The organizers of BookExpo America, an annual publishing trade show, announced plans to launch its first annual BookCon in New York City. The event is being developed by ReedPop, a division of the company dedicated to pop culture shows which includes: New York Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, UFC Fan Expo, and more recently, Special Edition: NYC.
Lance Fensterman, a one-time director of BEA who now oversees ReedPop as Global Senior VP, said his aim is to give readers “access to their favorite authors and their intersections with TV and film. We want to take the world of books and merge it with all the energy and excitement of pop culture.”
He expects the first BookCon will draw about 10,000 people. That’s far short of the more than 100,000 who attend New York Comic Con, but, he says, “there’s room to grow, which we will.”
To help draw consumers, BookCon’s headline event will feature a panel with Amy Poehler and Martin Short who are writing books to be published this fall by HarperCollins.
Short’s book will be titled “I Must Say: My Life As A Humble Comedy Legend”. Poehler’s title has yet to be released.
Additional guests scheduled to appear include John Grisham (The Firm), Stan Lee (creator of Spider-Man) Tina Fey (Bossypants), and the Grumpy Cat. Fensterman said other participating authors will be announced in the weeks ahead.
Fans will be able to interact with the authors, publishers, celebrities and creators of content that influence everything we read, hear and see. Publishers will be allowed to give away, and sell, titles from their booths, and from the autographing areas.
BookCon will be held in the Jacob Javits Center – located at 655 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, NYC. Tickets will be priced at $30 for adults.
For more information, visit the event website at TheBookCon.com.
