BEA and ALA Will Not Merge... For Now

Despite indications to the contrary, BookExpo America and the American Library Association’s annual meeting will not combine. At least, not yet. From Publishers Weekly:

A BEA spokesperson said that while negotiatings over co-locating the two events have been tabled for now, BEA would be open to re-opening talks at some future date if there was enough interest from all parties. For now, the different groups will see if there are other areas where they can work together.

It’s possible that discomfort with the possible merger from both librarians and booksellers may have soured the deal:

When word first leaked in early September that Reed and ALA were talking about holding BEA and the ALA annual meeting together, there was a mixed response from the various stakeholders, ranging from New York publishers unhappy over the prospect of picking up stakes and travelling the country as part of a movable event, to librarians and booksellers who were concerned a combination would be too large and their needs ignored. Still, as recently as two weeks ago, it appeared the deal would go through, but the combination of some resistance from the major houses and unease from libraries killed an agreement.

Next year's BEA will be held May 24-26 in New York, while the ALA annual convention is set for June 23-28 in New Orleans. ALA midwinter will be held in San Diego January 7-10.