CLMP Newswire Interview with Olivia Sears

CLMP Newswire for June 15, 2003 (Volume 3, Number 10)
A Biweekly Email News Dispatch on Independent Literary Publishing
A Project of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses

BEA ROUNDUP: EDITORS SPEAK

This year, 27,143 book industry professionals (6,684 of whom were book buyers) descended on Los Angeles to attend Book Expo America. According to Tina Jordan, who helped organize the massive event at the L.A. Convention Center, this year's event was smaller than last year's, in New York--which had 31,726 attendees and 7,049 buyers. Jordan attributes this difference mostly to New York's status as the capital of American publishing. By contrast, Roger Billheim, a spokesman for the BEA, says the lower numbers may reflect the ailing economy (though he admits there is no way to quantify that). "There was talk on the floor about the business being flat. But at the same time, because of the incredible conference programs, the author participation, and the large number of publishers, I really do think people walked away feeling good about the show," says Billheim.

While the Expo was dominated by the big houses, the indie presses--many of whom were located in the Consortium aisle--did make a strong appearance. CLMP interviewed a number of small press editors attending the conference--here is their take on one of the publishing industry's largest trade shows.....

Olivia Sears, Editor and Publisher of Two Lines: a Journal of Translation in The Arts – " BEA has been fantastic in terms of exposure," says Two Lines Editor and Publisher Olivia Sears, who brought her journal from San Francisco to the Los Angeles Convention Center. This proved quite an usual move--very few other literary magazines had a presence at the trade show. Sears found ways to justify the time and expense of BEA. She cut down on costs by sharing a booth with Small Press Distribution and driving down/staying with her family in LA. Also, she found it important to promote the magazine's 10th anniversary and announce its move from an annual to a biannual publication.

Sears says that she had a great deal of interest from booksellers and the press, which she equates with the fact that the focused mission and target audience of the literary magazine allows it to stand out in such an overwhelming venue. "It wouldn't be worth it if you were Granta or Paris Review, because booksellers know who they are," she says. "But for us, it's a way of getting our name out there, of introducing ourselves to the bookselling community." She also believes the international bent of the all-translation Two Lines fills some of the vacuum left behind by more traditional publishing ventures. "Especially since the war, I've seen a much greater desire among readers to reach out to the rest of the world," says Sears.

Sears' experience at BEA was extremely positive--surprisingly so, she says. "The most important thing is that we completely raised our profile by being associated with an entire row of legitimate and vital small presses" she says (the Two Lines/SPD booth was located right outside of Consortium's aisle of independent literary publishers). She does, however, caution literary magazines to think twice about making an appearance at BEA. "I doubt we would have done it if we didn't have this anniversary coming up," says Sears. "And there's no way we'd have been able to afford it without splitting a booth and saving on travel."