The other Book Expo

Even as many folks are still recovering from their post-BEA hangover, it behooves me to mention the little sister convention which took place last weekend–Book Expo Canada. The Toronto Star was there, and Judy Stoffman rounds up some of the notable names and books we should be looking for this fall from Canadian publishers:

Long lineups snaked around the floor as people waited to have advance copies of books, or pamphlets containing sample chapters, autographed by such authors as Stuart McLean, Miriam Toews, Russell Smith, Pierre Berton, Thomas King, Margaret MacMillan, M.G. Vassanji and filmmaker Norman Jewison, who has a forthcoming autobiography from Key Porter called This Terrible Business Has Been Good To Me.

Sheila Copps, former Heritage minister, who was recently squeezed out of her Hamilton riding, will rattle a few skeletons in political closets in October, in Worth Fighting For, a revenge book she is writing for McClelland & Stewart. It’s nowhere near finished so she was signing tiny Canadian flags instead.

Susan Swan, whose new novel What Casanova Told Me isn’t ready either, was signing copies of a six-minute film of her book, known as a BookShort, made by local filmmaker Judith Keenan.

Expect to see BookShorts as promotional tools in some bookstores come fall.

“My husband doesn’t like me to talk about this but I had a Casanova period in my 40s, when I travelled a lot and tried to have as many affairs with as many interesting men as possible,” confessed Swan, who is now in her late 50s, at an author breakfast.

Evidently, BEC was quite the success:

Last year, there were 2,257 visitors and this year show manager Jennifer Sickinger said attendance was up by 50 per cent.

“Our booth was filled to capacity,” said Harold Fenn, whose company distributes the output of 40 foreign and Canadian presses.

“You used to judge the success of a bookfair by how many (book) orders were given, but now with electronic ordering, people come and take notes and the orders start flowing after the show.”