Some 4,900 professors and scholars of religion met Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Atlanta at the AAR annual meeting. This was the third conference held separately from the Society of Biblical Literature, with which AAR had long met jointly. (SBL meets Nov. 19-22, also in Atlanta.) After holding the event in Montreal last year, which meant higher expenses for attendees and shipping restrictions for publishers, the move to Atlanta resulted in more booths (141 vs.120 in 2009) and exhibitors (98 vs. 85l).
The split meetings have caused headaches not only for attendees, but also for publishers who exhibit at the meetings. This year those who will also have a presence at SBL are paying to store their stock and exhibits between the conferences. In 2008 and 2009 they had to staff and supply meetings in separate cities.
Publishers reported fairly good traffic in Atlanta, and the mood was upbeat as they looked forward to the 2011 meetings, which will be held concurrently in San Francisco and once again feature a single book exhibit. AAR and SBL have signed letters of intent to hold their meetings concurrently through 2019, according to Susan Snider, associate director of external relations, with each featuring a combined book exhibit and employment center.
The AAR and SBL meetings have long been important for publishers of academic religion as a place to lobby for course adoptions and sell books. But as Anita Eerdmans, v-p publicity at Eerdmans Publishing, pointed out, these days attendees are buying fewer books on site because of airline baggage fees. Eerdmans, like most of the participating publishers, takes orders and offers free shipping at a lower discount (40% for purchase on site, 30% for shipped orders).
Increasingly in recent years the meetings are a place to scout for new projects and meet with authors, and many acquisitions editors were in attendance. “This has really become much more of an acquisitions opportunity for us,” said Brian Hughes, marketing manager at Oxford University Press, echoing other publishers who spoke with PW.
