Some have asked for my thoughts on this past week’s International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis. I’m glad to answer.

This was my 29th consecutive booksellers convention. At its height there were approximately 14,000 in attendance, many years ago. That is no longer the case. Statistics released indicate total attendance was 6,812. Registered pick-ups in attendance was  4,747 (flat compared to 2009); professional attendance was 1,675 (up 4.5% over last year); and international attendance came in at 390 (up 4% over 2009). I’m not sure if they combine exhibitors and retailers in that first number of if the exhibitors (publishers, etc.) are included in the second number. As an agent we are considered “professional” attendees.

Apparently the national average retail trade show attendance is down 16%, so the convention is feeling pretty good about this year’s showing.

I’ll admit to being skeptical about St. Louis as the locale. In my nearly 30 years of attendance it had never been in that city. I was pleasantly surprised. I was fortunate to be staying at the hotel directly across the street from the convention hall which made moving from one thing to another very easy. I was also impressed by the number of fine restaurants in the area, most within walking distance. I had the fun to host two author-related dinners and both restaurants were excellent.

Since I don’t go to the convention with tourism in mind I have no idea what I might have missed, other than traveling to top of that Arch. However I spoke to the husband and son of an author who thoroughly enjoyed the area and filled three days with a wide variety of activities.

For me the event began with the Christy Award reception on Saturday night. Our agency had three authors who were finalists. None received the top award, but being recognized as a finalist is an honor in and of itself. I love the Christys and what it represents. If you ever have someone criticize Christian fiction as being vapid or poorly written, challenge their assumptions by suggesting they read the finalists. I predict they will be chagrined to have made their accusations after having a chance to read some of the incredible writers represented among the award finalists.

The rest of the week was a series of scheduled meetings and “hallway” or “aisle-way” conversations. I had thirty scheduled appointments and probably ended up with over 50 significant conversations when the time was done. Even had the chance to discuss deal points on a new contract that surfaced during the convention (that almost never happens).

I was also privileged to hear a hour and a half presentation by Hachette Digital. They are working very hard to maximize the opportunities created by the digital revolution. I came away feeling like some very smart people are working hard on doing smart things in this world. They were open to questions and suggestions. Very impressive. Thank you Rolf, for the invitation.

Tuesday was an odd day in that every meeting was in the hotel until late afternoon. I did not actually hit the convention floor until 4:00. That was something new for me since, in the past, most meetings took place on the convention floor or in Publisher suites. This was also the first year that not a single appointment took place in a publisher’s suite!

Because the convention itself was smaller in scale it fit in the hall very well. There were always people visibly roaming the aisles all the way until the closing announcement on Wednesday afternoon. It “felt” busier because of that.

The International rights section was a hive of activity. Goodness. There was never a dull moment in that space. It is incredible to think of the marvelous activity of great Christian literature and its impact around the globe.

I’ve had some disagreement with a colleague or two over whether the ICRS convention is a dinosaur that will soon disappear. I tend to remain positive about its place in the industry and truly hope it does not go away. There is simply no other single event where so many industry-related people gather in one place. I can think of a half dozen conversations that would not have happened if were not for this event.

For publishers it has become an Author-Relations event, not much of a sales opportunity. The stores have already placed their orders for forthcoming books and music. And while there are fewer Christian stores, many major big box retail buyers were in attendance. Therefore while actual orders may not be placed at the show, the seeds for new sales were being planted.

Since both Chi Libris (fiction) and AWSA (women speakers and authors) organizations have their retreat in the days before the convention, many authors are there. I believe we had at least 12 or 13 of our clients who were there for at least part of the event.

The gift section was humming the entire show. And that will always be. Many gifts are such that they have to be physically held or seen in person before knowing if they are a product the retailer can sell. If ICRS goes away the retailers will have to rely on the general market Gift Shows which would not have as many vendors and their selection opportunities would decline.

All the usual suspects of kitchy art, gifts, and toys were there. Nothing made me exclaim, “you’ve got to be kidding.” So that either means I’ve become immune after all these years or there were simply fewer products to see. (Years ago, my all-time worst observation was a clown making balloon art. He was methodically putting together a six foot high brown crucifix with a flesh colored Jesus on it…all made out of long thin “clown” balloons. From the back of the adoring crowd I muttered a little too loudly, “My kingdom for a pin.” And then walked away shaking my head.) In general I don’t mind most of that material since I sold a lot of it during my days as a Christian retailer. For many people the items are a real blessing in their church or home. But that balloon art exhibition was over my line.

