BEA City Survey Polls the Industry: Where to Next?

The results are in for the national elections, but, for booksellers, the polling of key demographics has opened a new chapter.

BookExpo America show managers announced, on November 6, that BEA had launched a City Survey Poll of the book publishing community to find out in which cities the industry would like to see the convention held in the future. BookExpo America 2003 is scheduled for May 30 - June 1 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.

Current confirmed convention cities/dates are Chicago, June 4 - 6, 2004, and New York City, June 3 - 5, 2005. Convention organizers have not yet confirmed dates and locations for BEA 2006 and beyond. Cities that the convention has not visited in recent years that are also under consideration include:

• Washington, DC
  
• Orlando, Florida
  
• Atlanta
  
• New Orleans
  
• Las Vegas
  
• Dallas
  

"We're constantly soliciting feedback from the industry, and convention destinations are no exception," said Greg Topalian, BEA's show manager. "The cities we've chosen are based on the strength of their book markets, their attraction as a destination location for both domestic and international communities, and convention center size capacity. We also want to ensure that there are hotels with various price points to accommodate everyone's convention budget. But, really, the final decision is influenced by where the industry wants to see the convention, so we encourage everyone to participate."

The book community is encouraged to take BEA's City Survey by visiting the home page of the BEA Web site at www.bookexpoamerica.com.