After postponing the late May Book Expo America (BEA) convention until July, Reed Pop announced yesterday that the book publishing trade convention, which is held annually at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, would not be held at all in 2020. The next book trade convention will take place in spring 2021.
In an announcement sent to the press and former attendees, Jenny Martin, Event Director BookExpo & BookCon wrote, “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that we will not be holding BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon in 2020. From our publishers, booksellers and sidelines exhibitors to our authors and librarians to our book loving fans, we know how many people are impacted by this decision and we continue to stand with you all to help bring the book community together and support one another. We are now looking forward and can’t wait to return with a stronger show than ever in 2021.”
The press release explained, “due to the escalation of COVID-19 globally, Reed Exhibitions has today announced that the next edition of BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon will now take place in the spring of 2021. Initially, we were optimistic that our events could run in late July. However, as the pandemic has continued to escalate in the United States and we see the challenges it has brought for the book industry, it is clear that 2020 is no longer a viable option for this community.”
The decision to cancel the biggest book conference in the US came after all Big Five trade publishers, as well as Ingram Content Group, had announced that they would not attend the event over the course of the past month due to the uncertainty over business conditions caused by the spread the Coronavirus making it impossible to safely plan to attend the fair. The Javits Center was also converted to a hospital in early April, and it is unknown how long that facility would be needed for that usage.
The press release explained, “due to the escalation of COVID-19 globally, Reed Exhibitions has today announced that the next edition of BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon will now take place in the spring of 2021. Initially, we were optimistic that our events could run in late July. However, as the pandemic has continued to escalate in the United States and we see the challenges it has brought for the book industry, it is clear that 2020 is no longer a viable option for this community.”
The cancellation of Book Expo is the latest in a string of cancelled book conferences and fairs world-wide, which now includes the London Book Fair, the Bologna Children's Book Fair (which is planning a virtual fair beginning May 4), and the ALA annual meeting and conference.