John Mutter &John F. Baker, with reporting by PW staff

No longer so dependent on indies, it's becoming an industry-wide event


The Los Angeles BEA show, held April 30-May 2, was neither as brilliant as some of its boosters had hoped for, nor as disappointing as some naysayers suggested. In fact, it all seemed to depend on the expectations of the visitor; for most, it seemed to be a show without huge traffic, but one where a satisfactory amount of business was done.

The switch to Los Angeles from Chicago, where the show had been rooted for five years and which it will revisit frequently in the future, did less than had been expected to give the event a dash of Hollywood glitz. Show-biz glamour was not much in evidence, and there were signs that the division of the show among three halls -- and the very considerable distance between the popular West hall and the less-trafficked South -- had revived some earlier Chicago complaints about being second-class citizens.

Though some complained, as always, about the very real decline in blue bookseller badges, most seemed to understand that BEA is no longer primarily a show for selling books and have adjusted accordingly. As J.P. Leventhal of Black Dog &Leventhal put it, "We don't expect to write orders here any more. We haven't for some time. What we can do is meet with new customers -- wholesalers, distributors, other dealers -- and that's where the show is still useful."

People from houses as diverse as Broadway Books, Columbia University Press and Countryman Press all said essentially the same thing: that although they were doing a decent amount of business, most of it was not with booksellers -- though few would go as far as the exhibitor who joked bitterly that he'd had plenty of traffic -- "both booksellers stopped by."

The notion of BEA as a giant meeting place for a growing variety of industry interests seems to be spreading. As several attendees, including the Tattered Cover's Margaret Maupin, pointed out, "The rancor is gone, everybody is trying to work together." Roberta Rubin of the Book Stall, Winnetka, Ill., also spoke of a good feeling, "that we're in the business and that we're all here together."

What was apparent this year was a huge upswing in the number of yellow "Industry Professional" badges. These embraced a multitude of functions -- publicists, movie and TV studio people, production companies in several media, even nonbook retailers -- and judging from their numbers, the show will be able to take into account a far wider range of exhibitors and interested visitors than it has in the past.

This beyond-retail interest extends, of course, to the show's role as an international book event, too, and here some of the ground lost at Chicago seems to have been made up. The old days, when booksellers were able to limit foreign rights and other extra-retail activities, are long gone, and the fair is an increasingly significant international event. High marks went to the expansive Rights Center, jointly sponsored by PW and the Association of Authors Representatives, which offered more than 200 tables booked solid by foreign and domestic publishers, agents and scouts. Most of the key people who make the international trade go round were on hand -- some, like Germany's ubiquitous Lothar Menne and Hans-Peter Ubleis, pursuing deals actually begun a month earlier at the London International Book Fair.

One of the apparent differences between the Chicago and L.A. shows was in the geographical makeup of international visitors: more Asians and fewer Europeans this time. Some Latin Americans usually present were faced with fairs taking place almost concurrently in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. There was a small but significant number of foreign publishers targeting U.S. booksellers, notably in the stands organized by the Combined Book Exhibit and the U.K.'s Publishers Association, as well as the big collective stands offered by France, Germany and Italy.

The many pre-show programs, including the PMA University, the children's programs on Thursday, the Latino Book Summit, the African-American Booksellers Conference, the Feminist Bookstore Network conference, NAPRA and the General Booksellers Conference of the National Association of College Stores, were all busy.

Although BEA did not release final figures by press time, it is likely that attendance will reach several thousand more than last year's 25,672. New this year, in an attempt to track attendance and traffic patterns between the halls, was an obligatory badge scanning at some entrances that annoyed a number of attendees.

Nearly everyone PW spoke with commented on the caliber of those who attended the show. Mark Suchomel, president of Independent Publishers Group, praised the "quality attendees" who were coming by his company's booth. George Gibson of Walker &Co., who hosted a party for bestselling author Dava Sobel and a 25th-anniversary party for the press, said that in terms of energy and the quality of visitors, Friday was his single best day ever at an ABA or BEA show.

Even large publishers who have boycotted or cut back on participation in recent years seemed happy with the show. St. Martin's, which had dropped out for most of the 1990s, moved from a room off the show floor last year onto the floor. CEO John Sargent said that the company did "a lot of business."

Putnam Penguin remained largely absent, although Penguin International had a booth. Penguin executives were conspicuous, however, and CEO Michael Lynton participated in the "Bookselling in the Next Millennium" panel on the eve of the show.

Most seminars were held on Wednesday and Thursday, before the trade show floor opened, and panels dealing with electronic publishing and distribution issues were especially well-attended. Martha Otis, v-p and director of advertising and promotion, Time Warner Trade, was one of several who commented favorably on this approach, noting, "In the past, seminars tended to empty the trade show floor."

Many people continued to be thrown a bit by the change in days of the week for the show, which for years has opened on Saturday. Next year's show will follow this year's Friday-to-Sunday pattern.

