at exhibition booths to find out what new books, gift and music merchandise are coming out. Publishers bring their authors. Writers come on their own to meet booksellers and publishers.

How to Work the Expo

Professional conferences at BEA are especially valuable because everyone a publishing professional needs to meet will all be in one place. Ordinarily, it would take several weeks or months to see them. Another benefit for such a gathering is the opportunity to see how others in the industry do what you are aspiring to do, whether it is to be an author or to buy a bigger bookstore.

To help make the most of your attending BEA, bring plenty of business cards and a friendly attitude. Use the floor plan and exhibitor list to map out in advance, who you want to see. Make an A list (must sees), B list (would like to sees) and C list (budding interest). But as you follow your map, be flexible--serendipity can also be a helpful guide tool. If you can attend some parties, you might be able to see just as many people as you'd see visiting 20 booths! And you'll make worthwhile contacts on the way from one booth to another. Just keep your goals in mind (i.e., I'm looking to meet someone who might be a good agent, or, I'm looking at the different ways romance book jackets are designed), so you can budget your time and energy.

Here are a few tips from BEA pros

James Fugate, co-owner of Esowon Books, Los Angeles: "African American booksellers should spend time walking the entire floor. I've found important books in the oddest sections! You want to have books that perhaps your competitor down the street doesn't have. So spend the time going through catalogs and visiting publishers' booths."

Clara Villarosa, co-owner of Hue-Man Bookstore, Harlem, New York: "Because BEA is so large, there are publishers and distributors who may not have anything for African American booksellers; so you have to be focused. Go to the majors and introduce yourself. Also look in the Christian area. Many of them carry African American titles. And don't forget to hit your sidelines--the calendars and greeting cards. Overall, attending means being very focused and going through the whole conference.

"For authors: You can make contact with booksellers to assist them in carrying your book. If you're self-published, try to make contact with publishers. If your publisher doesn't send you, come on your own. It allows you to get to the source that gets to the end user of your product!"

Villarosa cautions attendees, "Remember, this is a booksellers' conference!"

The Rise of AABC 2003

The annual African American Booksellers Conference, the all-day meeting to be held this year on Thursday, May 29, is an educational and networking opportunity for African American booksellers. The day's events are coordinated by two booksellers: Clara Villarosa, co-owner of the Hue-Man Bookstore in Harlem, New York, and Emma Rodgers, co-owner of Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, Texas.

"We come together during BEA to network and share stories and so forth," explains Rodgers. "I first attended what was then the ABA in 1978. In 1979, in Chicago, a group of black booksellers met at Third World Press. Jawanza Kunjufu was the convener.

"We met before the conference floor opened, and we discussed issues we had as African American booksellers. The people I can remember were Sharon and Kenneth Holley, from Harambee Books and Crafts in Buffalo, New York; Earl Wells and Ursula Wells from Afro In Books & Things in Miami, and me. We always met off-site, either before or after the official conference, and this went on for years.

"We are now a part of the official BEA conference program. We get support from publishers to sponsor our luncheons. This year, the reception will be sponsored by a number of publishers with the distributor Ingram. Previously, Ingram was the major sponsor."

"The first thing we did after I joined the board was an exhibit of African American books called Black and Read," recalls Villarosa. "Then we had round tables, where booksellers would discuss the issues of importance. Then it grew to include workshops, which we'd hold on the Thursday before the opening of the convention. BEA provides the space, I put together the program with other booksellers."