Nearly all significant book publishers in the United States, and many from abroad, have booths and exhibits at BEA, and use the fair as an opportunity to showcase upcoming titles, sell current books, socialize with colleagues from other publishing houses, and sell and buy subsidiary rights and international rights.
In later years, it was accompanied by the spin-off event BookCon, a literature fan convention oriented towards the general public.
[8][9] For a time, DigiCon from the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) ran concurrently with BEA.
[10] However, the IDPF was absorbed into the W3C in 2017;[11] no further DigiCon events have been announced, though the W3C holds other conferences on digital publishing.
In December 2020, Reed Exhibitions announced that BookExpo America and sister events BookCon and Unbound would be "retired" indefinitely in order to "explore new ways to meet the community's needs through a fusion of in-person and virtual events.