If Reed Exhibitions stages a Book Expo and Book Con in late July, it will happen without any of the country’s five largest trade publishers. On Thursday, Macmillan joined the others in announcing that it, too, will not participate: “Due to an abundance of caution for our employee safety and guidance of the city and state, Macmillan Publishers has made the difficult decision to withdraw from BookExpo and BookCon 2020. While we are disappointed with the situation we are in, we promise to find other opportunities to interact with our booksellers, librarians, readers, and fans going forward.”
Book Fairs
ALA Cancels June Conference; Simon & Schuster Also Withdraws from Book Expo
The American Library Association’s executive board announced Tuesday that the scheduled June 25 to 30 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago has been canceled. President Wanda K. Brown said, “As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it’s become clear that in the face of an unprecedented situation, we need to make tough choices.” It’s the first time since 1945 that the ALA has not held an annual conference. But Reed Exhibitions is still hoping to hold a delayed Book Expo and Book Con in New York in late July. Simon & Schuster joined PRH and HarperCollins on Tuesday afternoon in announcing […]
Book Expo Postponed Until Late July
Following Penguin Random House’s withdrawal from the planned May dates for Book Expo and Book Con, Reed Exhibitions announced Thursday that the show has been postponed until July 22-26, still at the Javits Center in New York City. All attendee registration and tickets for the May events will be automatically transferred over to the July dates. Event director Jenny Martin says in the announcement, “We are committed to running a show for this industry and the fans this year. What will that show look like? We are not exactly sure yet. But we believe we will be on the other […]
Status: Penguin Random House Withdraws from Book Expo and Book Con
Though Book Expo officials have been saying this week that they still plan on convening in late May as scheduled, Penguin Random House announced Wednesday after that they do not plan to participate. The company said in a brief statement: “In light of the New York City and State guidance to substantially limit the size of events and number of participants in public gatherings, we regret that we have had to make the difficult decision to withdraw as a participant in BookExpo and BookCon 2020. We will be exploring additional ways to connect with booksellers, librarians and readers going forward.”
Simon & Schuster Will Not Attend Rescheduled Bologna Book Fair
As COVID-19 continues to spread and Italy in particular remains a hot zone, Simon & Schuster announced that they will forgo the rescheduled Bologna Book Fair, which hopes to convene starting May 4. The company said in a statement, “The health and safety of Simon & Schuster’s employees, as well as the well-being of our many friends and colleagues in our industry, is always our primary consideration. We appreciate that the Bologna Book Fair has been postponed until May, but after due consideration and out of an abundance of caution, Simon & Schuster has decided that its employees (US & […]
People, Etc.
At Bloomsbury Children’s, Mary Kate Castellani has been promoted to editorial director; Melissa Kavonic to managing editorial director; Kate Sederstrom to assistant editor; Beth Eller to senior director of school and library marketing and domestic sub rights; Phoebe Dyer to marketing associate; and Jeanette Levy to assistant art director. Stephen Isaacs joined the McGraw-Hill Business team as a senior editor. Kendra Newton has been promoted to senior marketing director for Dey Street Books. Raffaella de Angelis joined producer and distributor Fremantle this week, working on literary acquisitions for their global drama division, as well as for production companies The Apartment (part of Fremantle) and […]