Posted in: Comics | Tagged: BookCon, Comics, coronavirus, coronavirus comics, covid-19, ReedPOP

BookExpo and BookCon 2020 Cancelled, Will Return in Spring 2021

Last month, ReedPOP postponed New York's BookExpo and BookCon 2020 from the end of May to the end of July, the same week as San Diego Comic-Con. With the current global situation still ongoing, and New York City's Javits Center being transformed into a hospital, this looked less and less likely. Yesterday, ReedPOP pulled off the plaster and, along with other shows, postponed it to 2021. All tickets will be refunded automatically. This came down after all the big publishers, distributors and booksellers already announced they would not be attending, even at the rescheduled date. Event Director Jenny Martin posted the following on the company website.

"Due to the escalation of COVID-19 globally, Reed Exhibitions has today announced that the next edition of BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon will now take place in the spring of 2021. Initially, we were optimistic that our events could run in late July. However, as the pandemic has continued to escalate in the United States and we see the challenges it has brought for the book industry, it is clear that 2020 is no longer a viable option for this community. We have worked closely with the venue, hotel community and contractors to identify workable new dates. Unfortunately, the available options do not meet the necessary criteria to support the business needs of our industry. This lead us to make the difficult decision to wait until 2021 to deliver a vibrant BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon. While we cannot move forward with a physical event in 2020, we are finding new and different ways to connect our exhibitors, attendees and readers to celebrate books virtually, and we look forward to coming back stronger in 2021. We stand with you and we will do everything we can in the coming months to highlight your business, bring our community together and support you. Your tickets for the 2020 event will be automatically refunded. No action is required on your end. To all of our fans and customers – our hearts are with you and we thank you for your patience and support as we all navigate these challenging times."

Reed has given no more specific dates other that the spring of next year. ReedPOP has also launched its BookCon Read-A-Thon, a digital reading forum on Facebook, by way of replacement. Bleeding Cool will continue to cover the changing global situation and its effect on the comic book industry as it unfolds with this link.

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