The Importance of Tradeshows

Note: This blog is written by only one of the Author Enablers, Sam. We are both on the road: Kathi is somewhere in the wilds of Northern California with West Coast Live, the live radio featuring authors and musicians that she produces; while I am in Montreal for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion on behalf of my company, HarperOne (represent!). I am planning on enjoying this northern jewel of a city, if time allows.

However, I am here for a book convention, and conventions are inherently insane. Everyone blathers at everyone else all day long and then we meet at night for some more social blathering. That said, conventions such as this one are an important part of how we sell books. There are many specialized conventions where the publishers, authors and potential authors, and the core audience for a certain kind of book all meet. Attending a convention that is appropriate for your book or potential book can be a great way to meet insiders and learn about other, similar books, your competition, and the market in general.

For the next five days I will be spending all my time talking to some of the world’s top religion scholars. These are people who know more about the world’s religions than is really healthy. They have symposiums with names like “The Legacy of Wilfred Cantwell Smith,” “Pagan Studies Reception,” and “Animals and Religion Consultation.” Many of these professors are the authors of books and papers, but they haven’t yet mastered the art of the snappy title. Here are a couple of offerings: The Odd Couple: Mère Catherine de Saint-Augustine, Jean de Brébeuf, and the Gendering of Expiatory Suffering in Early Modern Québec, and Image-bearing Cyborgs? Hybridity and Hope in the Landscapes of Transhumanism.

One group describes their session this way: “How does scripture give itself? What would it mean to treat scripture as a phenomenon? Is anything lost by thinking of scripture as an historical or literary object? This panel will explore the possibility of a phenomenological approach to scripture. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend.” You bet I will. On the other hand, some are too snappy: the Art/s of Interpretation Group is having a meeting called, simply, “Anteriority.” Huh? Maybe I will show up and argue for exteriority. They even have a Wildcard Session here. The theme? Priestly and Lay Dimensions of Zoroastrianism. Yo—what happens at AAR stays at AAR.