Some exhibitors wished that the show could last longer than two-and-a-half days. Gene Gollogly of Continuum, for one, wished that he had had several more hours. (A decade ago, the show ran for three-and-a-half days, but because of many complaints, particularly from large publishers, the floor time has been whittled.)

The show's early timing -- a month ahead of the usual BEA schedule -- seemed to bother people more in anticipation than actuality. There were plenty of bound galleys and fall list materials available at booths -- though some exhibitors who had held their sales conferences immediately before the show weren't as well rested as they might have been.

In part because they want mainly to sell to booksellers, sidelines exhibitors were the one group that, as a whole, seemed displeased by the turnout. A few indicated that they might not return to BEA next year.

Even some exhibitors located far from the entrances expressed satisfaction with the show. The Booksource was in one of the far corners of the West Hall, yet was having a good show, according to owner Sandy Jaffe. "We're greeting customers and showing our face," he said. "If we get a couple of nice deals, that'll pay for the show."

Other than a 20-minute delay in opening the South Hall on Friday because a fire marshal objected to empty boxes and other debris in the aisles, the show ran smoothly. Many exhibitors singled out the show organizers, Reed Exhibition Group, for doing as much as possible to make the BEA experience a good one. Exhibitors also appreciated the fact that costs for setup were lower than in Chicago.

A more relaxed attitude about author signings and parties on the floor was greeted warmly -- and perhaps with a few toasts -- by attendees. The change gave the floor a more convivial attitude, reminiscent of the Frankfurt International Book Fair at closing time, where many exhibitors put on parties at their booths.

Red Carpet for Authors

Authors were well received, with the book and author breakfasts drawing many hundreds of booksellers. At a signing for booksellers near Random House's international sales room off the show floor, Dean Koontz inscribed books for more than three hours.

BEA industry v-p and show manager Courtney Muller said she was especially pleased that "people seemed to have arrived with a positive attitude."

Some attendees missed Chicago, if only because they are used to it. Even a pair of California booksellers, admitting they risked speaking heresy, said they preferred being in Chicago because they didn't have to "relearn" their way around the convention center and city.

Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles location drew many West Coast booksellers who attend BEA in Chicago sporadically, if at all. Janice Wilson, trade show manager for Antioch, noted that "here we get many smaller West Coast stores that may not get to Chicago."

Librarians, too, were happy. Susan Patron, senior children's librarian at the Los Angeles County Library, commented: "Everyone's been very receptive and responsive to me as a librarian. There's a sense out there that publishers like to see librarians at ALA and retail people here, but I've discovered a lot of publishers here that I don't see at ALA."

Booksellers seemed more optimistic than they had been in years, and much of the change in their mood had to do with the ABA's introduction of the Book Sense marketing campaign. Ads touting the virtues of independent stores have already run in the New York Times and the New Yorker, among other media. Many booksellers also crowded around screens to see prototypes of BookSense.com, the ABA's online book retailing program that should begin operation in August.

Still, Martha Schulze, manager of information services at ABA, noted a certain initial skepticism among booksellers for BookSense.com, though she said, "The people I've talked to have been won over."

E-Commerce, E-Conflict

If there was an unofficial theme to this year's BEA, it would be the burgeoning importance of technology in virtually every phase of the publishing process. E-panels of all kinds (17 by one count) were well attended, exploring everything from electronic books and cybercommerce to online marketing and back-office software management.

The benefits of e-publishing, as well as its potential for conflicts, were illustrated in Thursday's panel on "The Future of E-Publishing." As outlined by the panel, electronic publishing, which promises readers the convenience of carrying around thousands of pages of text on a small electronic unit, will eliminate printing, paper, warehousing costs and returns.

"People want things in different formats, just like Coca-Cola," said Chris Pooley of Modern Age Books, a publisher of digital texts for personal computers, who outlined a digital future that included print and electronic texts co-existing to mutual benefit. The panel noted a simmering, yet to-be-resolved conflict among the major e-book platforms and among e-book standards in general.

Panelist and literary agent Tim Knowlton, president of Curtis Brown Ltd., pointed to other obstacles, reminding the audience that e-publishing has also complicated the notion of what "in print" means and threatens traditional territorial rights through online sales. While he pointed out that "royalties for the e-book could become a significant portion of an author's income," he also complained of increasingly aggressive demands by publishers for a larger slice of electronic revenues, despite cyberpublishing's lower costs.

Party Time

The Association of American Publishers officially began its "Get Caught Reading" campaign at a reception hosted by HarperCollins and Baker &Taylor. More than two dozen Harper authors, including Clive Barker, David Crosby, Carl Reiner and Rebecca Wells, were on hand.

Other receptions and parties were well attended, if only because there were fewer of them than in previous years, as publishers cut back on entertainment costs.

Celebrities in attendance at the fetes included Jamie Lee Curtis, who was mobbed, and Eddie Fisher, who sang some of his old numbers at a crowded St. Martin's Press party for his memoirs. Salman Rushdie made several party appearances and read at the Los Angeles Public Library. Bill Murray was seen wandering the aisles and even sitting by himself on stairs, reading exhibitor giveaways.

Distributors' Delight

After a turbulent year in the world of distribution and wholesaling -- with B&N announcing plans to buy Ingram, Random House stepping away from distribution and former clients like Houghton Mifflin going out on their own -- the companies dedicated to moving books were some of the busiest on the floor.

For traditional distributors, business couldn't have been better, which many said reflects a healthy independent press market, as well as publishers' need to work with companies that can deal with the complexities of selling books in an era of electronic ordering and increased focus on national accounts, special markets and online retailing. Last year alone, 600 publishers approached National Book Network about distribution, president Jed Lyons said. Sticking with its policy of selective, controlled growth, NBN picked up only a handful of such publishers.

For Login Publishers Consortium, the first five minutes of the show set the tone for a successful event. "I got a new customer with 25 stores," David Wilk said, referring to Family Toy of Carnegie, Pa. "After that," he joked, "I figured we could go home."

Midpoint Trade Books appeared to be exceptionally busy this year, although some independent booksellers griped that the company emphasizes chain stores and other national accounts almost exclusively.

On the other hand, wholesalers seemed eager to attract independent booksellers, particularly at a time when many booksellers are angry and wary about the proposed B&N purchase of Ingram. In one of the more interesting giveaway gimmicks, K n Book Distributors invited booksellers to swap Ingram's blue name-tag holders for green ones sporting the smaller wholesaler's logo.

Many people commented on an apparent dearth of attendees at the Ingram booth, compared to previous shows. But Ingram had a different take. "I heard other exhibitors talk about the lack of booksellers," said CEO Jim Chandler, "but I didn't get that sense. We were extremely busy." He added that Ingram reconfigured its large booth, eliminating many bookstore-like fixtures to allow more room to demonstrate its new technology services, such as iPage and a CD-ROM for backlist. Since Ingram has been communicating with customers about the possible B&N/Ingram merger all along, Chandler said he didn't think it affected interest in Ingram's services at BEA.

Baker &Taylor's Bill Preston said he'd like to think the heavy traffic he observed was the result of B&T's increased services for the retail market and not booksellers' apprehension about the B&N/Ingram deal. "Given the changes in the marketplace, booksellers are trying to see what all their alternatives are," he said. "What they wanted to know about most was our database."

Children's Web Selling

California has always been a stronghold for independent children's bookstores, but children's bookselling has been reeling a bit in the last few years, with some longstanding stores going out of business. However, in the words of owner Betty Takeuchi of San Marino Toy and Book Shoppe, San Marino, Calif., "Those of us who are still here are here to stay."

One of the topics of concern to children's booksellers, discussed at one of the round-tables following the Association of Booksellers for Children meeting, was the pros and cons of a store Web site. Many booksellers who haven't taken the plunge feel they should, but wondered whether it is worth the effort; those who have posted a site cautioned their colleagues to consider whether their aim is to sell books through the site or to use it more as a marketing tool. And they pointed out that maintaining a Web site involves a lot of ongoing work.

The Spiritual Side

Many of the religion publishers who chose to exhibit in the Religion/Spirituality/Inspiration section in the South Hall were pleased with the floor traffic. David Henrichs, sales director at Concordia House, described the area as "the Mecca of the show," and Garborg president Ralph Garborg called the show "the best ever for us." Others, including Terry Locke, marketing director at Loyola, complained about the location at the back of the hall, and said he doubted his company would choose to be in the religion section again next year.

Many religion publishers have expanded their efforts in publishing for children; Bob Hirni, western sales rep for Eerdmans, said his company's children's program was the chief reason for being at the show. Several new imprints and lines were also in evidence, including Garborg's Front Porch Books, Ballantine's Wellspring and Gospel Light Publications, a new house based in Ventura, Calif. There was even some strong rights activity, with Tony Wales, international sales director for Britain's Lion Books reporting "a very busy show -- much better than last year. We do more volume here now than at the Christian Booksellers Association show."

Heard About Audio

For the audiobook industry, the biggest news at BEA was the results of the Audio Publishers Association's consumer survey, which revealed that 21% of U.S. households now contain an audiobook listener -- a 75% increase since 1995. Audiobook sales grew 10.2% in 1998 over the previous year. Annual audiobook sales are now an estimated $2 billion.

Broadcast.com chairman Mark Cuban, the featured speaker at the Audio Publishers Association Conference on Thursday, promoted audiobook listening over the Internet as the future of the audio industry. In reaction, publishers expressed concerns about giving listeners content for free and about how to properly compensate authors for work presented over the Internet.

What-and Where-Next?

The show returns to Chicago next year and in 2001. For 2002, BEA is considering two sites: Las Vegas and New York City, where the old ABA show was held in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

Most likely, BEA will be in Los Angeles again in 2003. After that, "the plan is to have a permanent rotation, with frequent stops in Chicago," BEA's Courtney Muller said.

Next year's BEA runs Friday through Sunday again, June 2-4. As Muller pointed out, "The good news is that we have 13 months until the next BEA!"

(A longer report on BEA, concentrating on books for the rest of the year and on several specific niche areas, will appear May 24.)