BookExpo

Live From BEA -- Day 1

On Thursday, June 3, more than 425 independent booksellers from around the U.S. converged at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago for ABA's Full-Day Educational Program at BookExpo America (BEA). Booksellers participated in activities ranging from morning marketing sessions to the booksellers' "What Are You Reading Lunch" to afternoon programming, which focused on independent business alliances, identifying competition, children's bookselling, and more.

To show their support for Book Sense @ 5, the fifth birthday of the Book Sense program, publisher partners exhibiting at BookExpo America (BEA) have planned celebratory events ranging from ice cream giveaways to wine and cheese parties to cheering for a horse trying to overcome the odds. Their events will be part of the Book Sense @ 5 Birthday Bash, which will be held at 5:00 p.m. sharp on June 5 on the BEA trade show floor.

This week, ABA announced the availability of a Book Sense @ 5 Publicity Kit for bookstores participating in the Book Sense marketing program. The publicity pack will be available at BookExpo America and in June's Red Box mailing and is online at www.bookweb.org/education/marketing/.

As part of its continuing partnership with Book Sense, The History Channel will be giving away prizes to booksellers at this year's BookExpo America. From Thursday, June 3 - Saturday, June 5, in the ABA/Book Sense Lounge (Room 401) in the McCormick Place Convention Center, a representative from The History Channel will be collecting business cards for a daily drawing in which five people will win a Day of Valor DVD.

The ABA/Book Sense Lounge at BookExpo America (BEA) -- Room 401 at the McCormick Place Convention Center -- is the place to go to learn about Book Sense Bestseller reporting. ABA staff will be on hand from Thursday, June 3, through Sunday, June 6, to explain how easy it is to report your weekly sales figures through the Nielsen BookScan, ABA Upload, or ABA Web Data Form methods.

ABA recently announced the addition of a new session, "2003 ABACUS Results Review," to its programming at this year's BookExpo America (BEA). The ABACUS seminar will be held on Sunday, June 6, from 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. in Room 402A at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will lead the session, which will look at Year Two of the new financial survey of independent bookstores and will compare the results against the 2002 study.

Jane Pauley, whose forthcoming book, Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue, will be published by Random House, will be the host of ABA's Celebration of Bookselling at this year's BookExpo America (BEA). Pauley, who interviewed thousands of newsmakers as a co-anchor of NBC's Today Show, for which she was named "1986 Broadcaster of the Year" by the International Radio and Television Society and "Best in the Business" by the Washington Journalism Review in 1990, will host the event to be held on Friday, June 4, from 5:30 p.m.

On Thursday, June 3, at BookExpo America (BEA), ABA will once again be holding its popular All-Day Education Program. Here's an update on afternoon programming, which offers booksellers a choice of five different sessions that will be held from 1:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and then again from 3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. In addition, there will be a College Store Idea Exchange and Roundtable, held at 1:45 p.m. only, and a Large Store Roundtable, which spans Thursday morning and afternoon.

At this year's BookExpo America (BEA), the ABA/Book Sense Lounge -- Room 401 at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center -- will be the place to go for autographed books from some of independent booksellers' favorite authors. (In a break from the past, ABA's presence at this year's BEA will be centralized in the ABA/Book Sense Lounge rather than split between the lounge and a booth on the trade show floor.)

The American Booksellers Association has announced the lineup for the 2004 Book Sense at Five Reading Room, to be held at BookExpo America on Saturday, June 5, from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., in Room 404B/C of Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center. All BEA attendees are welcome to the free event, which has become an ABA Convention tradition.

ABA member booksellers attending this year's BookExpo America (BEA) will be eligible to win some fabulous prizes by picking up their ABA welcome kit at the Hotel ABA Chicago or by visiting the ABA/Book Sense Lounge at the McCormick Place Convention Center.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) will have something for everyone at this year's BookExpo America (BEA). Events range from a panel on free expression issues to award-winning comedy to ABFFE's ever-popular silent auction.

In a break from the past, ABA's presence at this year's BookExpo America (BEA) will be centralized in the ABA/Book Sense Lounge rather than split between the lounge and a booth on the trade show floor. The ABA/Book Sense Lounge, in Room 401, will feature all the usual information and services provided at ABA's trade floor booth, as well as a place to kick back, relax, and check e-mail. The Lounge is situated close to all of ABA's educational programming.