Religion Scholars, Publishers Meet in Nashville

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Religion Scholars, Publishers Meet in Nashville Lynn Garrett -- 1/1/01 The annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion/ Society of Biblical Literature, held at Nashville's Opryland Hotel and Convention Center late last year, drew an estimated 7,800 participants, down only slightly from last year's meeting in Boston, which attracted nearly 8,000. This year approximately 150 publishers (down from about 160 in 1999) were represented in the book exhibit, which more than ever looked like a trade show, with larger, sleeker booths for many of the major church-owned, academic and trade publishers represented. Selling books at deep discounts to the attending scholars helps publishers gain crucial course adoptions for their titles. For most houses, book sales at least offset the costs of exhibiting, and they also use the meeting to acquire new projects and sign new authors. Richard Brown, publisher of Westminster John Knox Press, took space on both sides of the aisle right by the front entrance to the hall, and told PW, "This is the largest presence we've ever had here, and for the first time AAR/SBL is charging more for the prime spots." Westminster's strategy paid off: first-day sales "surpassed those for the entire conference last year," according to WJK advertising and publicity manager Bill Falvey. An added benefit for many publishers this year was the scheduling of the Evangelical Theological Society meeting on the front end of the conference. On-site sales (excluding mail orders) for InterVarsity Press during both meetings were up 70% over last year, said Al Hsu, print publicity manager, who cited the release of the press's Dictionary of New Testament Background as a major factor. "Sales of that book alone accounted for about one-fifth of our sales," Hsu told PW. Others were less sanguine--Jon Sweeney, v-p of marketing and sales for Jewish Lights and associate publisher for its SkyLight Paths imprint, told PW that "sales were down slightly, and I think it is because we didn't see any students--or at least very few--and they usually make up a good percentage of our sales here." But, he added, "it remains an important meeting for us as we continue to increase the number of titles we publish for the academic market." The Jewish Publication Society director of marketing and sales, Steve Berman, told PW that JPS would "embark on a new business strategy" in 2001, placing primary emphasis on its Bibles and related products. "The JPS translation of the TANAKH and the Torah Commentary Series are what both Jewish and Christian authorities recognize the society for," Berman pointed out, noting that those titles, which make up about 20% of JPS's list, account for 60% of its sales. Also celebrating a major new reference work was Eerdmans Publishing, whose Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible was released in September. V-p of sales and marketing Sam Eerdmans said sales were "brilliant--far beyond our expectations," with on-hand stock of the dictionary nearly selling out at the conference. Although AAR press officer Steve Herrick said, "Overall comments were good," PW heard many complaints about inadequate facilities and staffing at Opryland. Conference attendees confronted long lines to check in and out, and getting into the hotel's restaurants at mealtimes was nearly impossible--a problem for those without cars, since Opryland is isolated from downtown Nashville. Some publishers expressed concern about the Toronto site of the 2002 annual meeting, fearing that under Canadian tax law they might be unable to sell books on-site or have to pay prohibitive taxes. AAR director of finance and operations John Harrison told PW, "We really don't know what the situation is, since Canadian tax law changes from year to year. We will be meeting with Revenue Canada in the next several weeks to do all we can to make it work for the publishers as it has in the past." The 2001 AAR/SBL meeting is scheduled for November 17-20 in Denver.

News

Religion Scholars, Publishers Meet in Nashville
Lynn Garrett -- 1/1/01

The annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion/ Society of Biblical Literature, held at Nashville's Opryland Hotel and Convention Center late last year, drew an estimated 7,800 participants, down only slightly from last year's meeting in Boston, which attracted nearly 8,000.

This year approximately 150 publishers (down from about 160 in 1999) were represented in the book exhibit, which more than ever looked like a trade show, with larger, sleeker booths for many of the major church-owned, academic and trade publishers represented. Selling books at deep discounts to the attending scholars helps publishers gain crucial course adoptions for their titles. For most houses, book sales at least offset the costs of exhibiting, and they also use the meeting to acquire new projects and sign new authors. Richard Brown, publisher of Westminster John Knox Press, took space on both sides of the aisle right by the front entrance to the hall, and told PW, "This is the largest presence we've ever had here, and for the first time AAR/SBL is charging more for the prime spots." Westminster's strategy paid off: first-day sales "surpassed those for the entire conference last year," according to WJK advertising and publicity manager Bill Falvey.

An added benefit for many publishers this year was the scheduling of the Evangelical Theological Society meeting on the front end of the conference. On-site sales (excluding mail orders) for InterVarsity Press during both meetings were up 70% over last year, said Al Hsu, print publicity manager, who cited the release of the press's Dictionary of New Testament Background as a major factor. "Sales of that book alone accounted for about one-fifth of our sales," Hsu told PW. Others were less sanguine--Jon Sweeney, v-p of marketing and sales for Jewish Lights and associate publisher for its SkyLight Paths imprint, told PW that "sales were down slightly, and I think it is because we didn't see any students--or at least very few--and they usually make up a good percentage of our sales here." But, he added, "it remains an important meeting for us as we continue to increase the number of titles we publish for the academic market."

The Jewish Publication Society director of marketing and sales, Steve Berman, told PW that JPS would "embark on a new business strategy" in 2001, placing primary emphasis on its Bibles and related products. "The JPS translation of the TANAKH and the Torah Commentary Series are what both Jewish and Christian authorities recognize the society for," Berman pointed out, noting that those titles, which make up about 20% of JPS's list, account for 60% of its sales.

Also celebrating a major new reference work was Eerdmans Publishing, whose Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible was released in September. V-p of sales and marketing Sam Eerdmans said sales were "brilliant--far beyond our expectations," with on-hand stock of the dictionary nearly selling out at the conference.

Although AAR press officer Steve Herrick said, "Overall comments were good," PW heard many complaints about inadequate facilities and staffing at Opryland. Conference attendees confronted long lines to check in and out, and getting into the hotel's restaurants at mealtimes was nearly impossible--a problem for those without cars, since Opryland is isolated from downtown Nashville.

Some publishers expressed concern about the Toronto site of the 2002 annual meeting, fearing that under Canadian tax law they might be unable to sell books on-site or have to pay prohibitive taxes. AAR director of finance and operations John Harrison told PW, "We really don't know what the situation is, since Canadian tax law changes from year to year. We will be meeting with Revenue Canada in the next several weeks to do all we can to make it work for the publishers as it has in the past."

The 2001 AAR/SBL meeting is scheduled for November 17-20 in Denver.