Malcolm Gladwell at BEA on the future of publishing

Malcolm on stage with Brad Stone at IDPF's Digital Book 2013, from Jane Friedman's blog

As reported by Robin Dellabough in Publisher's Lunch, this is from Malcolm Gladwell's interview by Brad Stone at BEA's IDPF Digital Book Conference last week,

Although he agreed that the publishing industry faces extraordinary challenges, Gladwell believes that publishers and booksellers can redefine who they are and what they want to be. "They're in transition, and it's hard to know what they'll end up as, but they can't go away. They'll figure it out because no industry sells something people want and need more than the book industry. If they were selling Styrofoam, I'd be worried, but books have tremendous impact on people's lives."

Someone needs to make that a t-shirt.

"If they were selling Styrofoam, I'd be worried, but books have a tremendous impact on people's lives." - Malcolm Gladwell

For another take on BEA's focus on the digital future (and present) of book publishing, Jane Friedman reported about it on her blog.  

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Correction: What S&S Editors are Excited About

In a post below, I made a BEA boo-boo!

When we asked Simon Schuster VP and Editorial Director David Gale (below, with Aaron) what title he's most excited about, he touted THE SEARCH FOR WONDLA by Tony DiTerlizzi.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA by Kelle James was the pick of S&S Associate Editor Courtney Bongiolatti (below with Aaron).

I apologize for the S&S slip-up (which I've corrected in the original post). Be sure to look for these upcoming titles due in September and November.

BEA Observations: How the Experience Has Changed for Me Over the Years

I think it was about seven years ago when I attended my very first BookExpo America. I'd heard the sales and marketing folks at my company talk about the show for a decade, but our editorial staff had never really gotten to attend. But that particular year we were holding a writers' conference in conjunction with BEA, which being held in Los Angeles, so the editors got a little travel budget love so we could work our event and then stick around.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I'd never been to an industry trade show. One of our publicity guys simply told me: "There's a lot of energy. You'll come away really feeling like a part of something."

And, indeed, as I first walked into the LA convention center with my co-workers, I could feel it. There were banners and costumes and lines and commotion and cupcakes and a few shot glasses being thrown back. There was a buzz in the air. And there were books. Thousands of them. Everywhere. And they were giving them away. For free. And authors--really cool famous ones and some I'd never heard of--were signing books and posing for pictures with fans. You never knew what you would find around the next corner. It was heaven. I spent a couple hundred dollar shipping books back to my office.

When I left my old job last month, I packed up many of the books I'd collected from my first few BEAs. There were a certainly a bunch I'd brought home and read and a good number I'd given away. But a lot of them just gathered dust in my office. It took me a few years to get over the grab-it-because-it's-free-and-I-like-the-cover mentality.

I brought home exactly three books from the 2010 BEA (down four from the year before). It's not that there weren't more I would like to read (and may end up with one way or another later). But, for one, I have eight boxes of books from my office that I have no where to store (three still in the trunk of my car). And this year and last there simply weren't as many books to be had. I didn't see a single book in one big publisher's booth when I walked trough, only electronic signs flashing covers. In another booth, I heard someone ask a marketing staffer if they had a catalog. "Our catalog is online only," she said. Publishers, it seems, are simply not spending money on BEA like they used to.

So when I first attended the show, it was all about grabbing books. This year as I walked around the Javits Center, it was all about observing and talking to people. Snapping pictures and tweeting. Saying hello to editors and agents and marketers and asking them what they're excited about. Attending the Children's Book & Author Breakfast with its bad bagels and in-the-news host. Hearing editors gush over upcoming titles they're crazy for at the Young Adult Editors Buzz.

The 2010 BEA was fun and exciting for me, but not quite the way it used to be. The buzz in the air is a little quieter. But it still makes me feel like a part of something.

More From BookExpo America

Here's more from the whirlwind book-o-rama of BEA. Aaron Hartzler, (SCBWI Director of Communications) and were I running our legs off meeting up with some of our favorite editors and agents--many of whom are coming to the 2010 Summer Conference in July. (Okay, I was running mainly to keep up with Aaron who has long legs, is a foot taller than I am, and can part a crowd like Moses at an ocean.) At SCBWI we work hard to keep in in touch with top editors and agents in the industry at events like BEA, so we can bring them to you at our terrific conferences. 

Here's the round-up:

Ari Lewen, Senior Editor at Disney/Hyperion (right) will be doing critiques and workshops at the summer conferece. We ran into her with Inara Scott (left),author of the DELCROIX ACADEMY books. Book One: The Candidates drops on August 24th.

We ran into Francesco Sedita author AND Publisher of Grosset and Dunlap, and Price Stern Sloan, two children’s imprints at the Penguin Young Readers Group. He told us about a great new series he has coming out: FRANKLY FRANNIE by A.J. Stern. The series is about a little girl who wants an office job, and debuts today! Be sure to catch Francesco's workshop on seies fiction this year at the summer conference!

Publisher Elizabeth Law was holding court at the Egmont booth where she gave us the scoop on the forthcoming titles:

• THE INVISIBLE ORDER, the first in a new series by Paul Crilley.
• VIRGIN TERRITORY the second novel by The Trevor Project founder James Lecesne.
• MIDDLE WORLD the first of the Jaguar Stones series by J&P Voelkel.
• Vordak the Incomprehensible's HOW TO GROW UP AND RULE THE WORLD

And just then, Vordak the Incomprehensible (aka Nico Medina) happened to wander by...

 

At the Random House booth we chatted with Delacorte Executive Editor Wendy Loggia who just nabbed Tyra Banks' Young Adult series MODELLAND due out in summer 2011.

Also at the Random House booth, author James Dashner (left), here with his agent Michael Bourret, was signing teaser chapters of THE SCORCH TRIALS the forthcoming sequel to his his debut book THE MAZE RUNNER. Be sure to catch Michael Bourret's workshop on Monday, August 2nd at the summer conference. He'll be talking with his author Jill S. Alexander about being ready for the publishing process once your manuscript is accepted by an editor.

Aaron's First Day at BEA (with Me)

Today I ran around BookExpo America in NYC's Javits Center with SCBWI Director of Communications Aaron Hartzler. We started the morning at the Children's Book and Author Breakfast which was hosted by Sarah, Duchess of York and featured authors Cory Doctorow, Mitali Perkins and Richard Peck. (On the way into the the event, a CBS News team interviewed Aaron about what he thought of Sarah being at the event considering the recent headlines surrounding her. The word chutzpah was bandied about.)

After listening to these engaging speakers over half a sesame bagel (they somehow find the worst ones in New York City), Aaron and I took to the floor see who we could see and what books they were excited about. Here's a photo montage of Aaron with a few of the editors and info on titles they're buzzing about. (It's like Disneyland for writers. Editors are Mickey Mouse.)

Editor with Aaron: Tara Weikum of Harper.

She's excited about I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pittacus Lore.

Editor with Aaron: Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books.
She's excited about BOSS BABY by Marla Frazee.

Editor with Aaron: Krista Marino of Delcorte.

She's excited about James Dashner's THE SCORCH TRIALS

Editor with Aaron: David Gale of Simon & Schuster.

He's excited about THE SEARCH FOR WONDLA by Tony DiTerlizzi.

More editors buzzing tomorrow!