Pub Date as the Center of Your Space-Time Continuum
Which Can Be Really Helpful with Event Calendaring and Campaign Planning.
I’ve got calendaring on the brain. At the start of the year I updated the 2025 Calendar of Book Publishing Industry Events and Conferences, which is a helpful resource (for paid subscribers) that lists the dates and places of the year’s major industry shows and programming. Winter Institute, which is one of the first events listed, is happening right now. I wrote about the importance of this show in a recent newsletter — it really does chart an influential path for what will be happening throughout the year in the books space, based on the huge numbers of booksellers and industry people it brings together. You can read preview coverage about this year’s show in Shelf-Awareness and Publishers Weekly.
Also, the US Book Show, which is produced by Publishers Weekly and emerged in 2021 after BookExpo was shuttered, recently announced the date of the conference and opened up registration. BookExpo was once a mighty trade show that featured programming and exhibitor booths in giant convention centers like the Javits Center in NYC. The US Book Show is more of a conference for publishing professionals, featuring author and industry panels. This year’s one-day event will be taking place on June 3 in NYC, and is definitely worth having on your radar.
The in-progress Publishing Timeline series also keeps timetable and calendaring top-of-mind, as I work to share strategies of what you should be doing and when for your book campaign. Part of this is making sure to take advantage of certain types of programming. Pub dates really matter here, because when your book comes out will impact and determine which and what types of conferences/shows will actually make sense for your campaign.
Ultimately, it comes down to each person to research and survey the expansive list of conference options, and determine which shows to attend or make a push to get on programming. The pub date becomes the determining factor here, in terms of campaign strategy.
For example, if you’ve got a Fall 2025 book, you’d want to angle for a programming slot at the Indie Bookseller Association Spring trade show for your region. If you have a Spring 2026 book, then the regional Indie Bookseller Fall trade shows are your target. All these events are listed in my calendar, and I perviously wrote about the important role of these Indie Bookseller Association regional trade shows here.
Another example: if you write YA books, and you’ve got a Spring release, then YALLWest (May 3, 2025) should be on your radar. A Fall book, then YALLFest (Nov. 14-15, 2025).
The big show for librarians, ALA, takes place this year June 26-30 in Philadelphia, PA — if you’ve got a Summer or Fall 2025 book, that would be a great show to be a part of.
Understanding the distinction between trade and consumer shows is key. ALA is a trade show. YALLWest and YALLFest are consumer shows. You want to be a part of trade shows when your book is forthcoming. Consumer shows makes sense when once your book has been published, so that you can sell and sign copies.
If you’ve got a pub date on the books, then take some time to research trade show and conference opportunities that make sense for you and your book, remembering that panel slot deadlines happen months before the actual events. Ideally you are doing this research a full year before your book publishes, in terms of the Publishing Timeline. Note also that every genre has its own set of annual programming. Crime/thriller/suspense, for example, has Murder in the Magic City, Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic, ThrillerFest, Killer Nashville, and Bouchercon, just to name a few of the more well-known conferences in that particular genre.
And if your pub date is still in the goal/dream/undetermined phase, that does not preclude you from engaging in this planning and attending conferences — perhaps it’s all the more important. Taking advantage of the networking and educational opportunities, not to mention all the inspiration you can derive form attending these types of shows, can play a pivotal role in your publishing journey.
The AWP Conference, for example, is coming up March 26-29 in Los Angles, CA. This is a conference that seemingly attracts every and all writers — or so it seems from the social media posting that goes on during this show. I have never been to AWP before, but that changes this year — I’m really excited about heading to LA at the end of March and I’m already making plans to see a ton of people, including many that I have never had the chance to meet in-person. Can’t wait. If you are planning to attend, drop me a note — would be wonderful to connect at the show.
Can’t make it to this year’s AWP? Well, add this to your calendar: In 2026, AWP will be March 4-7 in Baltimore, MD (according to this year’s program — scroll down and you’ll see it). If you’ve got a Spring 2026 book, this would be a great conference to loop into your campaign plan.
RESOURCEFUL AND INSPIRING POSTS FROM DEBUT AUTHORS WITH FORTHCOMING BOOKS
, who has a novel coming out this August (Leverage), recently made the move from Substack to Ghost, which is an open source platform for subscription-based newsletters and websites. I've heard good things about Ghost, for those who want more control and flexibility, and have the patience and skills to configure. Will be helpful to watch and learn more from Amran as he progresses on the new platform at amrangowani.com. (Note that he still has an active profile on Substack —.)Overall a great example of committing to creative content and community, and always caveating the platform (The Ally Sheedy/Allison Reynolds/The Breakfast Club rule: "You never know when you may have to jam.")
This is a fantastic post about the cover art process from
— how she developed and decided on the cover art for her forthcoming collection of essays, World Without End.
Regarding blurbs, make sure to take a look at my last newsletter: Practical Information on the Blurb-Ask Effort.
DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
In closing, I wanted to note that Feb. 19 was the Day of Remembrance, which marks the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This order led to the incarceration of over 120K Japanese Americans during WWII. A dark chapter in US history, and also a significant part of my family’s story. The photo on the left was taken by my Grandfather, Fred Yamaguchi, who was incarcerated in the Rohwer concentration camp in Arkansas. The photo on the right was taken when
and I visited the site of the concentration camp in 2021. Both photos include the smokestack in the distance, one of the few structures that still remain. In addition to thinking of my grandparents (who got married in the camp), I have gratitude for those who established this annual Day of Remembrance, and have worked so hard over the years to create awareness of this history. I truly appreciate their vision and tenacity. As I have learned more about the incarceration experience and gotten more involved with the communities that are focused on preservation, I have a deeper understanding of just how fragile history is. All the more reason to remember, to learn more, and to be inspired to continue the work.—
jeffreyyamaguchi.com
ABOUT THE WRITER OF THIS NEWSLETTER
writes another newsletter that showcases projects and happenings related to the WWII Japanese American Concentration Camps — Concentrational Resonance. Planning to drop a new newsletter very soon — It’s calendared!Learn about the book marketing and publicity services I provide, and how we can work together.
If you are new to this newsletter, you can view the archive organized by topic here.
Paid subscribers have access to the full archives, as well as this growing list of resources, like this model author questionnaire, an author exercise, this list of BIPOC / diversity-focused book publishing links, and now the hub for the in-progress Publishing Timeline series.
Thanks for the shout out, Jeffrey! I'm very much enjoying the Ghost product so far and I'm excited about the opportunity to control my own destiny. Of course there will be hiccups and challenges -- least of which will be the lack of network effects on my new self-made island -- but I'm looking forward to the journey.
This is such a great post! The amount of publishing events per year is very overwhelming so your calendar is so helpful! And thank you so much for the shout out! Though I must admit, my rewrite was much more chaotic and unhinged than this makes it sound haha