New York ? In the weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, organizers of BookExpo America received a wave of phone calls and e-mail: Would publishing’s annual national convention, scheduled for New York the following spring, be moved to another city?

“Nothing could have been further from the truth,” says BookExpo show manager Greg Topalian. “We knew the convention would be good for the city, and we wanted to make sure people knew we were staying. So we began placing ads earlier in Publishers Weekly and affirming our commitment to New York.”

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Topalian says attendance looks strong for the convention, which draws thousands of visitors. Few have allowed travel fears to keep them from coming, and the event should benefit from its proximity to so many publishers, booksellers, authors and agents.

“It’s a good time to show solidarity and support,” says Michael Powell, owner of Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore. “I know I’m planning to take some time off and visit the World Trade Center site and think about what it all means.”

The actual convention, to be today through Sunday at the Jacob Javits Center, will include few explicit references to Sept. 11. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will speak at an opening night reception, but otherwise, BookExpo is expected to stick to the business of books.

Authors of all genres and backgrounds will attend BookExpo. Guests range from politicians (Giuliani, former Vice President Al Gore), to literary authors (Paul Auster, Tim O’Brien) to celebrities (Marlo Thomas, Leonard Nimoy) to those who need their own categories (Oliver North, radio commentator-emerging novelist-former Senate candidate-former congressional witness in the Iran-Contra affair-former White House aide-former Marine lieutenant colonel).

Publishing people pride themselves on the support of free speech, and at least one event may test that.

A BookExpo tradition is for independent booksellers to throw a “Celebration of Bookselling” party and invite a prominent historian. Last year’s guest of honor was David McCullough, who had just published “John Adams,” which ended up selling more than a million copies and winning the Pulitzer Prize.

But this year’s speaker is Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who has acknowledged lifting material from other sources without giving proper credit. The invitation was extended long before her recent troubles.