Organizers of the New York Rights Fair held a party last night to introduce the event to the American publishing community. The fair, set for May 30–June 1, 2018, is being developed by Publishers Weekly, Combined Book Exhibit, and BolognaFiere, the organizers of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. In from Italy to kick off the event were Marco Momoli, commercial director Italy, BolognaFiere; Elena Pasoli, director, Bologna Children’s Book Fair; and Giorgio Contini, international director, BolognaFiere.
The inaugural fair, which will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan, will be the first trade and licensing show in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to the buying and selling of international rights, as well as the distribution and licensing of content. The show will cover both adult and children’s content.
According to the organizers, the fair will offer a unique venue for U.S. publishers and agents to network with their global counterparts in the publishing capital of the world. “There is no more essential content marketplace than New York. The U.S. market can be extremely challenging for international publishers to navigate. A trade show dedicated to both adult and children’s rights and licensing, in an intimate setting, will enhance the current landscape of fairs focused on the global rights market,” said George Slowik, Jr., CEO, Publishers Weekly. “We anticipate that the New York Rights Fair will draw a broad international crowd to the U.S. and believe it is the perfect synergistic fair with BookExpo for people in the rights business.” The event is planned to coincide with BookExpo 2018.
“BolognaFiere has had a long and fruitful experience in the organization of numerous international trade shows in many different countries,” said Franco Boni, president of BolognaFiere. “This new venture is the natural progression of our 54-year-long history with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and the meaningful global network that we have established throughout these five decades. We are very proud to launch this new show, bringing the flair of Bologna to New York and thereby creating a premium rights marketplace for adult and kids’ content today.”
Fair organizers said that following the announcement of the event in April, they have received expressions of interest by exhibitors from Catalonia, China, Italy, and Sharjah in the U.A.E.
The New York Rights Fair will also launch a number of cultural events to help promote international titles in the U.S. market. The events, the organizers said, will celebrate the artistry, creativity, and innovation of the world’s publishing community.
Registration for the fair opened yesterday, when the fair’s website went live at newyorkrightsfair.com. For more information on registration, please contact Jon Malinowski, jon@combinedbook.com.
