The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has decided not to repeat its consumer-focused Christian Book Expo (CBE)—for now, at least.

Following dismal attendance for the March 20-22 event at the Dallas Convention Center—where registrations were a tenth the 15,000 that had been projected—the publishers group has canceled its provisional 2010 booking of the venue.

But interest in the idea—intended to help raise awareness of Christian books—remains strong among some publishers who participated, said ECPA President Mark Kuyper, who announced the no-go at the association’s Executive Leadership Summit (ELS) and Annual Member Meeting at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., in April.

If CBE were ever to be revisited, “it would be a very different looking event,” he told Christian Retailing. A review of CBE had found the decision to market the event through Dallas-area churches to be one of the main factors in its “flawed concept,” Kuyper added.

The failure has left the ECPA with an estimated $250,000 shortfall on the three-day event—not counting the individual investments of the more than 60 publishers and suppliers who took part in the program that included workshops, debates and author signings.

ECPA member companies are being asked to donate a voluntary assessment of their annual membership dues—which range from $1,512 to $15,000, depending on revenues—to pay the organizers’ outstanding CBE bills.

CBE participant Crossway Books & Bibles is making a donation, said Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Geoff Dennis. The company had appreciated all the hard work that had gone into the event, he added, but it was wise not to repeat the event “at this time.”

C. Jeffrey Wright, president and CEO of UMI Publishing, said the financial appeal was “an unusual though not unreasonable request given the interests of publishers in maintaining a healthy organization able to meet the needs of its members in these difficult economic times.”

He told Christian Retailing: “All publishers would probably agree that the objectives of the conference remain pressing concerns for the industry.”

With the theme of “Leading Through a Tsunami of Change,” ELS attendance was about half that for last year’s event. Organizers said that with “seismic shifts” occurring in publishing due to tighter budgets, the event was intended to bring together experts outside and inside the industry “to best equip the industry’s leadership to strategically navigate and lead” through change.

Digital publishing options were a focus of several presentations, with a case study of Zondervan’s Symtio e-book system and a report on the potential for the audiobooks category.

Participants also heard some of the latest demographic data on consumers from Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publishing services for R.R. Bowker. Sharing details of a 2008 study, he reported on how “religious” bookstores—mostly Christian retail outlets—shaped up against other channels in terms of price point.

The Bowker research found the overall average price paid across all channels for a book last year was $10.08, with a $10.12 tag in “religious” stores.

That compared to $12.71 at large chain bookstores and $11.92 for Internet purchases—but did not take into account the different kind of books being sold in different channels, or a number of exclusives in the Christian retail channel that helped lower process, Gallagher noted.

New members appointed to the ECPA board at the conference were Steve Cobb, publisher at WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, and Pamela Jordan, publisher at Paraclete Press. Randy Beck, president of software company WORDsearch, was appointed treasurer to replace John Howard, who recently resigned as publisher of Howard Books.

The conference also saw the presentation of ECPA Platinum and Gold Awards for publishing success.

Platinum (sales of more than 1 million): The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick (B&H Books/B&H Publishing Group). Gold (sales of more than 500,000 copies): The Everyday Life Bible by Joyce Meyer (FaithWords) and Multiple Blessings: Striving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets by Jon and Kate Gosselin along with Beth Carson (Zondervan).

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