BookExpoAmerica Evolves

ICV2 has a lengthy interview with Steve Rosato, the new Event Director of BookExpo America, about the changes planned for the BEA. There is increasing attention being paid to digital books. There’s also more support being given to electronic reporting from the show:

I also should probably include press and bloggers, a very active constituency for Book Expo. As press coverage seems to be shrinking in newspapers, at least with book sections disappearing or being folded into other sections and not being stand-alone any more, we have very aggressively gone after bloggers in particular who are more and more sort of picking up the mantle, where people are finding out about books and authors and what’s coming out and what’s new. The press office on the Book Expo show floor is new. It’s actually always been in another part of the building, in a meeting room or someplace nearby. We’ve moved it directly onto the BEA show floor. We’ve expanded it, we’re going to have free wi-fi in there, and we’re looking to give bloggers a place where they can work and get their stories out, and a place that’s very close to the action.

[Thanks to John Mansfield for the link.]