Jessica Clark, Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
As the coordinator of the Congress Expo, I have the unique privilege of getting to find out which exhibitors will be taking part in the Expo one at a time. As the contracts roll in, the showroom floor fills up in my mind’s eye. I can see the colourful books lined up on the shelves and the glossy brochures fanned out on the tables. I imagine the welcoming handshakes and familiar conversations that take place in the booths of the long-time exhibitors. I see the curiosity and excitement building at the booths of new ones.
Wonderfully, this year’s Expo is going to be one of the best Congress has seen in a while. Over 50 exhibitors have registered so far, and the show floor is almost full. (Only 3 full-time booths are left at the time of writing this post!)
Many of Expo’s usual suspects are back for another year: University of Toronto Press, McGill-Queen’s University Press, and Brunswick Books are just a few. And we’re happy to be welcoming some new exhibitors, including software start-up MetricWire, whose mobile devise app can help social scientists collect research data.
We’re also happy to have a number of sponsors, both old and new, joining us in Expo this year: among them, SSHRC, Mitacs, Genome Canada and Research Matters (Council of Ontario Universities).
Really, they are many great exhibitors, too many to list here, that offer something for all of Congress’ 8,000+ attendees – from religious history to social innovation, from Canadian drama to environmental activism, from poetry to funding programs.
The Expo will also be the venue for many interesting events, including book launches, informative presentations, and the President’s Receptions. Come for an event (or a glass of something bubbly) and stay to wander the aisles – you never know what you might find!