The largest publishing conference in North America is starting earlier next year. Book Expo America is finalized to run from May 30 to June 1 at the Javitz Center in New York City. The main factor in the change was to keep hotel fees down for attendees. Conference Day will take place on Wednesday, May 29th, and the show floor will be open Thursday, May 30th – Saturday, June 1st. The Book Blogger Conference will take place on Wednesday, May 29th, as will the Remainders & Gift Pavilions, just like the last 5 years.
“I am incredibly happy that we have been able to come to this arrangement with Javits,” notes Steve Rosato, Show Manager for BookExpo America. “This shift addresses the #1 issue that was out of BEA’s control which was the hotel prices in New York City. This works to everyone’s advantage … most notably, for our attendees, especially the ABA for whom hotel costs are a top priority. We are pleased to deliver this better alternative which will unequivocally deliver significant savings to all our participants in 2013. Simply put, BEA can provide more lodging at a lower rate and we are able to secure larger blocks in the most popular hotels with these dates.”
One of the big aspects of this date change is to give the public a better opportunity to check out the convention. 2012 was the first year in which the general public was able to attend and opening the Friday and Saturday block will give people the weekend to parlay with their favorite authors and scoop up some free books.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
