The nation’s largest publishing event returns to Washington today after a 17-year absence. More than 25,000 publishers, booksellers, librarians, retailers and other industry professionals are expected at BookExpo America — the publishing industry’s opportunity to present the latest titles to chain and independent bookstores.
The four-day conference will include more than 2,000 exhibitors, a series of professional seminars, author signings and — with its return to Washington — several high-profile local speakers.
“The show is taking on a decidedly Washington flavor,” said Roger Bilheimer, special events coordinator for BookExpo.
For example, NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert, who wrote “Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons,” is scheduled to give the opening-night keynote address. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who wrote “The Audacity of Hope,” will sit on a panel with authors John Updike and Amy Sedaris.
The return of BookExpo to Washington had a lot to do with the city’s new convention center, which can accommodate the thousands of attendees, Bilheimer said. The conference is one of Washington’s biggest of the year and attendees are expected to pump about $29 million into the city during their stay, according to projections from the Washington D.C. Convention & Tourism Corporation.
The conference is also a good fit for Washington because of its status as one of the top markets for books in the country, Bilheimer said.
“It’s a great literary capital,” he said.
According to data from Nielsen BookScan, Washington was the fourth-largest U.S. market in 2005, behindNew York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. About 24 million books were sold in the Washington region in 2005, compared with more than 97 million in New York City.
“The people who shop with us are an incredibly literate group of people,” said Michael Link, general manager of Politics & Prose in Washington. The independent bookstore is hosting a series of events in conjunction with the BookExpo, including a tour for about 50 independent booksellers on Wednesday.
“We’re committed to keeping as many independent bookstores alive and healthy for diversity’s sake,” Link said. “I sort of see ourselves competing against ‘not reading’ versus ‘reading.’ … We want to create generations of readers.”
Popular titles
Last week’s top five best-selling books in the Washington region:
» “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown (mass market paperback)
» “Beach Road” by James Patterson
» “Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War” by Nathaniel Philbrick
» “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown (target paperback)
» “Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea’s Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life” by Tyler Perry
Source: Nielson BookScan
