Book Expo America, the book industry’s private trade show, is inviting consumers to attend the annual conference this year in a move to connect more directly with readers.
These consumers can purchase badges marked ‘Power Readers’ and attend the event on Saturday June 1st, one day of the week-long conference. Exhibitors can sell books directly to these attendees, as well as to anyone else attending the show. BEA will set up a way to sell books through an approved vendor. Anyone selling books is required to pay New York state sales tax.
The BEA blog has more: “This will open new promotional opportunities for publishers. Power Readers will change how media covers BEA, bringing more focus and attention on the latest titles and highest profile authors. Publishers will be able to connect directly with consumers and consumers will have access to their favorite authors on a scale that was never been available to them in one place at one time.”