I enjoyed taking pictures of client’s book covers and displays and emailing those to them. A lot of fun for those who couldn’t attend.

Bottom line? Publishing is alive and well. Publishers are still looking for great content and great authors. The Christian retail business is small, but those who survived the “crash” are still working hard and serving their communities. It is nice to see there are those still dedicated to the call of being booksellers.

I can’t wait to get to work each day to find out what’s new in this terrible, horrible, wonderful, exciting, frustrating, exhilarating business.

Like many going into the 2009 ICRS convention (aka CBA or the Christian Booksellers Association convention) I was wondering what would be found. It was great to see that instead of the projected doom and gloom there was light and hope. (Yes, that is Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber in the photo to the left – courtesy of Christian Retailing Magazine.) A few observations:

1) The total convention exhibit floor was about 30% smaller than in past years and the middle section, housing CBA’s events and displays was HUGE. In fact you could walk through the entire book section very rapidly for the first time in years. Everything seemed condensed.

2) The net effect of the smaller sales floor was that you felt the crowds. There was noise, energy, and excitement in the air. This was a major change over previous years where it always felt so quiet.

3) The reason for the reduced exhibit floor is simple. The publishers reduced the size of their booths. Many cut their space in half. Others simply did not exhibit at all (Thomas Nelson, Steeple Hill, NavPress, and Waterbrook were not to be found).  I am not one to make a big deal of the decision to eliminate an exhibit. As a cost cutting move they saved a bundle. They did miss out on some media opportunities (an editor for the Associated Press was working the floor for a story on Christian fiction) and some “hallway” conversations. But when a publisher can spend $100,000 or more to attend the budget restraints are understandable. (A simple 10′ x 10′ booth can cost well over $2,000 just for the space. Then you have to get there, ship the product, create a snazzy booth design, etc.)

4) Fewer publishers had a separate convention suite for meetings. Since those suites can cost more than $10,000+ for the event it was an understandable change. It made finding private places for a meeting a little more difficult, but we all managed.

5) Monday, the first actual day of ICRS, was very busy on the convention floor. The lines for book signings were long and exciting. But I made an interesting observation. I seemed to recognize almost everyone who was walking around. That meant two things:

a) I’m old. After 28 years in the business you get to know a lot of people.
b) It meant that a large number of the attendees were authors or exhibitors…NOT stores.

In fact the word-on-the-street was that there were only 300 stores registered. But I have no way to verify that number. Plus one registration may represent a half dozen or more regional chain stores, and the Family Christian Store chain has over 300 locations. This further cements the reality that the convention is not the place for order taking. Instead it is a place for building bridges with customers, clients, and eventually, consumers.

Bottom line is that it felt busy. And that is a good thing. It did get VERY quiet by Wednesday when all the authors and many of the editorial staff had left. Cutting a full day from the normal four day convention was a very good decision. Kudos to CBA for listening to their members on that score.

6) Those who were predicting that this would be the last ICRS (and that the industry was doomed) were wrong…again. Why is it that we like to view things so negatively? Is it that genetic disposition we have for slowing down to see a car wreck? Do we like to complain to elicit sympathy from our audience? While I can be as morose as the next guy, I try hard to see things in a more positive light. So while the show was a bit slower pace than in past years, it still had great benefit.

7) Benefits for our agency.

a) face time with key people
b) finalized negotiations on three contracts, in person.
c) navigated an author/editor clash, in person. Invaluable to have this kind of conversation face-to-face. Removed all the potential negativity that is systemic to all email communication. Instead the flow of words and exchange of ideas was critical to resolve the problem for everyone.
d) Met with two companies that are working hard on bringing digital products to the consumer via the retailer and the Internet. I was able to find out how I, as an agent, can help their efforts with publishers which will alternatively benefit our client’s sales.
e) Met with a long time industry friend who is seeking an aggressive way to bring back, in ebook and POD, those books, by my clients, that are now out of print and unavailable.
f) Heard the nuanced vision for publishing from at least a half dozen major publishers. Always helpful to hear them articulate their ideas and hear how I can find the right books for their program.
g) found out about two editors whose jobs have changed. One is not returning after maternity leave, another is leaving the company. It’s like trying to keep track of your favorite baseball player during the free agent signing season. People shift around all the time and each time creates another subtle change in the labyrinth.
h) had time with 12 clients who attended. Always nice to touch base, even if for a brief hello. Missed seeing five others due to scheduling conflicts.

You catch the theme here? “In person.” This is a relationship business…as it should be. Friends and acquaintances working towards a common goal.

Anyone else have a different take?