BEA 2017: Wrap-Up

by - June 08, 2017


For the first time in a few years (since 2014) I found myself back at the wonderful world of Book Expo America, which has been rebranded BookExpo. For those of you who don’t know what BookExpo is, as per the website
BookExpo is evolving to lead the global publishing industry to its consumer driven future and celebrate storytelling in all its forms. It’s the place where industry, authors and readers converge to define the new publishing universe. BookExpo provides a focused professional environment to discover emerging authors and the next blockbuster titles, engage with the world’s most influential publishers and learn from industry leaders and peers.

Please excuse the fact that I did not take a lot of pictures, with everything going on I forgot but I will share the ones I did take. I was somewhat nervous just because it’s been a while since I attend the expo and with some of the new rules put in place, I wasn’t sure what to except. But I shouldn’t have worried, it was like coming home. This year I drove myself because I found a parking lot that was only $17 a day, all day, trust me in New York City that is pretty much a steal. This year I paced myself and didn’t take as many books as I have in the past. There is a list of everything I got at the end of the post.


June 1:
I walk in the place armed with my list of everything I want to do, a map, my water, snacks, and comfy shoes, and I’m ready to go. The first thing I do is run over to Source Books’ booth for a galley drop (a release of book at a certain time, without a author signing) of Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller. My day was filled with galley drops and author signing. I made a friend in the first line I waited one and we pretty much spent the whole day together. It was nice to have someone to talk to and go around with.
Here’s the book I took home:


June 2:
I will say this was my favorite day, even though my schedule was more hectic and I spent a lot of time rushing to different signings it was a good day. It seemed like every signing I wanted to go was staring at the same time, so I rushed around a lot. I was the first person on line for a 1pm signing at the Entangled booth so I could rush over to penguin and get a ticket for the 1:30 Leigh Bardugo, Wonder Woman signing. I got there a half an hour early and was met with this line.

It snaked around 4 times by the time I got there. Thankful there were still tickets and I was able to get a book. Leigh remembered me from the day before even though she met so many people. As soon as I got my book, I ran over to the Harlequin booth because I couldn’t not miss Jennifer Armentrout. I COULDN’T! And when I got up to her, Jennifer remembered me. She said “I haven’t seen you in while, how have you been?” I couldn’t believe, I mean it’s been years! We talked a little but I tried not to hold up the line. After that I went back to Entangled for their last singing of the day, when that was done I walked by the Little, Brown Books/ Hachette Book booth just to see if Holly Black’s signing was still taking place and luckily it was.
            Here’s the book I took home:


I must say that two of my favorite booths were Harlequin and Entangled Publishing. I went to each booth so much that people there knew my name and seemed happy to see me. I was there so much that instead of writing my name on sticky notes for authors to sign, publicist were just spelling my name for them. And over at Entangled it was their year there and I was so happy that it was. I got friendly with some of the publicist, and talked to their authors. I went to every single signing Entangled had, even the ones that weren’t originally on my list. Honestly every single book at Entangled had a beautiful cover, all of them, how is that possible? There cover artist should get a raise. 

Some of the things that I want to note about my time there, everyone was nice and polite. Even though there were plenty of people there it didn’t feel stuffy or like you were packed in. Things seem to run pretty smoothly and for the most part the lines for signings and drops were successful. Out of the booths I went to, to me it felt like HarperCollins, and Harlequin had the most efficient and organized lines. Penguin Random House, I feel dropped the ball on the line origination but I’ll give them a pass because they had some super longs lines. Publicist and other staff at almost all of the booth I went to seemed very excited and passionate when telling you about whichever new book you asked about.
All in all, I had a great time, all the rushing and running from booth to booth was worth it. Even though I went by myself I wasn’t alone. My time waiting on lines was filled with talking to strangers and making new friends. Meeting people is always easy at BEA, since everyone is there for the same reason as you, it’s easy to start a conversation. It’s a great place to network and reconnect with old friends and authors. I’m glad I went.
Do you go to BEA? Or even BookCon (Which I did not go to) tell me about it.

Here is a list of all the books I got: June 1
Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone                               Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater            Zero Repeat Forever by G. S. Prendergast
The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones                Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake
Life After Juliet by Shannon Lee Alexander             Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel            
The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton                               Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings       Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely                       
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco           Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (Book sampler)


The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George       All Rights Reserved by Gregory Katsoulis
The Little French Bistro by Nina George           This Is Not A Love Letter by Kim Purcell
Tool of War by Paolo Bacigalupi                        Things I'm Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni
Refugee by Alan Gratz                                       The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones              Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen
Crash Override by Zoe Quinn                            Warcross by Marie Lu
The Ultimatum by Karen Robards                    Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel Jose Older
A Perfect Obsession by Heather Graham   
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
The Great Shelby Holmes Meets Her Match by Elizabeth Eulberg

                                                                                   
June 2

27 Hours by Tristina Wright                       If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer Armentrout           
Hide from Me by Mary Lindsey                    You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
Invictus by Ryan Graudin                              Forest of a thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao    
Fireblood by Elly Blake                                  Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody.
Violet Grenade by Victoria Scott                  Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston          
Atlantis Quest by Gloria Craw                       Be True to Me by Adele Griffin
Remember Yesterday by Pintip Dunn          RoseBlood by A.G. Howard  
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen                                Wonder Woman: War Bringer by Leigh Bardugo         
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black                    The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
           
Nevermoore by Jessica Townsend               Size Zero by A.C. Moyer
Red Dirt by Anna Jarzab                               Exact Location of Home by Kate Messner
Lethal Lies by Rebecca Zanetti                    Select by Marit Weisenberg
As You Wish   by Chelsea Sedoti                  Have You Met Nora? by Nicole Blades
Release by Patrick Ness                               Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen
Miramar Bay by Davis Bunn                         Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda
Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison                                 The Blind by A.F. Brady
Timeless: Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar

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1 comments

  1. "Honestly every single book at Entangled had a beautiful cover"

    I totally agree! And they were all kind of colour coordinated too. Lots of purples, blues, and a little red.

    ReplyDelete