BookExpo Canada, an annual publishing trade event, has been cancelled by Reed Exhibitions Canada, according to an industry website.
The move follows defection of many of the country’s largest publishers and a growing number of independent houses, according to an online report by Publishers’ Weekly, which is owned by Reed.
Reed will also not move forward with plans to start a new consumer-oriented event in the fall in Toronto.
Greg Topalian, senior vice-president for Reed Exhibitions, said there is not enough interest in the Canadian publishing industry to make either event a successful stand-alone operation.
“At the end of the day, there wasn’t enough sign ups for either,” Topalian told the website.
“We’ve worked for a number of years to find ways to change the show or to have it evolve,” he said.
While Topalian would not rule out other events in Canada in future years, he said there won’t be any in 2009.
BookExpo Canada had been scheduled for June 19-22 in Toronto.
Reed says it will now concentrate its efforts on having BookExpo America serve the needs of the North America publishing and bookselling industry.
