For three days (longer if you were setting up early, or attending the ABA conference), the book world, and thanks to the likes of Stephen Colbert, LL Cool J and Rosie O’Donell, the regular world kept their eyes on the Jacob K. Javits center for the 2007 edition of Bookexpo America.  Over 30 thousand made their way through the crowded aisles of the convention center, as exhibitors, panel speakers and signing authors solicited traffic, information and opinions (oftentimes with the offer of free books).

Unlike any book fair in the world, Bookexpo America features hundreds of authors, thousands of publishers and attendees from booksellers, to other authors, to librarians (2 thousand librarians, accounting for a 100% increase in library attendance according to BEA show director, Lance Fensterman).  Bookexpo holds signings, panels, author breakfasts and assorted special events making it a hybrid of a sort of ALA and kind of Comic Con for the general book public.

Bookexpo America 2007 was a very successful show, bringing in high attendance, a lot of books to preview, a lot of business deals, and a whole lot of sweaty people (both attendees and exhibitors alike).  The temperature in the Javits Center was a little too high for comfort, but it failed to deter anybody from the hall.  As Lance said in his blog, “At the end of the day if this is worst thing that happened at BEA, we’re in OK shape.”  Couldn’t agree more:  BEA 2007 was a sweat-dripping success.

Bookexpo America 2008 will be held in the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles, California from May 29-June 1.  See www.bookexpoamerica.com for constant recaps from BEA 2007 and updates for BEA 2008.

Following Bookexpo America 2007, which garnered the highest librarian attendance in recent history, the American Library Association will host its annual conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from June 21-27.

The ALA Annual conference draws an attendance of between 20 and 25 thousand people, making it the largest library conference in the country.  Coming off a successful midwinter conference in Seattle, Washington this past January, the American Library Association hopes to keep rolling full steam ahead to bring an even bigger and more successful annual conference.

Exhibitors run the gamut from book publishers to distributors to software companies, while panels will run throughout the conference to discuss pressing matters to ALA’s members and the community it serves.  Speakers at the conference include Ken Burns, Khaled Hosseini and Judy Blume among others.

This year marked the third year for the New Title Showcase at Bookexpo America.  This year’s exhibit contained a record-breaking 1,544 books from over one thousand publishers.  The exhibit caught the eye of more than just a few attendees.