Christian Book Expo

Introducing: The Christian Book Expo

Michael Hyatt, Thomas Nelson By: Mike Hyatt
President / CEO, Thomas Nelson Publishers
Chairman, ECPA Board of Directors
Published in: E-Link, June 2007

When Thomas Nelson was a public company, I spent a good deal of my time meeting with institutional investors around the country. Most of these individuals were not regular church-goers. Yet, when I gave them an overview of our industry and our company, they seemed fascinated. Almost always, they were surprised by the quality and breadth of our product offerings.

I don’t think institutional investors are much different from the general public. I’ve always thought that the real problem with our industry is visibility. If more people could discover what these investors discovered—our products—we would sell a lot more of them. Unfortunately, there just aren’t that many opportunities for exposure. Until now.

For the past year, the ECPA Board has been exploring ways to create more visibility for our products. We have looked at magazines, merchandising programs, web sites, and numerous other vehicles. All of them are helpful. But in my opinion, nothing has the potential of a national Christian Book Expo.

The Book Fair Model

Last November, I attended the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but it blew me away and gave me a renewed vision—and hope—for the Christian publishing industry. Here are a few of the details:

  • The Guadalajara International Book Fair is sponsored by the University of Guadalajara. It has been held every year for the last 20 years.
  • Most of the booths were very sophisticated. Lots of beautiful product everywhere. Great graphics and great signage.
  • The exhibit floor was open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. every day for “professionals” (e.g., publishers, booksellers, printers, the media, agents, authors, etc.). At 5:00 p.m., they opened the show to the public. The floor closed at 9:00 p.m.
  • Over 525,000 people attended. The aisles were jammed. I have never seen so much excitement about books. And—here’s the best part—probably half of the attendees were under the age of 30.
  • Almost 17,000 booksellers attended. Thirty-nine countries were represented.
All exhibitors were allowed to sell. All the major retail chains in Mexico, including the primary Christian one and the primary Catholic one had large stores on the floor. Publishers were selling to consumers, too, directly out of their booths.

I also visited five bookstores in the city of Guadalajara—three general market stores, the largest evangelical store, and the largest Catholic store. All five were promoting the book fair. They were running “publisher specials” in their stores in honor of the fair. The booksellers were excited about this show because it dramatically raised the visibility of books, not only in Guadalajara, but all over Mexico.

The show was covered non-stop by the national and local media. With this kind of size, it captured everyone’s attention. I personally gave three interviews to the national media.

The show sponsored multiple lecture tracks and panel discussions. I stepped into a few. They were also jammed—standing room only. Some had overflow rooms with video feeds because they couldn’t get everyone in the main meeting room.

But surprisingly, Guadalajara isn’t the only giant, successful book fair. One in Miami draws 300,000-plus people. The Los Angeles “Festival of Books” draws 100,000-150,000 people. And there are others as well.

Introducing ... the Christian Book Expo

Inspired by these models, ECPA has just announced the first annual “Christian Book Expo,” scheduled for March 20-22, 2009, in Dallas, Texas. Our goal is to raise awareness of our industry’s products and create access to markets. We want to expose your authors and products to anyone who makes or influences a book reading or book buying decision. This includes:
  • Consumers
  • Pastors
  • Retailers and other Resellers
  • Ministries
  • Internationals
  • Christian Counselors
  • The Media
  • And more ...
We expect to have 150-180 workshops/seminars/mini-events led by your authors. Nothing sells books like hearing an author deliver the message in person. (At Thomas Nelson, we see this almost every weekend at our Women of Faith and Revolve events.) We also plan to sponsor panel discussions on the hottest issues of the day, using authors from a variety of perspectives. We want a multi-cultural event that includes representatives from African-American, Hispanic, and charismatic groups (just to name a few).

We also want to connect with local retailers for sales and promotion. If we are successful in raising awareness, retailers will be the beneficiaries. Consumers will need someplace to shop for Christian products after the Expo is gone. It is our hope that key retailers from a variety of channels will exhibit at the show, just as they do in the book fairs I mentioned above. We also plan to involve local retailers in our promotion and post-show follow-up.

Naturally, at the heart of the show will be a major exhibit floor for attendees to visit. We have projected that we will have about 100 exhibitors. Publishers will want to exhibit, but because this is more consumer-driven they may set up authors and ministries with their own booths. We expect retailers will have their own booths too. And, just like in Guadalajara, we hope to draw so many people that the national media will have to cover it. You need to think about this event very differently than other shows you have been to.

Where Do We Go from Here

I am very excited about this opportunity. So is the entire ECPA Board. We think it has the potential to dramatically increase awareness of our products. (Imagine a trade show that you actually looked forward to attending!)

I have complete confidence in the ECPA staff to execute the Board’s vision. They have already mapped out a plan in considerable detail. They are leaving no rock unturned. They are drawing on the best event planning talent they can find.

But it won’t work unless you are involved. Frankly, we need for you to stand with us. If everyone waits for us to prove it will be successful, it won’t work. But if everyone steps out with us, I am confident it will work—and work big. This is the time for us to take a bold step. We have to think outside-the-box. The old models are not working. The market is changing. We must lead.

We are planning an informational meeting at ICRS in Atlanta next month. Please plan to attend this event – I promise, it will be well-worth your time!


MARCH 20-22, 2009
Dallas Convention Center
Dallas, Texas


Your audience. Your message. Your Event. It’s what you’ve been waiting for. It’s time.