BEA 2013 Write Up Day 1

Book Expo America or BEA for short is a publishing event that takes place in North America.  It gives authors and publishers the chance to showcase their new releases to the book publishing industry.  Advanced Reader Copies of upcoming books are available for attendees to pick up.  Attendees often include authors, publishers, librarians, members of the press, etc.  In recent years, the final day of the conference is open to the public for what they call "Power Readers Day".

Last year our site owner Jessica went to BEA for the first time.  This year, she invited me along to attend the conference with her.  Now I must admit, I had been looking forward to BEA for a really long time.  I had first heard about it before I became a book blogger, and it has always been something in the back of mind that I wanted to attend.  And I must say, it definitely didn't disappoint.  I had an amazing time.

BEA 2013 took place Thursday May 30th to Saturday June 1st at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.  And even though I live in NJ, I decided to share a hotel with Jessica so I wouldn't have to commute daily.  I must admit that I was extremely nervous my first day.  I had done my research for BEA, so I knew what to expect.  But once I walked into the Javits Center and saw banners of upcoming books, and was pretty much surrounded by people who love books as much as I do, I calmed down immediately.

Myself and Jessica waiting to go into the Exhibit Hall

I am a big fan of the Divergent series. The author wrote on her blog that there would be a stunt performed related to the third book in the series Allegiant, shortly before the conference started.  She also said that they would be giving out a few prizes afterward.  I wouldn't really call it a stunt that they performed, but it was pretty cool what they did.  And they gave out Allegiant bags, which I am happy to say that I was able to snag one.

Once the conference started I made a beeline straight to HarperTeen's booth to pick up a ticket for Veronica Roth's signing.  Luckily for me, it was right by the entrance, so I was one of the first people in line.  After picking up my ticket, I roamed a little bit and made a big rookie mistake.  I picked up every book I saw that was available.  I say this was a mistake because I usually only read young adult books.  I picked up about 5 or 6 books that I really had no interest in reading, but what can I say I see books and I get excited.

The Allegiant banner that I wanted to take home

The rest of my first day consisted of waiting in autograph lines.  I must admit something, the autograph lines are not as bad as I expected.  From the reports I read online, everyone said bring comfy shoes because the lines are just horrendous.  As someone who frequented concerts from their late teens to their early twenties, and would arrive extremely early to these concerts sometimes waiting outside in the hot sun or the pouring rain, BEA lines were a piece of cake.  Yes, you are bouncing back and forth between lines for signings and for galley drops, but you are constantly moving.  You are not staying in one spot for hours.  But it is understandable, if you are someone who isn't used to waiting in line for extended periods of time.

Myself and Gretchen McNeil

There were quite a few young adult authors there that Thursday.  But one of the authors I was really excited to meet was Gretchen McNeil.  I was chosen to help Gretchen promote her upcoming book 3:59.  So on Thursday I wore my 3:59 shirt, that Gretchen kindly provided for us.  It was awesome to meet her, and to be able to pick up her book!  Some other authors I got to see on Thursday were Dan Krokos (who I admittedly have a crush on), Kami Garcia, Veronica Roth, Sarah J. Maas, James Dashner, and Lauren Kate.  Lauren Kate was a huge surprise for me.  I actually didn't even know she was going to be at BEA.  I am such a big fan of her Fallen series, and it was such a pleasure to finally meet her.  I actually didn't even know what to say, because my meeting with her was so quick and unexpected.

Kami Garcia and Myself

The night before day 2 of BEA, I knew I had to make some changes.  For starters, my phone battery drained massively in the Javits Center.  I knew this would happen, but I had to think of ways to try to preserve it better.  I had noticed a few people had hand written list of their personal BEA schedules, some even had them color coordinated.  I decided that I would make a written list, so I wouldn't have to constantly check my phone to look at my schedule.  This worked wonders, because a lot of my schedule the previous day overlapped and that was one of the reasons why I was checking my phone so much.

Veronica Roth signing an Allegiant poster

I must admit I was pretty wiped out after day 1.  I was very happy that I decided to get a hotel room with Jessica for the conference.  I know that there would have been no way I would have been able to commute back and forth daily from NJ to NY without becoming really stressed out.  So after writing my schedule for the day 2, I went to sleep.