New York’s Javits Center, Thursday, May 30 – Saturday, June 1, 2013
Random House made its presence known.
The BEA Conference in New York’s Javits Center was like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. This was my first time at the event and it won’t be my last. I only attended one day, Saturday, June 1, as a Power Reader. Upon first arriving, I registered to get my badge and received a wonderful tote full of books from Macmillan Publishers (don’t be jealous). Talk about a grab bag! After that, I went on a tour with other Power Readers and got a first look at the conference floor (exhibitors and vendors) where we were introduced by our lovely tour guide as “consumers.” You may ask why this is important. Well, with booksellers, librarians and museum curators in the building, the distinction was necessary. It’s important to let the publishers know who is actually buying the books to read them—the audience, the fans. I felt like a VIP walking through the empty room grabbing free swag along the way. The booths ranged from interesting to bizarre. Some were lined with books, others had illustrations of publications, and Lego men? I don’t know why the Lego statues were there, but they were awesome. I snapped as many pictures as I could of the publishing houses I was familiar with and tripped over my dropped jaw several times because of the many, many books crowding the room. I was in book nerd heaven. My only complaint was the day could have been longer. I could have walked a few more hours and stared at a few more book covers. At least I think I could have. My feet may not have agreed.
What Made Me Smile
Neil Gaiman told his anecdotes seated instead of behind the podium.
The event I looked forward to the most was the session with Neil Geiman (American Gods). He did not disappoint. I’ve never heard Mr. Geiman speak before so I was pleasantly surprised by how charismatic, funny, and engaging he was. I mean, I was hooked on his every word, never looking away from the dais for a moment. He regaled the audience with tales of his youth, how he developed ideas for his books, and (the title of his talk) “Fiction is Dangerous Because…” He began the hour-long discussion with an entertaining button toss. Yes, he threw buttons out to the audience with quips relating to milk. His new children’s novel, Fortunately, the Milk, which goes on sale September 2013, sparked the funny button labels. Titles like “As the Milk Turns” and “A Tale of Two Milks” made us laugh and dive for wayward buttons. It’s amazing what people will do for a free gift. I got a lot out of his anecdotes and learned to keep on trucking as a writer. There is no right way to write a book. You just do it. Write for yourself. Write to put your creation out there. The one idea he mentioned that stuck with me most was: “Fiction is dangerous, of course, because it lets you into other people’s heads.” I never thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense. But enough gushing about Mr. Gaiman.
What Brought On My Sad Face
I also had the fortunate pleasant experience of receiving an autographed copy of one of my favorite books, Outlander, written by one of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon. OK, so maybe I am exaggerating a bit. It wasn’t really a pleasant experience. Ms. Gabaldon seemed put out and not in the best of moods. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, though, because she was signing a ton of books. I expected a warmer reception than I received, and I can’t tell you how disappointed I felt. I almost didn’t want to take the autographed copy. (I did though, so sue me.) I don’t know, I guess I was all set to gush about my obsession with her books (who doesn’t love Jamie and Claire Fraser!) and snap a pic for the site that I didn’t expect to be shut down. The dismal encounter didn’t dampen my spirits for the rest of the day though. The Power Reader lounge was a special area set aside for us Power Readers to recharge, relax, and read. I got my snack on with some fabulous popcorn, chatted up a few other readers, and swapped a couple books. As an aside, if you were like me and had a difficult time logging onto the free WiFi (yeah, right), the BEA Mobile App was useless. I learned my lesson.
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!
Courtesy of B&N.com
Let’s get down to my primary reason for going to the BEA — the books. Not just the ARCs (Advance Reader Copy), but the free books given to readers by the small, independent publishers. I have to admit, I was dismayed by the lack of enthusiasm shown by quite a few of the exhibitors. I walked through some booths and wasn’t acknowledged because the exhibitors were talking among themselves. Great way to push your product, folks. Now, the independent book publishers were saying hello, grabbing your attention, and calling out to people to check out their booths. As a consumer, I appreciated that and took more interest in their authors and books because of that extra attention. It may not seem like a big deal, but being sought out makes a difference to a consumer. And the free books help too.
Book Giveaway
Speaking of books, YEC will be giving out a few books to new followers, re-tweeters, and fans. If you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, or retweet this article, you can be entered into a drawing for one of the following novels: Waking Up Married by Mira Lyn Kelly; an audio version of Lincoln’s Last Days as read by Bill O’Reilly; Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas; Jana BiBi’s Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman; or The Nightmare by Lars Kepler. We also have a special ARC of Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie to give to a reader who plans to review the book as a special guest reviewer for YEC. Heck, we’ll even throw in a free tote to one lucky new follower. So get to following, liking and re-tweeting! And if you attended BEA 2013, drop us a line and let us know what you thought of it. I’m stoked for BEA 2014 (even after my few hiccups) and I hope you are too. See you there!
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Photo credit: Elle/YEC © 2013 Your Entertainment Corner. All rights reserved.
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