Day of Dialog Draws 400 Librarians for Five Programs

LJ 's annual Day of Dialog has grown significantly, and so has the presence of librarians at the nation's largest book conference, BookExpo America. Now in its tenth year, the event on May 31 drew nearly 400 librarians to the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in New York City, more than double the total in 1998 and nearly as many as the 500 librarians who registered for the larger event that year.

Day of Dialog, while intending to make librarians feel at home at a show that was once less than welcoming, also serves as a venue for librarians, publishers, authors, and others in the book world to exchange ideas. (Sponsors were HarperCollins, Holtzbrinck, iUniverse, McGraw-Hill, Perseus Books, and Sterling Publishing.)

The five programs flowed from panel conversations to audience interjections, with takes on hot fall books, romance trends, marketing, YA (and adult) crossover, and the “most banned” book of 2006, And Tango Makes Three (S. & S.), a children's book about a family begun by two male penguins. Ironically, said publisher David Gale, “with every challenge there's a bump in sales.”

Marketing whiz Carl Lennertz, a veteran of nearly 40 years in publishing, gave the program a long-term perspective. Now at HarperCollins, Lennertz previously developed the BookSense Picks to allow independent booksellers to spread the word about books. “BookSense gave the person in Asheville, NC, credit for discovering Susan Vreeland,” Lennertz said of the novelist who wrote Girl in Hyacinth Blue and more. In our “sales- and marketing-driven culture,” he said, librarians and independent booksellers are important “filters.”

Lennertz remains fascinated by the word of mouth surrounding books: “I've never seen a book that didn't have a production assistant, publicist, or editor early on say 'this book is beautiful.'” Lennertz also noted that no book needs to be out of stock, citing the accelerated speed of reprint, “the most underreported development” in publishing.

The editors of the Hot Picks panel, a Day of Dialog fixture moderated by LJ Book Review editor Barbara Hoffert, reinforced Lennertz's comments. Harper publisher Jonathan Burnham referred to “the editor's absolute conviction” in a book he or she buys.

Besides giving their “picks” for the fall (for the full list see libraryjournal.com/dayofdialog and In the Bookroom blog), the panelists talked trends. Viking publisher Paul Slovak foresees more political books, including ones on the upcoming presidential election, and on religion. Sarah Crichton, who has her own imprint at Farrar Straus Giroux and published Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone, said she could see the “appetite for Africa building.”

When Crichton said it's hard to get attention for fiction that lacks a name brand, Westbury Memorial PL's, NY, Cathleen Towey responded that nonfiction faces more of a challenge in her library. Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH, librarian Lynne Fogel disagreed and urged colleagues to display new nonfiction: “If it gets marketed, people will find it.”

Crossover between YA and adult titles was also on tap. Basic Books publisher John Sherer reported that YA librarians and their patrons are finding their books, especially when they make the cover “more YA looking, more provocative,” as with the paperback edition of Julia Scheeres's Jesus Land (Counterpoint), an evangelical Christian memoir. Author Barry Lyga noted that his first novel, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (Houghton), was cross-marketed to “15-year-old boys and women in their 30s and 40s.”

For an adult book to work for teens, it must combine narrative with evocative experience. “Can I remember feeling the way the character does?” said Victoria Stapleton, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

A program on romance grappled with the distinction between erotic romance—books with great sex (like Kensington's Brava imprint)—and more raw erotica (e.g., Silhouette Spice and Avon Red). Hennepin County PL's Jeffrey Gegner wondered whether erotica “is going over the line.” Kensington editorial director Kate Duffy responded, “It works for the consumer.”

Panelists also discussed romance blurring with sf, mystery, and other genres and the impact of the web as both a vehicle for romance promotion and publishing. “The book is no longer bound in paper,” said author Eloisa James (Desperate Duchesses, Avon). Readers can vote for chapters and add epilogs. Also, of the 25 most downloaded books reported by OverDrive, eight were erotic romance, said Duffy. Most heartening, noted LJ romance editor and panel moderator Bette-Lee Fox, is a recent survey of romance readers: 25% reported getting their latest book from the library.