|
BookExpo America 2009: BEA African American Programming Hangs on Despite Economy
By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 5/21/2009 7:27:00 AM
Despite some impact from the faltering economy, there will be a prominent slate of African American programming at this year’s BookExpo America. In separately organized events, former bookseller and now author, Clara Villarosa, will once again host the African American Book Publishing Professionals Program and the African American Pavillion will move to the main floor of BEA with more than 50 exhibitors and a lively slate of awards, panel discussions, seminars and personal appearances by a wide range of authors and publishers.
Villarosa, the longtime organizer of the AABPPP, said despite having problems finding the usual number of sponsors, the program would go on as usual. The event will be held on Thursday, May 28 beginning at 1:00 p.m. (Room 1A07 at the Javits Center) and will feature panels on African American book promotion and comics and graphic novel publishing. Villarosa, whose new book Down to Business: The First 10 Steps to Entrepreneurship for Women (Avery/Penguin) will be published in Sept., will give the keynote.
Villarosa said that with publishers cutting back on expenses, the program has been scaled back and the luncheon will be skipped. But there will be a full afternoon of panels, “attendees encouraged me to keep producing the program,” she said.
Separately organized by Amber Books publisher Tony Rose, the African American Pavillion www.africanamericanpavilion.com will move to the main floor this year. Rose said he didn’t see any effect from the economic downturn and expects to have at least 55 exhibitors in the Pavillion. “We seem to find a new crop of authors and publishers each year who really want to participate,” said Rose. The keynote speaker will be former reality-show contestant Omarosa, author of the self help title Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn it On and Off (Phoenix Books).
In addition, the Pavillion will host a press conference by actor Wesley Snipes on Saturday to promote a new film, Zulu Mech l. There will also be panels on children's books with Wade and Cheryl Hudson of Just Us Books, and on the Up South arts festival featuring journalist turned novelist Farai Chideaya (Kiss the Sky) and moderated by Atria senior editor Malaika Adero. Radio host Tom Joyner will host a panel sponsored by his Tom Joyner Foundation, which has raised more than $55 million for historically black colleges. As always the African American Pavillion will offer a festive mood with food, music, book signings and a crowded slate of seminars and events including wonderful list of speakers and awardees—among them a lifetime achievement award for Kassahun Checole, publisher of Africa World Press and the Red Sea Press, who has been in poor health over the last year.
Rose said the BEA likes the lively festival atmosphere around the pavilion, which is why it has been moved to main floor. We bring the fun, books and culture to BEA," Rose said. “We make the show floor exciting and I think we can bring even more people than ever. We’re a major part of BookExpo America”
BookExpo America 2009: Religious Publishers Hope for Improvement
By Donna Freitas -- Publishers Weekly, 6/3/2009 7:14:00 AM
At least one happy man was boasting about runaway success in the religion books category at BEA 2009. “Everyone else seems to be experiencing downsizing, but we’ve been on a rocket ride,” said Brad Cummings, president of Windblown Media, publisher of The Shack, a guy-meets-God novel by William P. Young with 7.6 million copies in print, a year-long tenure on bestseller lists, and a co-publishing deal with Hachette. While in years past, a BEA attender couldn’t get far without running into a banner headlining the newest Da Vinci Code-esque novel or the latest atheist tirade, aside from The Shack, for this 2009 show it was hard to tell what other religion books were truly hot.
 Though other publishers were a bit more measured about their experience at BEA, people seemed pretty pleased about traffic, buzz, and an uptick in meetings. The media frenzy around the Gosselin family kept Karen Campbell, director of publicity at Zondervan, busy talking up Multiple Blessings (2008) and Eight Little Faces (April), in addition to managing the long line of fans for a Karen Kingsbury signing of Take One (March). Bryan Williams, regional sales manager at Abingdon Press—which doubled its booth size this year to showcase their new fiction line—said they were “slammed” with traffic on Friday, with hundreds of attendees picking up galleys of Gone to Green (Aug.)by Judy Christie and Eye of the God (Oct.) by Ariel Allison.
At W.W. Norton, R. Crumb’s The Book of Genesis by R. Crumb (Oct.) was generating interest. “Everyone from newspaper reporters to bloggers to podcasters want to know why and how this cultural icon turned his attention on Genesis,” Louise Brockett, v-p and director of publicity, said. HarperOne also benefited from a 2010 title from a high-profile name, Made for Goodness by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, written with his daughter Rev. Mpho Tutu.
Baker Publishing Group, which didn’t have a corporate booth but had a presence in the African-American pavilion, was honored at the pavilion as Christian publisher of the year on Saturday. Baker has been ramping up effort on African-American titles; The Someday List by Stacy Hawkins Adams (Revell, Jan.) made the June Essence bestsellers lists.
Bigger and better spaces made CBA publishers happy. Linda Cunningham, v-p and editor-in-chief at Guideposts, was pleased about their location on the main floor, right next to Random House, and enjoyed near-constant traffic—ideal for “growing” their trade program’s fiction titles like Beth Pattillo’s Jane Austen Ruined My Life (Feb.)and nonfiction titles such as Susan Pohlman’s Halfway to Each Other (Sept.). Ryan Dunham, senior v-p of sales and marketing at David C. Cook, marveled about their booth’s placement, too, which generated meetings and book buzz. “It’s the first time we’ve been able to get a space on the main floor,” he explained.
Jonathan Merkh, v-p and publisher of Howard Books, the Christian imprint of Simon & Schuster, credited their show’s success to having just announced two major hires—Becky Nesbitt as v-p and editor-in-chief and Jennifer Willingham as v-p, publicity. “My meeting schedule with agents and authors has doubled as a result of the announcement,” Merkh said.
|
