Christian Trade Association International (CTAI) has canceled Marketsquare Europe, scheduled for later this year, due to the current global economic conditions.

Some countries' currencies are devaluing in relation to the Euro and U.S. dollar, making international commerce more costly, CTAI officials said. Although CTAI had not heard reports of European publishers closing, many publishing houses were cutting back on new releases, which were essential to the translation-rights business central to Marketsquare Europe's success.

The convention is currently slated for October 2010 in Oradea, Romania--which would be held just before the Frankfurt Book Fair for the convenience of U.S. and other non-European publishers, CTAI officials said.

Oradea was chosen due to its central location in eastern Europe as well as its close proximity to Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria and other countries that have many Christian publishers.

"Christian publishers in Romania told us that nearly 85% of their publishing is translated from English titles," CTAI President Jim Powell said. "With 60 Christian publishers in the country, Romania may be the center of Christian publishing in eastern Europe."

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