Thursday, May 28, 2015

BEA DAY TWO

The Adult Breakfast with Kunal Nayyar, Lee Child, Diana Nyad and Brandon Stanton just concluded and passed me on their way to the ABA lounge for signing.  People queued up at 4 different entrances which is so different than years past - where EVERYONE lined up in one entrance.   Another packed day is expected with 35 programs scheduled on everything from Word of Mouth Gone Digital to How to Make Translations Work to Alternative DRM Strategies.  There are 27 programs on the Author Stage including Debut Fiction, In Search of Diverse Books and Meet the BEA Adult Buzz Authors.  There are 100s of authors signing today - both in Autograhing and in exhibitor booths.

It is a jammed day that we are expecting jammed aisles - plan your time well, drink lots of water and save a few steps anytime you can because you will need those steps to get to get your next panel, signing or booth you are visiting!  

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Opening Day for BEA!!!

BookExpo 2015 kicked off perfectly last night with the Welcome Reception for China at the Asia Society.  A packed room of industry heavy weights from 2 continents engaged in 90 lively minutes of socializing around several tasteful musical performances and a few brief speeches before everyone scampered off to dinners and parties. 

I am pleasantly shocked to walk the show floor this morning to see everything so buttoned up and looking finished.  Maybe we can take another half day off of the move-in?  I am KIDDING.  BEA is teed up for a fantastic opening as booksellers are being hosted through the ABA's meet the editor program and visiting publishing houses all around NYC this morning.  The invite only China Opening Ceremony happens from 11-12.  IDPF, BEA Bloggers & the Audio Publishers Association all start up at 9:00 that will start the building crescendo leading up to the Jonathan Franzen event at 12:30 and of course there is the Adult Editor's Buzz panel that starts at 4:15.  The Global Market Forum program will have one its marquee events today starting at 2:30 - New Global Strategies and the Outlook for the Publishing and Media Industries. 

Of course the show floor opens at 1:00 and promises to be a packed 1st day.  I recognized this new schedule was not without challenges, but I think this is going to be huge benefit to all to have BEA busy and jammed from start to finish. 

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

BEA and BOOKCON Cheatsheet + new IDPF Keynote


The link below was put together for BEA and BookCon exhibitors, aggregating events and programs by area of interest along with the highlights for both BEA and BookCon. 

While this will be sent to exhibitors this week, this should make BEA easier to navigate for everyone.  I hope this is helpful to anyone that clicks through to this link. 


BEA/BookCon Flip Book Link

The IDPF just announced below and I thought this was cool to add in here:

IDPF Adds Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., Gaming Expert, Futurist, and Bestselling Author to Keynote Roster

Early Bird Rate Extended through May 19, 2015


The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) has announced that gaming specialist, futurist, Penguin author, and accomplished TED Talker Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., has been added to the keynote address sequence at the 2015 IDPF Digital Book Conference, which opens BookExpo America on May 27 at the Javits Center in New York City. Her address, "Reading is an Epic Win: How to Engage the Gamer Generation with the Future of Books," will focus on the challenge that electronic media poses to reading today. You can read the full press release here.