For many interested in the book publishing industry, conferences are some of the best ways to keep up with the changes occurring in this field, get the latest inside information about new technologies and new upcoming publications, and keep in contact with existing colleagues and meet new ones.
Whether you are an author who is writing a book or an industry professional involved in some way with publishing a book, industry conferences are the place to be to leverage your time, money and efforts to catch up with everything to do with books.
This week, BookExpo America (BEA) captures the attention of various facets of the industry including myriad conferences to bring together the variety of professionals who will descend on New York City to discuss books from every perspective.
From publishing and self-publishing a book to publishers, librarians and booksellers to hearing from the authors themselves, the halls of the Jacob Javits Center will be buzzing with everything having to do with books.
BEA is the largest publishing event in North America for the Book Publishing industry that welcomes 25,000 industry professionals to the Javits Center in NYC from May 29 - June 1, 2013. There will be more than 600 authors appearing at BEA. It is organized with the support of association partners including the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the American Booksellers Association (ABA). BEA is recognized for the media attention it brings to upcoming books as well as for the notable authors it attracts to the convention itself.
This year, BookExpo for the first time, is opening its doors widely to welcome consumers to see the latest books and authors from the leading trade publishers in the U.S. and the world. The reading public will now have the chance to experience the book publishing industry on display on Saturday.
There is even a hackathon at BEA this year, another first. Perseus, along with Constellation, Librify, William Morris Endeavor, AlleyNYC and BEA, are organizing the first-ever Publishing Hackathon, with developers, designers, entrepreneurs and publishing experts coming together for 36 hours to experiment in an untapped vertical. Finalists will present their projects to leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at BEA. The winning team gets $10,000 and a breakfast meeting to pitch their idea to Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor. The finale will take place on Friday, May 31 at 3:00 pm.
When you build a career in any industry, it is important to get into the thick of things and learn as much as you can about the business activities involved so you can become more of an insider as opposed to just a spectator.
As a professional, BEA is the place to be. If you are curious about what it is like behind the scenes in this industry, BookExpo provides a space and place for everything related to how to write a book, how to publish a book, and book marketing tools, communities and publications that continue to promote and present the platforms of every type of book.
As writers, conferences and events like BookExpo America and others that will be running parallel to this larger industry event this week allow massive opportunities for professionals to meet with other professionals and for those new to the industry to get immersed in it in just a few days.
If you are planning to head to New York City for BookExpo, keep your eyes and ears open as there are many events occurring inside the halls of the Jacob Javits Center and outside all around town.
It is this penchant for books that continues to prove that you can use your book as your hook to increase and enhance your larger platform for your ideas, business and career.
You can also build a career helping others to do this as an industry professional in whichever ways you find the most inspiring and fun.
I look forward to seeing you there!