Formerly known as the American Booksellers Association (ABA) Convention and Trade Exhibit, BookExpo continues ABA’s 50-year history May 31 to June 2 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex (south).

More than 2,500 exhibitors stretched out over 375,000 square feet make this the largest English-language trade show in book publishing, with an anticipated 40,000 industry professionals in attendance.

The many specialty areas include a larger-than-ever children’s section, with participation by kids presses from the U.S., the U.K. and Italy. The Children’s Book Council is sponsoring a sit-down breakfast Saturday morning with appearances by children’s authors Nancy Farmer (A Girl Named Disaster), Vera Williams (Lucky Song) and Kevin Hekes (Sun and Spoon).

The event was recently purchased from the ABA by Association Expositions and Services, a division of Reed Exhibition Companies, the world’s largest trade show producer. The name was changed to reflect more accurately the breadth of the show’s audience. ABA continues its involvement as a major sponsor.

For more information, call 203-840-5814, or visit the Web site at www.reedexpo.com/fact sheets/1523.html.