Book Expo Canada, the Maple-Leaf counterpart to this weekend’s just-completed Book Expo America is June 13-16 2008, and is comprised of a trade show (booths) and conference (panels). Attempting to appeal (and be invaluable) to every aspect of the industry, Book Expo Canada is very much the little-sister of the sprawling BEA, but I always enjoy going, and am looking forward to next weekend. Their website is http://www.bookexpo.ca/.
So earlier this year I was approached by Book Expo to help develop their graphic novel programming for 2008, and I think it’s going to turn out very well indeed. Because I know that many industry types are readers of the blog, I did want to point out the two graphic novel programs that I’ll be moderating in case they’re of interest. I think both of them are going to be quite solid, and they’ll be happening right out in the middle of the show floor so they’ll be hard to miss.
Hopefully I’ll see you in the audience!
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Building a Great Graphic Novel Collection in Your Library
Sunday, June 15th 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Link to the BookExpo website.
Balancing classic graphic novel must-haves with in-demand new releases, and more.
Libraries have contributed to the rapid growth of the graphic novel industry, and in turn graphic novels have brought record circulation numbers to school and public libraries across the country! This informative panel will help librarians of all stripes understand this burgeoning medium, addressing the important issues of collection-building, content concerns, and navigating the depths of the thousands of graphic novels released every year. Moderated by Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling Books & Art and writer for comics212.net.
Participants:
Jason Azzopardi, Beguiling Library Services Administrator
Cameron Drew, Canadian Manda Group/Diamond
Moneka Hewlett, Senior Director Sales, Publishing & Home Entertainment for Viz Media
Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, TDSB
Michael Martens, Dark Horse Books
Alan Payne, IDW
Scott Robins, KidsCan Press
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Stocking and Hand-Selling Comics & Graphic Novels
Monday, June 16th 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Link to the BookExpo website.
With manga and other graphic novels demanding more and more shelf-space in bookstores everywhere, it is growing ever more difficult to find a “way in” to this category for booksellers, and to be able to effectively sell this category to their clientele. This panel of experts from all aspects of the comics industry will discuss the ins and outs of graphic novel stocking, recommendations, shelving and display, and answer any questions from booksellers looking to better understand this category. Moderated by Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling Books & Art and writer for comics212.net.
Participants:
Peter Birkemoe, The Beguiling
Cameron Drew, Canadian Manda Group/Diamond
Moneka Hewlett, Senior Director Sales, Publishing & Home Entertainment for Viz Media
Michael Martens, Dark Horse Books
Alan Payne, IDW
Jim Zubkavich, UDON
Graphic Novel Programming Sponsored by The Beguiling Books & Art