The International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) is going on this week in Denver. As long as I have been involved in the book industry, trade shows have been fertile ground for rumors. Usually, each trade show sports one BIG rumor and a lot of little ones. Despite the fact that most turn out to be false, they keep everyone entertained and make long days on the floor bearable.

Though we are not attending ICRS this year, evidently this year’s rumor is about Thomas Nelson. Supposedly, we are being sold or have already been sold. I hate to spoil anyone’s fun, but this is patently false. We are not being shopped or in discussions with potential buyers. As the company’s CEO, I should know.

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In the last two weeks, several people have asked to meet with me at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) being held in Denver, July 12–15, 2009. I have had to tell them that Thomas Nelson is not exhibiting this year. We also didn’t exhibit last year. Some have asked why.

Historically, trade shows have played an important role in publishing and bookselling. I have attended scores of them and have very fond memories of connecting with customers, authors, and the media. But the market has changed. Dramatically. We simply cannot justify the enormous costs associated with these trade shows—especially in this tough economy.

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The first-ever Christian Book Expo (i.e., “CBE”) began yesterday in Dallas Texas. I’ve decided that I will post my daily activities, so that you who can’t attend can follow along vicariously. In case you missed it, I blogged about the details of this book festival a month ago.

Yesterday morning started out early with the GPA Invitational Golf Tournament. This is an annual event designed to raise funds for the Global Publishing Alliance (i.e., “GPA”). We played at the beautiful Tour 18 golf course in Flower Mound, Texas, just outside of Dallas.

I played in a foursome with Max Lucado. The tournament was a scramble format, and the weather could not have been better. Our score was not that great, but we had a blast. Hanging out with Max is always such a treat.

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Today, Christian Retailing ran a story about Thomas Nelson pulling out of the International Christian Retail Show (i.e., “ICRS,” the show formerly known as “CBA”). The article was entitled, “Thomas Nelson: ICRS Pull Out.” Unfortunately, it is not available online, so I can’t link to it.

For the most part, CR got the story right. However, there are two items I’d like to correct. Both of them are near the end of the article. The first item is a simple omission.   A few weeks ago, in response to our decision not to attend ICRS, CBA issued a press release. The last paragraph said,

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Today, we announced that we will no longer be participating in the two major trade shows in our industry: Book Expo America (BEA) or the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS). As I said in our press release, we have been discussing this move for some time. In fact, it’s a conversation we have had every year since I have been at Nelson (ten years).

But the current economic downturn is forcing us to re-evaluate every marketing dollar we spend. This is not the reason for our shift in strategy, but it is the catalyst. The reality is that these trade shows provide very little return to us on a hugely significant investment.

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