Comments on: World Fantasy con report: Day 3 by Alan DeNiro: the books

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:18:10 +0000

Thanks for the responses! I’m not sure how much the tables are–I’m sure that info is there somewhere. Perhaps another angle to look at it is from the perspective of the generational shift. The attendance at these cons tends (although there are definite exceptions) to skew older. What happens when the generation that is more conversant/comfortable in the e-literature form as a default starts going to these conventions? Of course, perhaps it’s self-selecting (in that those in the field as professionals, no matter what the age, are going to have a propensity for printed material).

Also, as another data point, sales in the dealer’s room seemed to be a bit sluggish, which could be from any number of factors, but Occam’s Razor probably suggests the recession.

By: Medora

Medora — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:03:21 +0000

Oh, wow, I am dying to go to this.

I don’t think dealers/publishers, etc. will be able to shift entirely or even mostly to e-environments, because they can’t be sure attendees have access to the readers, and they sure aren’t going to provide those. Besides, too many of us still love physical books for them to do that to us. At the American Library Association national conference, people knock each other over to get their hands on ARCs and even older books along with other book-related materials. It’s like the meat sale at the grocery store – dangerous in a very physical way.

By: Jay Tomio

Jay Tomio — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:57:17 +0000

How much are tables/booths at events like this?

By: Gary Gibson

Gary Gibson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:16:03 +0000

Certainly at UK conventions, the book dealer’s room is shrinking. When I were but lad, it was a place to get all kinds of otherwise hard-to-get items, from import hardbacks to small-press magazines like SF Eye and New Pathways. But online book shopping is what’s killing off the dealer’s room, rather than ebooks.

People don’t go looking for books at conventions any more because they can now order them from anywhere in the world and find with stunning ease books that used to be nearly impossible to find in pre-internet days. As a result, when people do go to conventions, there’s no point in stocking up on books they can get hold of with a bit of point and click from their armchair back home.