By now you’ve likely read a multitude of recaps , have heard some buzzing on Twitter and have generally had your fill of hearing about Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention but I figure I’ll still go ahead and make a few comments of my own. I’ve already told you about the fun my first two days in NYC were here and here. Now let me tell you about the rest!
Taking a page from my friend Kelly I’m going to do a day-by-day blow-by-blow:
Monday:
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with two fantastic publishers chatting about upcoming titles and how we can better work together. In the morning I, along with a dozen other bloggers, had breakfast with the folks at Harper Collins Children’s Books. We started with lovely welcoming remarks from Susan Katz, President and Publisher of the Children’s Division, in which she personally thanked bloggers for our dedication to the industry and acknowledged our influence and the positive role we play in helping publicize their books. Dude, highlight….shouts out from the big honcho? Um, yea that was pretty thrilling. Upon Ms. Katz concluding her remarks a round robin of publicists convened to tell us about the books each are currently working with. I suspect I’ll do a highlight post of BEA books I’m most excited about in the coming week, I feel confident more than a couple of these titles will make the list. Hearing about these books was interesting but for me the best part of the morning was immediately after when we segued into having an open and in depth conversation about how we could work better together. What amazed me most about this conversation wasn’t how forthright it was (I expected this much) but rather how dedicated everyone in the room was about assuring that feedback provided could be used in the future. There wasn’t a publicist in the room who wasn’t furiously taking notes on what bloggers were saying. Pages and pages of notes y’all! We talked about exclusive content, blog tours, expectations for stats, how to best communicate with publicists, future plans, author events and more. I know I walked away with more than a few ideas, all of which will go a long way towards improvements and shifts I’ve already started working on.
That same afternoon I enjoyed several hours with the folks at Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing. Amongst a lively group of fellow bloggers we were treated to a preview of their up and coming hot titles, many of which I’m excited for (there were several great looking dystopians!). The highlight of the afternoon was definitely the presence of authors Elizabeth Miles (Fury) and Ellen Hopkins (Perfect). Though I struggle with books in verse I found Ms. Hopkins comments on how she deals with writing the controversial subject matter she focuses on quite compelling. It definitely made me want to make the attempt to read her work. There was also a short question and answer period between bloggers and publicists about how to work more effectively together here as well. As Kelly of Stacked mentions much of that discussion focused in areas that I’m of a different mind on, further the one point I made in contribution was missed as a result of an opposing comment by a different blogger. These things happen though, and I didn’t let it ruin the opportunity to make some good connections. I hope to be able to work more closely with S&S as a result.
After these two events were over Kelly and I took the cab ride from hell to the Teen Author Carnival. For real people, by the end of the ride we were instructing the cabbie where to go. It was equal parts phenomenal and frustrating. I wish I could give you more on the TAC but have to admit that I didn’t stay much more than ten minutes. It was far too crowded, in a location that was far too small for the demand, and was swelteringly hot. I’m saddened by this as there was a great line up of panels I was looking forward to hearing from. But, my delicate constitution isn’t all that forgiving so when I get overheated I have issues. Big ugly issues that I don’t want to start appearing in public, LOL.
Tuesday and Wednesday:
The gates to the show floor opened (see pic below) and people got all buck wild for books. I’ll refrain from making too many comments on questionable behavior except to say that I saw some — waiting your turn in line is not optional required, saving a place in said line for 15 of your closest friends is unacceptable, coming to blows over swag is beyond unnecessary, and decorum is most definitely your friend. These are all core tenets of professional conference behavior that we all should learn, embrace and utilize.
I agree with what many have said in their own comments on twitter and recap posts — there was a definite shift downward in the number of books available this year. Several publishers weren’t providing anything that wasn’t allocated for signings. Further, it seemed pretty apparent that many publishers weren’t showcasing their entire line but rather pushing certain titles they felt would be better (more popular) sellers. To me, that made sense. This is, first and foremost, a conference for booksellers so talking up the books that are going to sell well was exactly what I would have expected. Would it have been nice to have seen a bit more variety? Sure. But really, as a blogger I’m there at the graciousness of others so what I hope for is secondary to what the true mission of the show is. I will say, it was very clear that dystopian is still superdy duperdy hot. The majority of titles I got were in this category. Furthermore, there is definitely no shift away from paranormal or series fiction looming. There was plenty of that to be had as well. I did pick up a few contemporary titles but they were fewer and further between.
