New York
isn't the only city getting a little expo action this
June. In Chicago, the Religious Book Trade Exhibit
(RBTE) is hitting the floor the same weekend as BEA,
running from May 31 to June 3. Bob Byrns, who
coordinates the event (which has sold out every year
for the past 13), expects nearly 1,000 to attend, with
927 exhibitors and buyers - a "steady, mild increase"
from years past. "We reach out mainly to Catholic, Episcopal,
and liturgical shops," Byrnes said. "We do not promote
any membership of CBA - although we do have evangelical
stores attending, usually chains."
Religion
buyers at Barnes & Noble, Borders and
Amazon are (and have been) on the RBTE's key
lists, highlighting the importance such outlets play
in selling traditional religious products - although
it is less likely that they will attend due to the BEA/RBTE
scheduling conflict.
Trace
Murphy, Executive Editor Religious Publishing Doubleday
(who will be attending both BEA and RBTE) noted that
even though there has been a surge in "crossover" exposure
to religious books (particularly CBA affiliated) over
the past five years due to increased distribution at
WalMart and the price clubs, "The Catholic market
seems always to be steady."
"It's
not as meaningful to speak of crossover within the Catholic
market," Murphy explained, "because [the Catholic market]
wasn't so thoroughly a world into itself as the CBA
was…and there has always been a fairly good representation
in general stores." He continued, that since the CBA
didn’t have such similar representation before, "the
issue of crossover now, is dramatic."
Byrns
mentioned the trend, especially in Catholic Publishing,
toward a merging of genres like Psychology and Religion
as people take a more secular approach to religious
and spiritual exploration. He also noted that the tendency
toward alternative spiritual trends has gone away.
The traditional
religious market does see "the occasional flourish"
and spike, however, following events like the recent
death of Pope John Paul II which has catapulted
books by the former Pope and his successor to the forefront.
“In the
aftermath of world-wide, wall-to-wall coverage of John
Paul II and his successor, many of us are pooped - but
not poped - out,” said Greg Tobin, author of
Holy Father:Benedict XVI, Pontiff for a New Era
(B&N Books), which will be the first instant
book into the market in early May, “There seems to be
a nearly bottomless public interest in this subject.”
In other
growth, the "market overseas is strong" according to
Murphy, and there is a "steady interest" abroad for
religious books, although Doubleday's relationship with
foreign publishers has "long been healthy."
In relation
to RBTE, Byrns said, "Certainly we've seen an increased
interest from a variety of international publishers,"
especially in terms of Spanish language publishing,
along with English language in the UK, Ireland, and
New Zealand.
As to
what one can expect on the RBTE floor - although there
will be some "holy hardware" (with an emphasis on John
Paul II and Benedict XVI extras and the ever
ubiquitous cross) in the gift and religious articles
aisles at RBTE, sources tell us that if you want scripture
candy or Jesus mints, you're coming to the wrong
place.
