Notes on the U.S. Book Show

This year’s U.S. Book Show was the best thus far, but improvements are needed.

On May 22, I attended the U.S. Book Show, presented by Publishers Weekly and the Association of American Literary Agents at NYU. This year’s show had more robust programming than last year, and I was particularly grateful for the opportunity to attend as a media member. Scheduling conflicts meant I had to leave after lunch, but I got a good sense of the show from the panels I attended. Though the show was in-person, it still made me nostalgic about the good old days of BookExpo. Yes, we all complained about it, but we also had fun. I hope the U.S. Book Show keeps scaling to have something akin to a mid-size BookExpo.

I’ve numbered the panels in the order I attended them, not the order in which they were presented:

Panel 1: CEO Roundtable with Jonathan Karp (CEO, Simon & Schuster), Aman Kochar (CEO, Baker & Taylor), Mary McAveney (CEO, Abrams), and Peter Warwick (CEO, Scholastic)

AI was discussed, but that has been written about quite a bit, so I want to present an alternative overview. While every CEO on the panel admitted there were challenges in reaching readers, they were optimistic about the industry. They were on a panel in front of a big crowd, so of course, they were hopeful. I wanted to hear more solution-oriented responses to questions, not the general answer, “Any way books are discovered is a win.” Sure, but we should be delving deep into a conversation about how books are discovered in an age when social media is fractured, and attention spans are nonexistent.

I was most impressed by Aman Kocher, CEO of Baker & Taylor. His passionate defense of librarians—they “must be protected at all costs”—and his understanding that libraries are “institutions of the community” spawned applause. Please, more of that.

Panel 2: Spotlight on Spotify with Owen Smith (VP, Product & Technology for Audiobooks, Spotify)

I appreciate having an executive from Spotify give a presentation, but he didn’t tell us anything we don’t already know. Well, maybe one thing: Artists who write memoirs can promote their playlists with the audiobook on the platform. That doesn’t help the average author. Spotify’s presentation didn’t quite align with the press it’s been receiving about the failure of its podcast acquisitions (save for Joe Rogan, but even he is no longer exclusive with Spotify). Nor did he address when/if consumers can listen to more than 15 hours of audiobooks per month. About 25% of Spotify’s 615+ million users have listened to audiobooks on the platform. As with all book statistics, I want a title-by-title breakdown. Which titles had the most significant piece of the pie? We’d like to know.

I still don’t see Spotify overtaking Audible in the audiobook category, but we’ll see what happens over the next year.

Panel 3: Young Publishing Forum with Yahdon Israel (Senior Editor, Simon & Schuster), Fernanda Martinez (Planeta US), Noah Perkins (Young Publishers Association), Maya St. Clair (Young Publisher Association/Locus Magazine), and Monica Woods (Founder, Triangle House)

This was the most crowded panel I attended, and it is no wonder. Young publishing/new-to-publishing professionals need help navigating the industry. Mark my words: Yahdon Israel from Simon & Schuster is a superstar. I was truly impressed (not an easy feat!) by his articulation of issues in the industry and how he has handled them. I was there to listen. I wanted to hear what was happening with young people in book publishing, which every publishing executive should do. My main takeaway is that there needs to be more mentorship. That is not an issue specific to book publishing. Young industry employees are missing something critical—mentors who can help them virtually AND in person. (Yes, I know I owe some mentees emails).

Other takeaways: The pay is atrocious (in my words, and yes, it is criminally low), it is still a relationship-building industry (true, and this gets lost on many people), and communication is critical.

My advice: Find your people. So many Gen Xers in the industry went through the same struggles (we really did) and can guide young people. Most of us aren’t rigid, but many are burnt out. Still, we’ve stayed in book publishing for over 20 years, so we know a thing or two. We aren’t here to fight with you or diminish your views (not all of us). We don’t want to be judged by people who don’t know us or our work…or what we went through to get here. It's not a contest to see who has/had it worse. Instead, collaborating should be a calling to create a better environment. I hope that happens.

Panel 4: The X Factor, a publishing executive panel discussing what skills help them navigate the industry, with Dawn Davis (Publisher, Red Ink) and Sally Kim (Publisher, Little, Brown). Dominique Raccah (CEO, Sourcebooks) and Todd Schuster (Co-CEO, Aevitas Creative).

I didn’t take notes on this panel because the panelists didn’t discuss anything groundbreaking. I was amused, though, by most of them thinking they don’t have a personal brand. Everyone has a personal brand! If you don’t have a brand, that is your brand! I’d love for a panel to discuss how much likeability plays into moving ahead in book publishing. The internal politics at publishing houses can be dizzying, and an honest conversation about navigating them is badly needed. This isn’t a criticism of the panel but a gentle suggestion for next year.

What Could Improve:

1.        Invite media that covers books to do a panel about how they shape their coverage for the future.

2.        A panel about how SEO is changing because of AI and how it affects book marketing and publicity.

3.        A panel about self-publishing vs. hybrid vs. traditional publishing.

4.        A “Gen X in Book Publishing” panel. Maybe Andrew McCarthy could moderate? I’m not kidding!

5.        A “Closing the Generational Gap” panel.

6.        A media executive roundtable to discuss how the changes in their industry should be a catalyst for change in book publishing.

7.        A panel of successful self-published authors discussing how they marketed their books and what traditional publishing could learn from them.

…maybe I should create a Publishing Confidential Conference…(kidding, that would kill me…)

END NOTES:

Where I’ve been: Canvas Rebel was nice enough to interview me about my career + thoughts on social media. You can read it here.

What I’m Reading: Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, The Flesh, and L.A. by Eve Babitz. It was written in the 1970s, but the book was published in 2016 with an intro by Matthew Spektor. Babitz was a masterful storyteller, so I am enjoying the book.

What I’m Listening To: I created a summer playlist on Spotify. Enjoy it here.

What I’m Watching: I am waiting for Andrew McCarthy’s BRATS, a documentary about the infamous Brat Pack of the 1980s. Catch it on June 13 on Hulu. My Gen X heart is so excited to watch!

COMING UP IN PUBLISHING CONFIDENTIAL:

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