US Book Show Turns Five

 

 

35 years ago, I attended my first nationwide book publishing conference. It was in Las Vegas. Back then, it was called the ABA, because the event was run by the American Booksellers Association. It would later get renamed Book Expo America, or BEA.

In its last declining years in the late 2010’s, BEA became a shorter event and then it tacked on a day or two to open the floor to the public for BookCon. 

When Covid came and cancelled everything, BEA, with its waning attendance leading up to 2020, just disappeared. An era had ended.

Publishers Weekly turned it into a one-day virtual event and renamed it the US Book Show in 2021. It was virtual in 2022, as well. Then it became a hybrid event, and finally, this year it is in-person only.  

Missing are the crowds.

 

The show peaked with close to 40,000 attending in 1995, the first year that Reed Exhibitions took it over. Now, just eyeballing the crowd on this year’s event June 3^rd, the show did not appear to exceed about 1,000. 

 

Missing is how the entire publishing ecosystem converged in one place for three or four days and nights. Foreign rights were sold. Big book orders were sealed. Authors connected with publishers and agents; marketers met with the media, and printers met with publishers. Some film producers showed up as well.

 

A lot of conversations took place and a lot of educational panels were presented. From the introverted literary types to the mass commercial author, everyone felt at home. 

 

Printers and librarians. Amazon, chain bookstores, and indies. Publishers, distributors, hybrids, and self-publishers. Authors, the news media, and literary agents. All under one roof that spanned several floors and rooms of enormous convention space. 

 

Celebrities came. Bestselling authors signed books.  Hundreds of advance reader copies of hundreds of titles were handed out. People got dressed in costumes and handed swag out. Cocktail parties took place in booths, hotels, and restaurants. There was a buzz and real networking was going on. Deals were made and the energy of the place was electrifying.

 

All that is gone, at least for now, but I think there could be a time and place for an arena-sized event for authors in a convention hall gathering of the entire book publishing industry. But the book industry, with all of its challenges and changes, is remarkably resilient, and although there is a feeling in the air that things can get disrupted at any moment, the book world is alive and well.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.4 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum