In a move that highlights the growing consumer popularity and marketing clout of BookCon, the literary fanfest, ReedPop announced plans to add the author event to New York Comic Con in the fall. BookCon@NYCC will take place October 6-9 during New York Comic Con and be held at Hudson Mercantile, a separate event space near the Javits Center.
Access to BookCon@NYCC will be included as part of a consumer NYCC badge. The event will include a series of panels, autograph sessions, and meet-the-author events. ReedPop emphasized that BookCon will also continue to run after BookExpo America and will be a dedicated two-day event, June 3-4, 2017, following the BEA trade show set for the Javits Center. To date, ReedPop has conducted three BookCons, one in Chicago and two in New York.
Lance Fensterman, global senior v-p of ReedPOP and BookCon organizer, said adding BookCon to NYCC gave ReedPop “an opportunity to leverage two ReedPop brands for the betterment of our fans and publishing customers.”
Fensterman explained that moving NYCC events out of the Javits Center and into nearby city spaces is part of ReedPop’s ongoing strategy for New York Comic Con. “Growing NYCC throughout all of New York City continues to be a major goal and in order to do that we need killer content that will hook our fans. BookCon@NYCC allows us to bring our fan base more of the high profile book related content they love” Fensterman said. "There will be no exhibits at the Hudson Mercantile,” Fensterman said. “This is all about content,” he said.
To attend BookCon@NYCC, fans must secure tickets to New York Comic Con, which are becoming more difficult to buy and selling out faster every year. NYCC attracts as many as 150,000 fans each year. Indeed, fans hoping to attend BookCon@NYCC must now complete the NYCC’s new Fan Verification Profile (a new procedure to fight ticket scalping) to even get the opportunity to purchase tickets.
The programming for BookCon@NYCC--panels, autograph sessions, and meet & greets--will be held at Hudson Mercantile, an event space at 500 W. 36th Street that is close to the Javits Center. Publishers booths, Fensterman emphasized, will continue to be located on the show floor at Javits. There will also be a bookstore at the Hudson Mercantile operated by WORD bookstore. Fensterman added that “traditional comics publishers aren’t part of the Hudson Mercantile. The Hudson Mercantile space will focus on books (genre, novels, memoir, humor, etc.) and authors. It’s an opportunity to spotlight book content.”
The initial author list for BookCon@NYCC features children’s book author Ann M. Martin (Baby-Sitter’s Club series), R.L. Stine (Goosebumps), Chuck Wendig (Star Wars), and YA sensation Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die) among other authors. Publishers confirmed to appear at BookCon@NYCC include Macmillan Children’s Publishing, Bloomsbury, and Del Rey with more to be announced.
“The move to Hudson Mercantile for book related content marks an expansion of the show and allows NYCC to feature more of the programming fans are looking for without limiting other areas of content,” Fensterman said.
