Frontlist | Publishers Weekly Creates a New Book Fair

on Jan 14, 2021

Publishers Weekly has announced it will launch a new American publishing trade fair. Named the U.S. Book Show, the debut event will run virtually May 26-28. The intended audience includes booksellers, librarians, publishers and literary agents from across the U.S. and the world. Programming will be limited to five hours per day to facilitate further networking and parties, as well as to accommodate participants from a variety of time zones across the U.S. and the world.

The news comes in the wake of the closure of BookExpo, announced in December. “Publishers Weekly brings the leadership, brand and marketing reach into the global industry that will set the stage for the success of the new fair,” said Cevin Bryerman, executive v-p and publisher of PW. “The event fills a void left in the U.S. book publishing industry. PW has the experience, 150 years of book industry expertise and dedication to excellence.

Jim Milliot, editorial director of PW, added, “Having everyone under one ‘roof,’ so to speak, will go a long way toward unifying the industry around an annual U.S.-based event we have all come to rely on for networking, learning about the forthcoming big fall titles and one-to-one connection with booksellers and librarians.

The fair will be run via a new, proprietary digital platform that will facilitate online exhibitors, presentations, and networking. In addition to Book Buzz and Galleys-to-Grab author events aimed at librarians and booksellers the show will feature an extensive professional programming series that will discuss the state of the industry as the nation begins to emerge from the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic.

One aim of the organizers is to make the event inclusive as possible. Pricing will be reasonable and on the low end, said Bryerman, in order to make participation available to as wide a number of industry professionals as possible. The goal of U.S. Book Show, Bryerman said, is to attract participants from across the spectrum of the industry, including small presses to midsize imprints, university presses, sideline producers, distributors, library data providers, and the largest publishers.

Self-published authors will have a dedicated track of events catering specifically to their needs.

PW will produce dedicated Show Daily issues for the fair providing a full listing of events, news, authors profiles, advertising opportunities, and more.

Source: News Break