BEA's Fensterman Says '07 Show is All About "Expanding Boundaries".

Significantly Increased Online Presence Coincides with International Initiatives

NORWALK, Conn. -- Lance Fensterman, Event Director for BookExpo America (BEA), has singled out an overriding theme for the upcoming convention which, he points out, "has evolved naturally, based on my assumption that we must build creatively on our core strength, which is face-to-face interaction." Fensterman notes that BEA 2007, which will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center May 31 - June 3, has designated Expanding Boundaries as its theme for this year's convention.

"Much of the book industry is focused on the digitization of books and on building social networking opportunities," Fensterman states. "What we need to remember is that these initiatives have no respect for national boundaries or borders. In order to be truly competitive, all of us need to be less concerned about the limitations of our enterprise and more concerned with how we are adapting to a business that has fewer and fewer restrictions. At BEA, this means that we need to think beyond our four walls, beyond our three days, and certainly well beyond any one single goal or constituent base."

Notably, BEA points to its online presence and its efforts on the international front as examples of how it is adapting to expanding boundaries:

* This year, as part of an educational program that now boasts over 80 conference sessions, the convention will introduce the BEA Global Market Forum focusing on the expansion of English reading worldwide, which is itself a study in how borders and boundaries have grown and changed shaped. The export of English language books is a 5 billion dollar market (2005) and it continues to grow. The BEA Global Market Forum will help professionals from all over the world to better understand these markets with facts, figures and best practice reports with leading industry voices commenting on their experiences and perspectives. This subject has never before been explored on a global level.

* To facilitate communication, an online social networking and show planning platform is being launched called My BEA, which will enable users to search events by speaker, attendee or theme, as well as post their own business interests in order to attract relevant new contacts.

* BEA's podcast venture at www.bookexpocast.com is being substantially expanded and will provide for pre-show interviews with some of the featured authors participating in BEA's special events, as well as extensive coverage of all the onsite special events and educational programs. Individual interviews with industry professionals and authors will also be featured as part of the podcast initiative. BEA's podcast programming is available on a year-round basis to anyone who visits the website.

"These are just a few examples of how we are trying to move beyond the physical and temporal boundaries of BEA to reflect what is going on in the industry," Fensterman continues. "We are expanding in other ways, too. If one accepts the fact that traditional boundaries are becoming less important in the modern age, then one of BEA's great strengths is the fact that we have many constituents and we attract a wide cross section of people to our show. BEA is a place where you get to meet people in your industry that you would never be able to meet anyplace else. This is something that we need to build on for the future."

Show organizers point to their efforts to attract librarians to the show as an example of this type of growth and diversification. BEA has instituted a "librarian friendly" package including special conference sessions, a librarian hotel, and librarian receptions, among other programs and innovative promotions to bring librarians together with exhibitors. Over the past five years BEA has grown librarian attendance from 500 (2002) to an expected 3000 this year. Meanwhile, officials note that BEA '07 is on track to have one of its largest audiences ever, with projected increases in most of its constituent bases. While show organizers are reluctant to provide exact estimates, they are anticipating an increase of close to 20% in the number of visitors to BEA this year as compared to when the show was last in NYC in 2005. "We are on track to make some big strides in 2007, which can only be expected for a show that has no boundaries," Fensterman concludes.

ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS

BookExpo America is operated by Reed Exhibitions, which is the world's leading events organizer. In 2006 Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world, generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held in 34 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organized by 37 fully staffed offices.

Reed organizes a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 460 events serves 52 industry sectors, including: aerospace and defense, building and construction, design, electronics, energy, oil and gas, entertainment, food and hospitality, gifts, healthcare, IT/telecoms, jewelry, manufacturing, marketing and business services, pharmaceuticals, property, publishing, security, sport and recreation, transport and logistics, travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2005, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit before taxation of [pounds sterling]1,002 million on turnover of [pounds sterling]5,166 million.