Booksellers and librarians should remember that immediately after BookExpo, BookCon takes place at the Javits Center, on Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2. It's a wildly popular, consumer-oriented book show with an emphasis on pop culture that started in 2014 and attracts many thousands of readers. Besides a range of author signings, BookCon features panels, the BookCon book club, and writing workshops, which made a highly successful debut last year. If anyone feels the slightest bit jaded about the book business, the best cure is to see the excited crowds at BookCon.
"BookCon is a great place to witness the behavior patterns of passionate consumers," Jenny Martin says. "We see BookCon as the place that feels like home for avid readers. It speaks to who they are inside as book lovers and most of them are also faithful patrons of their local bookstores and libraries. That excitement around stories in all shapes and forms leads to the fans recommending new authors and titles to friends, starting or joining new book clubs, or even becoming writers, booksellers, librarians or editors themselves. The thing that I love about working on these events is that thread of passion runs through the B2B and B2C events. Everyone in this industry is in it because they love it, and that makes our jobs so rewarding."