One benefit of the ABA is that many publishers stack heaps of complimentary copies of their forthcoming books, usually as large format paperbacks, for ABA visitors to take and read. They hope that this starts 'word of mouth', and especially that booksellers will talk about the good books that they have read in advance of publication. I have always been very happy to help myself to these heaps, and there is usually a rush first thing in the morning for the most attractive books that look as though they will be entertaining (it must be somewhat disappointing for some publishers whose heaps are ignored). I usually managed to bring back a dozen or fifteen books, which become my summertime leisure reading.
One of the major downsides however of the ABA is that the convention facilities usually have appalling catering (and in the first recent year of its return to Chicago there was no catering at all). Over the years I've worked out several ways around this. One is to check the area near one's hotel to see if there is a good deli, and to take lunch in with one. I've sometimes entertained by means of taking in a couple of packed lunches, with accoutrements and dessert, and finding somewhere to picnic. Another way is to circle the block of the convention facility to see if there is anywhere nearby where one can eat. Over the years I've found some interesting and good places. One such year was in Washington DC when I discovered if one left by the rear entrance to the exhibition facility one was just across the road from the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. The first day I and a couple of friends used their cafeteria. Each of us seems to have told other people, for the next day it was half full, and for the third day it was totally jammed with conventioners. However because the ABA is sometimes held over the Memorial Day weekend, when in fact the Museum was not expecting people to come for lunch, this caused severe congestion, shortages and so forth. Hence when the event returned to Washington DC a couple of years later and I went back for lunch on the first day I mentioned the situation to the manager, and there was excellent catering throughout and over the holiday period. However on the last day, as my colleagues and I were leaving to return to the ABA, a lady volunteer who was in charge of the entrance got up and stood in front of us not permitting us to leave. 'Gentlemen', she said 'I've seen you come in every day, walk straight past the exhibits, go and eat, and then walk out again. Do you realise what a wonderful museum this is?'
We demurred somewhat, saying that we were enjoying walking through the Museum to the cafeteria, but we had business to do. 'No', she said, 'you must spend five minutes with me viewing our Museum' and with that she took us in tow, and gave us a quick tour, and then sent us on our way. You might well ask which was the real world!
Las Vegas was also memorable for a lunchtime meeting. With a Canadian publisher we sat, in our business suits, by the swimming pool at Caesar's Palace. My friend Bill Hanna was between the pool and I, and I was able to sit watching the nearly naked young ladies diving and swimming. I forget what we ate, or if any business resulted.
As the event has grown into one of America's largest trade conventions, there have been few enough cities with the combination of the right size of exhibition facility and hotel and restaurant infrastructure to accommodate the many thousands who attend. Hence in 1995 it was decided to have the event on a permanent basis centrally in Chicago. Perhaps because in the first year the facilities in Chicago were in a state of collapse, there was an outcry from booksellers on both coasts (and many publishers), and this led to the 1999 ABA being in Los Angeles, and the pattern for the coming years has now been scheduled to be:
- 1–3 June, 2001: Chicago
3–5 May, 2002: New York
30 May–1 June 2003: Los Angeles
4–6 June, 2004: Chicago
3–5 June, 2005: New York
The ABA (or BEA, as it is now called) is the window on the world of American general trade publishing, and always stimulating and exciting.
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