BookExpo and BookCon postponed in wake of coronavirus pandemic

In a letter sent via email to attendees Thursday evening, BookExpo announced that it was postponing its May events to July in light of the COVID-19 virus outbreak. BookCon will also be postponed.

The conference will now take place July 22 – 26 at the Javits Center in New York City.

“Our hearts go out to our entire community, every individual person and business impacted by the COVID-19 virus, and all of you who rely on and look forward to this event each year,” said Jenny Martin, BookExpo’s event director in the email. “We stand with you and we will do everything we can in the coming weeks to highlight your work, so that as a community we can come together and support you.”

Read the letter in full here:

To our BookExpo, UnBound & BookCon community,

Booksellers, librarians, authors, publishers, fans and everyone passionate about this industry are what make these events so special. At every step and with every decision, we have you in mind, so it's our responsibility to make sure that your health and safety come first at all times.

After many hours of conversation, we have decided to postpone BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon from May to July 22-26 at the Javits Center. We have been closely monitoring the outbreak of COVID-19 in New York and around the country. Following the guidance of health officials, we are now complying with the State's request that large gatherings be postponed to ensure the well-being of everyone involved with our event.

 Our hearts go out to our entire community, every individual person and business impacted by the COVID-19 virus, and all of you who rely on and look forward to this event each year. From authors who have had to cancel book tours, to bookstores who have made difficult and courageous choices to keep their customers and employees safe. We stand with you and we will do everything we can in the coming weeks to highlight your work, so that as a community we can come together and support you.

Please note that all attendee registration and tickets for the May events will be automatically transferred over to the July dates, no action is required on your part. If you have questions, please reach out to our customer service team.

To all of our fans and customers - we are committed to giving you the best BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon you've ever seen this summer.

 Thank you,
 Jennifer Martin
 Event Director
 BookExpo & BookCon

BookExpo had originally said last week that it would move forward with its events in May. It’s not the first book conference affected by COVID-19. Santa Monica’s YA book festival YallWest announced last week that it was canceling its events in wake of the virus.

At the time of publication, coronavirus cases in the United States totaled more than 10,000, according to the New York Times. The Times also reported an uneven week of trading on Wall Street, a clear sign of the economic toll the pandemic has taken on the country and the world.