For Immediate Release
Contact: Tina Jordan
Ph: 212-255-0200 x263
AAP Smaller and Independent Publishers 2008 Annual Meeting Co-Locates With BookExpo America
May 29 Program Specifically Designed for the Independent and Small Press Community
New York, NY, October 9, 2008: In the ongoing effort to provide the nation’s small and independent publishers with valuable educational opportunities and a meaningful networking forum, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) Smaller and Independent Publishers Committee (SIP), in cooperation with BookExpo America (BEA), today announced that the AAP/SIP annual meeting will be held in Los Angeles in conjunction with BEA in 2008. BookExpo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 29-June 1.
The AAP/SIP program, entitled “Starting….Growing…Maturing….How to Successfully Navigate the Life Cycles of an Independent Publishing House,” is intended to give small and independent presses the tools they need to develop successful long-term growth and entrepreneurial strategies. Sessions will focus on organic growth, growth through acquisition, labor and capital, changing technologies, employee ownership, and distribution decisions, among other subjects. The program will be held on Thursday, May 29, prior to the opening of the convention hall exhibits.
The co-location is a strategic part of AAP’s ongoing efforts to provide educational support for, and by, smaller and independent publishers, and to expand educational outreach to the independent publishing community nationwide who will be attending the book industry’s national convention. AAP President and CEO Pat Schroeder said: “In the wake of the ongoing seismic distribution shifts in the industry, creating an educational program that addresses some of these issues is vital to independent presses. The Los Angeles location speaks to our desire to reach out to small and independent presses outside of New York, so moving the SIP annual meeting to Los Angeles in 2008 was a natural.” The 2008 program, which will also include presentation of the 2008 Miriam Bass Award for Creativity in Independent Publishing, marks the AAP’ SIP Committee’s tenth anniversary.
The co-location will also provide economic benefits for small and independent presses attending the SIP educational conference, including complimentary convention hall passes with educational program registration which will enable independent presses to bring additional staff to attend seminars and staff exhibits.
Today’s announcement is also a prelude to what is expected by BEA convention organizers to be several other offerings and events at this year’s show catering directly to the nation’s independent and small presses. “We have been working closely over the past year with organizations within the independent publishing community to assure that BEA is meeting their needs,” notes Lance Fensterman, Event Director for BEA. “The prosperity of independent presses is important to the health of BEA, to say nothing of the health of our industry! We’re pleased to support these publishers and to be working with a broad coalition to create programming, events and business opportunities for them.”
Program details on the AAP’s Small and Independent Annual Meeting and registration will be provided in the next few weeks.
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’smore than300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.
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