Bottom from left to right: Han Yan, Xiao, Hui,
Middle from left to right: Jutta Willand, Nina Arrowsmith, Baerbel Buck/Frankfurter Buchmesse, Iris Brandt, Riky Stock/GBO
Top from left to right: Astrid Barth, Laurens Ubbink, Frits van der Meij
BEA 2009 Remains Lively
International Visitors and German Publishers Profited from Productive Meetings
With the first ever international nonfiction publishers trip taking place during the days prior to BEA, the German Book Office and the Frankfurt Book Fair were in the midst of international exchange and dialogue that occurred during visits to Publishers Weekly, Barnes & Noble, McGraw-Hill, W.W. Norton, Abrams, and Oxford UP as well as during panel discussions with various members of the American publishing industry. The international participants were Laurens Ubbink, Editor, Ambo Anthos, Holland; Nina Arrowsmith, Managing Director, Arrowsmith Agency, Germany; Frits van der Meij, Senior Editor, Athenaeum–Polak & Van Gennep, Holland; Han Yan, Chief Editor, Cheers Publishing China plus Xiao Hui, General Manager, Cheers Publishing, and Luke Sun, Senior Consultant, Cheers Publishing; Jutta Willand, Rights Director, Eichborn, Germany; Iris Brandt, Rights Director, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Germany and Astrid Barth, Head of International Media, Wissen Media, Germany. At BEA, the group conducted individual meetings, participated in BEA’s educational programming and enjoyed a group meeting with the Canadian publishers of Greystone Books and House of Anansi.
The German Book Office was also in charge of organizing the German Collective stand during BookExpo America from May 29- May 31, 2009 where 25 companies exhibited their titles. For the international group and the Germans, the outlook from the show was positive.
Despite low expectations, total attendance for 2009 was calculated at 29, 923 (not including exhibitor badge holders). The number of “verified attendees” was 12,025, up 30% from 2008 when BookExpo was held in Los Angeles and down 11% from 2007, the last time BookExpo was in New York. Of these attendees, 7, 066 were book buyers and librarians.
Exhibitors at the German Collective stand were pleased with the meetings they had at the show. Jutta Willand from Eichborn noted that while BEA is “under severe transition”, her meetings at the show went well. Astrid Barth of wissenmedia also expressed satisfaction with the overall show experience. She had appointments with several new contacts as well as with business partners she had met at previous book fairs. “For these appointments, it was important for us to be here,” Barth said.
The fact that publishing has entered the digital age was more evident than ever. Thursday’s conference program offered panels on such topics as social media, distribution channels for digital titles and XML for editors. The show floor also featured a New Media Zone to showcase digital developments for publishers and to host bloggers writing from BEA.
BEA will remain in New York in 2010 but will move to a mid-week event taking place May 25 – May 27.
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