The auction of rights to hold PGW's traditional Saturday night,
end-of-BEA blowout party has attracted considerable interest and will
be decided in bankruptcy court in Delaware this coming Friday. The
insecure partygoers committee, appointed by the judge, is sifting
through bids. This marks the last, sad chapter for the once-thriving
distributor whose parent company, AMS, filed for bankruptcy at the end
of last year.
David Steinberger, CEO of Perseus, which took on the lion's share of PGW publishers, confirmed to Shelf Awareness that he has bid for the party. If successful, Steinberger plans to merge the PGW party with several other BEA events held by Perseus-owned companies, including the old Consortium-independent publishers shindig and several receptions and dinners hosted by Da Capo, PublicAffairs, Running Press and Basic Books, among others. He stressed that although on first glance, the various events would seem not to mesh well, they all have synergies of partydom and that going forward, Perseus is committed to providing good times for all. If Perseus wins the party bid, the event will be known as the Transition Vendor Party.
Jed Lyons, CEO of NBN, which has taken on some PGW publishers, is also in the running for rights to the party. In a public letter to BEA attendees, Lyons promised that he would 1) do away with the cash bar, 2) allow three people in per invitation and 3) have a "high-quality" warmup band that would start playing not long after doors open. In addition, in an effort to win support from the industry's many baby boomers, he will require bands play a minimum number of recognizable, pre-1975 songs, particularly before midnight.
Lyons charged that Perseus's party bid was unfavorable to "the many people dying for a drink" by the second night of the trade show, especially "a free drink," adding, "We will pay 100% on the beer barrelhead."
For his part, Steinberger noted that NBN had stated only that the cash bar would end and did not explicitly say that there would be a free bar. "NBN may make it a BYOB party," he said. "FYI, BYOB is not a PGW tradition."
In related news, the bankruptcy court quietly sold the initials PGW to company founder Charlie Winton, who plans to use them in reference to himself: Party Guy Winton.
David Steinberger, CEO of Perseus, which took on the lion's share of PGW publishers, confirmed to Shelf Awareness that he has bid for the party. If successful, Steinberger plans to merge the PGW party with several other BEA events held by Perseus-owned companies, including the old Consortium-independent publishers shindig and several receptions and dinners hosted by Da Capo, PublicAffairs, Running Press and Basic Books, among others. He stressed that although on first glance, the various events would seem not to mesh well, they all have synergies of partydom and that going forward, Perseus is committed to providing good times for all. If Perseus wins the party bid, the event will be known as the Transition Vendor Party.
Jed Lyons, CEO of NBN, which has taken on some PGW publishers, is also in the running for rights to the party. In a public letter to BEA attendees, Lyons promised that he would 1) do away with the cash bar, 2) allow three people in per invitation and 3) have a "high-quality" warmup band that would start playing not long after doors open. In addition, in an effort to win support from the industry's many baby boomers, he will require bands play a minimum number of recognizable, pre-1975 songs, particularly before midnight.
Lyons charged that Perseus's party bid was unfavorable to "the many people dying for a drink" by the second night of the trade show, especially "a free drink," adding, "We will pay 100% on the beer barrelhead."
For his part, Steinberger noted that NBN had stated only that the cash bar would end and did not explicitly say that there would be a free bar. "NBN may make it a BYOB party," he said. "FYI, BYOB is not a PGW tradition."
In related news, the bankruptcy court quietly sold the initials PGW to company founder Charlie Winton, who plans to use them in reference to himself: Party Guy Winton.