Memories of BEA Past…
Posted May 25, 2008 by james in Sports Journal | 0 Comments
I am getting ready to attend BookExpo America in Los Angeles next Thursday. This is the publishing industry’s biggest trade fair in North America. It is a five day extravaganza involving every aspect of books and their world.
This is not the first time I have been to BEA. In June of 1997, I took a solo road trip with ten hardcover copies of RENALDO, the first batch of books ever produced, and motored from Toronto to Chicago.
I had reserved an exhibitor’s booth at the show in the small press section. Upon arrival at McCormack Place, which was the venue, the first order of business was to deal with the tradesmen that would physically set up my booth.
The way things got done in this show was that every tradesman was unionized, and they could perform only their designated task. So, one man brought the desk, chairs, and display table to the booth, another man put them in place, and a third man stapled the decorative drapery on the front of desk and display table.
The building was a whirlwind of activity and it was really fascinating to see the show take shape. Huge forklift trucks where buzzing everywhere depositing colored panels and carpeting to the right location so the other tradesmen could assemble the booths.
The location of my booth was quite good, as it turned out. I was adjacent to the large autographing area, which was mostly open space. Over the next three days I would see many of the world’s best selling authors mere yards away.
Because I was by myself, it was difficult for me to leave my booth and really take in the show. This is a lesson I remembered when I exhibited in Frankfurt Germany a few months later. Basically, in Chicago, the show had to come to me, I couldn’t go to the show.
Nevertheless, hundreds of people stopped by my booth to chat. I made friends with many of the exhibitors in the adjacent booths, so there was always someone to compare notes with and have a drink or dinner with after the show ended.
Two events stand out from my experiences at BEA. The first was the autograph session with Richard Simmons launching his new book, “Sweating to the Oldies.” Richard was walking around the show the entire three days in his tank top, short-shorts, and Afro hairdo held in place with a matching headband. He was extremely gregarious and funny, and actually put on an exercise show right in the autograph area. The place was packed, and many of his fans passed by my booth after the show.
The second event was much more ominous.
The booth directly across from me was rented by an Englishman by the name of David Irving. He was an independent author of some repute, or perhaps I should say, disrepute.
Mr. Irving’s claim to fame was that he insisted that the Holocaust in Europe during Hitler’s Nazi regime never took place.
He had written several lengthy books on the subject, which he proudly displayed in his booth at the show. The worst thing though, was that he constantly ran black and white videos showing the glory days of Hitler and the Nazis.
Mr. Irving was a large, friendly, well spoken man, probably in his mid-fifties. He was not dogmatic about his subject matter when I engaged him in general conversation, but I never queried him on his topic.
My father had fought in Germany during World War Two, and the whole premise that the Holocaust didn’t take place made me shudder with disgust.
It seems that I was not the only one upset with Mr. Irving’s presence at the show. On the second afternoon, I noticed three men engaged in a heated discussion with the controversial author. These men were dressed in the black traditional clothing that is worn by Orthodox Jews. They were obviously agitated with Mr. Irving, and all of a sudden, they took cans of spray-paint from their clothing and started to deface his entire display.
A scuffle ensued, in which Mr. Irving was punched and knocked to the ground. The three men were gone in an instant, and it was several minutes before BEA security, and then the police arrived.
All of the exhibitors that had witnessed the attack, including myself, were interviewed by the authorities. The end result was that Mr. Irving’s material was deemed too controversial for the show, and he was told to pack up and leave. He did this with much protest and fanfare…but really, good riddance.
As far as promoting RENALDO at the show was concerned, I met a publicist from Santa Barbara, California that was willing, for a fee, to investigate trying to get the novel sold through his contacts in the film industry.
I told him I would be in touch with him on my return to Toronto, gave him all the books I had left, and set off down the highway with some amazing experiences fresh in my mind.