Directly after the leaving the floor on both days I was lucky enough to be able to attend a party of some sort. On Tuesday I caught the Little Brown Books for Young Readers party. It was carnival themed and in the most awesome loft. See, isn’t it super cool looking?
Then on Wednesday I joined Harper Collins at Speakeasy for some fun. It was super crowded and way hot but it was great to have the opportunity to catch up with bloggers I hadn’t yet seen. Not only that but I had a chance to meet some new folks. Thanks to both publishers for inviting me, it was great times!
Thursday:
I have to say I didn’t spend that much time on the floor, but the time I did spend was enjoyable. It was the slowest of the three days and there was little physicality to be found. I was able to catch up and chat at length with awesome publicist Elyse from Penguin Children’s who hooked me up with a copy of Jay Asher‘s new book The Future of Us which looks fantastic. It’s this type of connection that is really valuable at BEA, I was glad to have the time to speak with her about upcoming titles, opportunities to work together and a new feature I’m working on that should show up here in the coming month or so.
In the late afternoon it was the official start of Book Blogger Convention. The reception was held in Javits and was well attended by bloggers, authors and members of the publishing industry. I was pleased to see a full house from start to finish. For me personally, the highlight was hanging out and chatting with Michael Northrop. What a fun and funny guy! He had me laughing every time we spoke. I also enjoyed catching up with my friend Paul who recently relocated from Chicago to NY for a new publicist gig. Good times!
Friday:
BBC!
I have to admit, I don’t have much I can share with you about BBC. I was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off putting out fires and making sure that participants and panelists were getting what they needed. All I can say is a great big thank you to everyone who attended. I know that there were some bumps (the speed dating session wasn’t the smoothest scenario for the adult focused authors though I was told the YA side went phenomenally) in the road but all in all we were quite happy with how things went and many participants expressed their enjoyment of the day.
There are always opportunities to learn and improve and I look forward to getting feedback when I send an event survey later this week. Many of the changes we incorporated into this year’s event (the longer two hour sessions for example) were a direct result of this type of feedback from last year’s participants so know that we value and incorporate your suggestions to the extent that we can.
Furthermore, I want to extend a great big HUGE thank you to all of our awesome contributors. The reception and build your own swag bags went very well and that is due in no small part to the graciousness and generosity of so very many organizations and people. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’d also like to personally thank Gail from Ticket To Anywhere. She was an invaluable part of the day. I definitely couldn’t have made it through with out her support and assistance. She single-handedly rocked the YA side of the author speed dating session while I was furiously trying to make the adult side work half as well. If I could have cloned her I totally would have. So Gail, you totally rock! I appreciate you!
Also a big shout out to co-organizer Rebecca from Book Lady’s Blog. Though we didn’t spend much time in the same places all day I did see her zipping around too!
Despite my mentioning that I’d be taking a few months off from thinking BBC Trish and I have already started gabbing about next year’s big show. LOL We’re bandying about MANY ideas for how to make BBC a fun and educational experience for the different levels of bloggers (novice/intermediate/expert) as well as those with a variety of focus (YA/Adult/Bookseller/Librarian). We want to provide a well rounded and enjoyable day for everyone to the extent we can. Oh and perhaps we’ll have a a dance party or two!
I’m sure I’m missing giant pieces of the puzzle here but really, I can only share so much because honestly I can only remember so much, haha. But I’ll end on a positive note by saying that BEA, despite opinions to the contrary, is about making connections — meeting people, strengthening friendships and developing working relationships. In this way Book Expo and Book Blogger Convention were a great success and of significant benefit for me and my blog.
Happy 2012!
Good morning my friends! Today’s the day….October’s round of 
