For much of the publishing community, the American Library Association’s Midwinter is a marquee event.  It’s the first chance of the new year to see all of the offerings to come—especially in the realm of children’s books.  Obviously, also for this same children’s book realm, there’s the ever important, sometimes controversial, always exciting Children’s Media awards and honors. 

Over 13 thousand made their way to start of the spring show season in Philadelphia, almost one thousand more than did last year in Seattle.  Last year’s Midwinter was a precursor to a successful slew of other shows for the spring, so with a higher attendance in Philly, we’re hoping to carry the steam forward to the remainder of the season. 

This spring includes some of the best shows that happen each year, like state library association shows in New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, and of course the mother of all state shows, Texas.  Michigan is hosting its annual Reading Association show in March, and April will bring us back to Hershey, PA for one of the best children’s book shows, the Pennsylvania School Library Association.  March will also bring the Public Library Association.  Held only once every two years, this is a must attend for anyone wishing to participate in the largest section of the library market.  April of course brings the entire publishing world together for the London Book Fair, and for the first time, Combined Book Exhibit will be attending the American International Toy Fair in February (it’s not too late to sign up!), which represents the over $22 billion youth entertainment market.

It’s a busy spring heading our way, and Midwinter was the perfect beginning.  Expect updates from every show as they come.  To participate in any show, simply click here.

Bookexpo America is the premier publishing event in the US, and as such, the BEA-hosted New Title Showcase is one of the biggest and most important exhibits that Combined Book Exhibit is a part of.  In 2005 when the Combined Book Exhibit first teamed up with Bookexpo to mount the first-ever New Title Showcase, we had high hopes that have since been exceeded.  Always willing to try new things, we at Combined Book Exhibit, along with the management team at Bookexpo America, are happy to announce a new venture to add more value to the NTS. 

Follett Digital Resources has jumped on board to power a new feature for the popular online database that accompanies the New Title Showcase (located at www.newtitleshowcase.com).  Using Follett’s technology, the online database will now feature “Look Inside The Book” capabilities for every participant that wishes to take advantage.  This service will allow each title to be seen online in greater detail than ever.  Similar to Amazon’s “Search Inside” feature, the Follett powered “Look Inside The Book” feature for Bookexpo America New Title Showcase participants will allow site visitors to view limited portions of the books, which will in turn allow each book to be marketed even better, which will hopefully lead to more sales.

Participating in the “Look Inside The Book” feature with the Bookexpo America New Title Showcase will also allow each book to be included in Follett’s digital library, opening each book up to even more marketing and sales opportunities.

Currently, this feature is only being added to the Bookexpo America New Title Showcase.  Soon,  it will be included as an optional part of the registration process.

After a few months of deliberation, the Beijing International Book Fair has decided to move both location and timeframe for 2008 in response to the limited resources Beijing will have due to hosting the Olympics and Paralympics back to back this summer.  So mark your calendars for September 1-4, 2008, and be sure to plan a bit of extra travel time to get to the new fair site:  Tianjin.

Tianjin is a city with its own credentials, despite the fact that it lives in Beijing’s shadow.  With over 10 million people making their homes there, it’s by no means a small city, and there’s plenty to do and see there.  The Old City might not have the same popularity as the Forbidden City in Beijing, but it features such historically relevant sites as the Drum Tower, Guangdont Guild Hall and the Confucius Temple.  The Monastery of Deep Compassion is also located in Tianjin, as is Ancient Culture Street.  There’s plenty of shopping available, both Ancient Culture Street, and within the Antique Market.  For those of you worried about books, there’s the Xinhua Bookshop.  There are also (as would be necessary), plenty of hotels and restaurants to try out.

Though Tianjin does have its own airport, it does not service as many airlines as does the Beijing Airport, so we recommend making your plans to fly into Beijing, and arranging a driver for the final trip into Tianjin.  If you do plan to attend, The Combined Book Exhibit and American Collective Stand are happy to help you with your plans.

With the lure of a new location, all of the attractions in Tianjin, and all of the people in the country for the Olympics and Paralympics, we are optimistic that this year’s show will be as good as any Beijing International Book Fair yet.