GPS for BEA?

Blogger: Etta Wilson

Location: Books & Such office, Nashville

Weather: Cloudy and muggy

I love maps. Maybe it’s the same visual appeal that makes me love picture books. I think you can get an idea of how the mapmaker thinks as well as the relationship between certain points of interest and geographical characteristics. I have never thrown an atlas away, and I often look for maps in the front of books I’m reading. They seem to be more popular in kids’ middle-grade books now.

So one of the first things I did in preparing for BEA this week was to look at the floor plan–all 4 floor plans! Right off, I see that areas are more segmented. In addition to the usual Audio Pavilion, University Press Pavilion and the Travel Pavilion, there’s a rather large Writer’s Row Pavilion–got to check that out. Then there’s a New Media zone, a large Global Market Forum area (mostly Arab), and areas for Best-sellers scattered along a major aisle. Sad to note, the Independent Publishers Pavilion is smaller and the Remainders Pavilion is larger. And in my case, I’m going to be hopping from the Books & Such table in the large Rights Center on Level 4 down to the Children’s Pavilion on Level 1, but I’d probably want to go there anyway to catch an autograph or two.

Aside from the flavor of this trade show and the locations that a floor map gives, it also tells a lot about the industry itself. You can see a great mix of people, industries, and nationalities at BEA–all connected with information media in one way or another. It’s no longer simply a place where book publishers come to display and sell their new list to independent bookstores, chains, and book distributors.

We may need a GPS for BEA in a year or two! Where would you go first?