BookExpo America: Tips and Tricks for Making the Most of Your Experience By Rebecca L. Mugridge PaLA Annual Conference 2007

What’s it all about?  Annual convention of the American Bookseller’s Association  2,000+ Exhibitors  Authors  80+ Educational sessions  30,000+ Attendees

Who’s the Audience?  Booksellers  Publishers  Librarians  Educators  Authors  Agents  Rights professionals

Overview  Convention scheduled in May or June  Runs from Thursday through Sunday  Thursday: Primarily educational events  Friday-Sunday: Exhibits open  Many special events throughout

Special Events  Keynote speaker  Booksense Awards Reception  Breakfasts with Authors  Lunches with Authors  Teas with Authors  Librarian’s “Day of Dialogue” with Publishers  ABA members-only functions

Keynote Speakers  2003: Rudy Giuliani. Leadership.  2004: Bill Clinton. My Life.  2005: Billy Crystal. 700 Sundays.  2006: Tim Russert. Wisdom of our Fathers.  2007: Alan Greenspan. The Age of Turbulence.

Book Expo Day 1 Exhibits open! Children’s Book and Author Breakfast Library Journal/Random House Breakfast Celebration of Bookselling

Author signings  In booth  Traditional autographing lines ($1 donation)  Special ticketed authors  Gold pass options ($25 donation) One “Go to the front of the line pass” One “Go to the front of the line pass” Don’t need to make $1 donation for each book you get signed Don’t need to make $1 donation for each book you get signed

2007 Children’s Book and Author Breakfast  Mo Willems. Knuffle Bunny Too.  Jacqueline Wilson. Candyfloss.  Daniel Pinkwater. The Neddiad.

Exhibits  Publishers booths  Free books everywhere!  Posters  Drawings for prizes  Authors signing in publisher booths  Book- and reading-related merchandise

What kind of books do you get?  First editions  Trade paperbacks  Advance reading copies  Uncorrected proofs  Children’s picture and pop-up books  Mass market paperbacks

What types of publishers are represented?  Large and small publishing houses  Foreign publishers, grouped by language  African American  University Presses  E-books and Google  Audiobooks  Graphic novels  Children’s books  Remainders

What do I do with all of these books?  Free tote bags everywhere  Shipping center  Get a box  Write your name on it  Make frequent “book drops”  When your box is full, ship it! ($35-40 per box)

ABA Celebration of Book Selling  Book Sense Book of the Year Awards recognized best books in: Adult Fiction Adult Fiction Adult Non-Fiction Adult Non-Fiction Children’s Literature Children’s Literature Children’s Illustrated Children’s Illustrated  Sponsored by Putumayo World Music

Book Expo Day 2 Book and Author Breakfast Speed Dating with Children’s Authors Book and Author Lunch Audio Book Tea Comedy Night

2007 Saturday Book and Author Breakfast  Ken Burns. The War. (TV Series and Book).  Lisa See. Peony in Love.  Khaled Hosseini. A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Stephen Colbert. I Am America, and So Can You!

2007 Book and Author Luncheon  Muhammad Yunus (by video). More Than Profits.  Paul Krugman. Conscience of a Liberal.  Russell Simmons. Do You!  Alan Alda. Things I Learned While Talking to Myself.

2007 Audiobook and Author Tea  Roy Blount, Jr. Long Time Leaving.  John Lithgow. The Poets Corner.  Tom Perotta. The Abstinence Teacher.

Book Expo Day 3 Exhibits start to wind down Fewer authors signing Exhibit contents giveaway

2007 Sunday Book and Author Breakfast  Paulo Coelho (scheduled but did not appear). The Witch of Portobello.  Alice Sebold. The Almost Moon.  Ian McEwan. On Chesil Beach.  Rosie O’Donnell. Celebrity Detox.

Logistics  Book Expos usually held in large cities: Los Angeles (May 29-June 1, 2008) Los Angeles (May 29-June 1, 2008) New York New York Chicago Chicago Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.  Registration opens January  Special events registration opens in March or April

For more information  Feel free to contact me:   Educational sessions available via podcast at: