Apple Raising iBookstore Visibility by Exhibiting at BookExpo America for the First Time

bookexpo americapaidContent reports that Apple is looking to increase the visibility of its iBookstore by participating in the upcoming BookExpo America trade show with a booth in a "prime location" on the exhibit floor. The booth marks Apple's first appearance at the event and a rare appearance by the company at a third-party trade show, especially since its effort to essentially eliminate such participation that culminated in the company exiting Macworld Expo several years ago.

The company has a large booth in a prime location, next door to Scholastic and in the same area as major publishers including Random House, Disney (NYSE: DIS) Book Group and Macmillan. BEA's website notes that Apple will be represented by Scott Simpson from Apple's iBookstore.

Apple is not expected to make any particular product or service announcements at the conference, and is likely attending simply to raise its profile in the e-book market as it seeks to grow share competing against such major players as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Update: A BEA representative has clarified with paidContent that Apple will not be exhibiting publicly at BookExpo America, only meeting privately with publishers at the event. Apple continues to be listed on the BEA site as an "exhibitor", but other details promoting the company's presence have been removed.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

bmturney Avatar
190 months ago
really want to raise iBooks visibility???

Lower prices... when I can buy the Kindle version of a book (that I can read in the Kindle app on my iPad) from Amazon for 30% less than in the iBookstore... I won't be buying many (if any) books through the iBookstore
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
logandzwon Avatar
190 months ago
Apple needs three things in this market;
- iBooks needs to be readable on the desktop.
- The need to add content.
- They need to competitive with their pricing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
190 months ago
I'm not confident that Apple can win this market. I'm a big Apple fan but I still prefer the look of e-Ink and the simplicity of a single purpose eBook reader.

If Apple begins selling standard format ePub books, that I can interchange between my eReader an iPad and an iPhone, I think that the iBookstore would do better.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
190 months ago
Maybe apple will expand their itunes application on the computer to gain access to the store, it would make sense.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macUser2007 Avatar
190 months ago
Lower prices... when I can buy the Kindle version of a book (that I can read in the Kindle app on my iPad) from Amazon for 30% less than in the iBookstore... I won't be buying many (if any) books through the iBookstore
Yeah, well. The prices at Amazon and other ebook retailers would have been even lower, if Apple had not tried to muscle its way in by getting in bed with the publishers and pushing the agency model, which forbids retailers like Amazon to drop prices lower than allowed by the publishers.

Apple has been an evil force in the ebooks market.

Oh, and what happened to Steve Jobs' "Nobody reads anymore...?"

(I do like eInk much better for pure reading - I don't read at all on my iPad anymore).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Daveoc64 Avatar
190 months ago
I've seen this comment so many times its laughable.

Apple DO NOT set the price of the books, the Publishers do - and the price the publisher sets is the price it sells for, not a penny more. Amazon DO NOT set the price of the books, the Publishers do. Amazon DO sometimes (but not always), add fees for things like "whispernet delivery". Stop blaming Apple or Amazon or anyone else and look to the publishers. They, and ONLY they, set the price.
Apple forces publishers to use the agency model (where Publishers control the price of books).

Amazon has been very vocal in opposing the agency model, and here in the UK and EU it's under investigation as being anti-competitive.

Due to its questionable legal status, and some publishers not liking the model overall, not ALL publishers use it (those that don't use it aren't allowed on the iBookstore)

For those publishers that do not use the model, Amazon's pricing is generally much lower than its competitors.

To say that Apple doesn't set the price is true, but it's not really showing the whole picture - it was their idea to let publishers set the price in the first place.

Amazon DO sometimes (but not always), add fees for things like "whispernet delivery".
Amazon never adds fees for delivery.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)