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scanned and sent to any number of people.” While praising
Reed for providing more seating in the exhibit areas in 2019
than in previous years, and for having moved shipping ser-
vices onto the show floor, she maintains that the process
to obtain accommodation “is getting harder and harder” each
year and needs to be “streamlined.”
Carl agreed that providing seating is essential at trade
shows—not just in the exhibit hall but also in the formal
autographing area. BookExpo, she thinks, can do better. “It
would be such an easy fix to provide chairs for people who
can’t stand in long autographing lines,” she pointed out. “I
am at these shows to work. I don’t want to be sitting on my
ass just waiting for the line to die down.”
Accommodations were “pretty good,” Carl said, at this
year’s Children’s Institute, the first she has attended. But she
was disappointed that there were no ASL interpreters
during featured presentations.
Veronica Liu of New York City’s Word Up Community
Bookstore complained of the noise levels at the Children’s
Institute Rep Picks luncheon. Noting that another bookseller
at Word Up has hearing issues, Liu said that the din at this
event “made me wonder whether I would be able to send
them to an institute or a regional by themself—if this really
integral part of trade shows would not be viable.”
Booksellers lauded the ABA’s installation of a shipping
area next to the galley rooms at its two institutes, but senior
strategy officer Dan Cullen admits that other accommodations
are made “per member input” and by request, “as often indi-
vidual needs are variable.” The organization is only now
drafting a more formal policy to better serve institute attendees.
The Cons
Fans cited mobility issues compounded by a lack of crowd
control as problems at literary fan fests and conventions, all
of which provide those who apply with medical stickers, passes,
or wristbands.
ReedPop is “doing a good job with NYCC, but there’s always
room for improvement,” noted John Turbo, a podcaster who
uses a motorized wheelchair. For instance, he said, there is no
space allocated for wheelchairs during panel sessions. “All
they do is put in chairs,” he noted. “So I have to sit in the walk-
way or in back.” He added that there are typically no ramps in
meeting rooms with podiums or at the Marvel Comics pavilion,
where fans must climb stairs to a platform to meet celebrities.
“Disabled people can’t meet the celebrities,” Turbo said.
“And Marvel does this year after year. It’s very surprising that
they are allowed to get away with this.”
But Turbo saved his harshest criticisms for able-bodiedWWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 5The Weekly Scorecard
Print Units Dipped 0.8% at
The End of August
Some softness in adult nonfiction was enough to drive down
sales of print units 0.8% for the week ended Aug. 31, 2019,
compared to the similar week in 2018, at outlets that report to
NPD BookScan. The top title in the category was Jeanine Pirro’s
Radicals, Resistance, and Revenge, which sold nearly 27,
copies in its first week. The #1 adult nonfiction title for the week
ended Sept. 1, 2018, was Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis,
which sold more than 60,000 copies. In second place last year at
this time was John McCain’s The Restless Wave, which sold about
18,000 copies following the death of the senator. Juvenile nonfic-
tion sales had another good week, with units up 8.6% over 2018.
Best Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham landed on top
of the category list in its first week, selling nearly 12,000 copies.
Back-to-school workbooks dominated the rest of the category’s
top 10 list. Adult fiction sales rose for the second week in a row,
increasing 2.1% in the most recent week over 2018. Three new
books were among the top four bestsellers, led by A Better Man
by Louise Penny, which sold nearly 54,000 copies in its first week.
In third place was The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz,
which sold almost 24,000 copies, followed by Danielle Steel’s The
Dark Side, which sold about 19,000 copies. Juvenile fiction unit
sales fell 2.4%. Dav Pilkey had the #1 book in the category in both
2018 and 2019: Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas sold about 135,
copies in the week ended Sept. 1, 2018, while Dog Man: For
Whom the Ball Rolls sold 75,000 copies in the most recent week.SOURCE:ERS APPROXIMATELY NPD BOOKSCAN 80% AND OF THE PUBLISHERS PRINT BOOK WEEKLY. MARKET NPD’S AND U.S. CONTINUES CONSUMER TO GROW. MARKET PANEL COV-TOTAL SALES OF PRINT BOOKS (in thousands)
SEPT. 1, AUG. 31, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
To t a l 13,303 13,202 -0.8% -1.5%SEPT. 1, AUG. 31, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
Adult Non ction 5,999 5,905 -1.6% -0.3%
Adult Fiction 2,707 2,762 2.1% -3.5%
Juvenile Nonfiction 993 1,060 8.6% 1.8%
Juvenile Fiction 2,8 59 2,792 -2.4% -1.
Young Adult Fiction 471 412 -12.4% -12.9%
Young Adult Nonfiction 43 53 22.2% 3.1%UNIT SALES OF PRINT BOOKS BY CATEGORY (in thousands)UNIT SALES OF PRINT BOOKS BY FORMAT (in thousands)
SEPT. 1, AUG. 31, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
Hardcover 3,331 3,341 0.3% 5.2%
Trade Paperback 7,954 7,959 0.1% -2.3%
Mass Market Paperback 1,053 909 -13.7% -15.3%
Board Books 549 552 0.6% 1.7%
Physical Audio 39 29 -25.7% -25.4%