Drum Roll Please! Here are the BEA Author Events For 2007

I am posting from Milan, Italy this evening.......As I have been promising, I would let my dedicated blog readers get a sneak peak at the authors selected for BEA before the media or anyone else – I think I owe you that much for occasionally submitting yourself to the punishment of my blogging. BEA will issue a formal press release tomorrow morning on this subject.

I think we have assembled a pretty amazing group of authors and have some interesting personality mixes as well. The process in which we select these authors is pretty arduous. We assemble a group of independent booksellers, some media types, BEA people and some special guests to go over a list of some 300 authors submitted. Now, this is a fascinating process as independent booksellers are, by very description, pretty independent (I know because I was one!). So to get a group of 25 people, many with rich and well formed opinions on authors to agree on 15 or so finalists is no small task. I’m happy to report that there was never any bloodshed and no tears.

However that’s just the beginning as once we choose the authors we have to confirm them with publishers. And I have to say that some publishers submit authors that are not actually available, which is incredibly frustrating (not just to me, but to the bookseller that gave up a day to labor over selecting that author). So of the authors we selected about a quarter were not available, so then we go back to the list later and pick the right author to fit (or at least I hope I picked the right author).

The other item worth noting is that as of now BEA has no opening night speaker. Often we find that publishers have a late add to the fall list that emerges as a great candidate for the opening night event. However if I don’t find the perfect author for the event, we won’t stage it this year. It seems best to me to select the right person as opposed to just someone who is available, so stay tuned on that.

Lastly, you’ll notice on the breakfast events we have created a two tier pricing and seating scheme. After BEA last year a lot of people told me that didn’t want to have to buy a less than stellar convention center breakfast (stale bagel and one cup of cold coffee) to see the authors. So in response I’ve created a choice: breakfast or no breakfast ($15 vs $35) but note that the breakfast seats (round tables) are at the front of the hall and non breakfast (theatre style seating) is at the back. But fret not, you also told me that we must have video for all events, so taking my cue from you, we will have video screens for all events. Thanks for all the advice!

And with no further wait…….

FRIDAY, June 1, 2007
8:00AM – 9:30AM CHILDREN’S BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST (Special Events Hall)
Presented in cooperation with the Children's Booksellers and Publishers Committee [A cooperative committee of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), and the Children's Book Council (CBC)] this opening-day breakfast will feature Mo Willems, author of Knuffle Bunny too! A Case of Mistaken Identity (Hyperion Books for Children); Jacqueline Wilson, author of Candyfloss (Roaring Brook Press); and Daniel Pinkwater, author of The Neddiad (Houghton Mifflin Children’s Book Group). Libba Bray, author of The Sweet Far Thing (Delacorte Press) will be the Master of Ceremonies. General Admission: $15. Breakfast Admission: $35.

11:00AM / BEA’S CONFERENCE KEYNOTE WITH ALAN GREENSPAN
(ROOM 1E12)
Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Dr. Alan Greenspan, will discuss his eagerly anticipated new book, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (Penguin Press), in a an exclusive live “on stage” interview with Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News.

SATURDAY, June 2, 2007

8:00AM – 9:30AM SATURDAY BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST (Special Events Hall)
Saturday morning will feature Ken Burns, author (with Geoffrey C. Ward) of The War: An Intimate History, 1941 – 1945 (Alfred A. Knopf); Lisa See, author of Peony in Love (Random House); and Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns (Riverhead Books). Stephen Colbert, author of I Am America and So Can You (Warner Books/Hachette Book Group USA) will be the Master of Ceremonies. General Admission: $15. Breakfast Admission: $35.

12PM – 2PM SATURDAY BOOK & AUTHOR LUNCHEON (Special Events Hall)
This year's lunch will focus on political, cultural and social change and will feature Muhammad Yunus, author of More Than Profits: How Social Business Can End Poverty and Change the World (Public Affairs); Paul Krugman, author of Conscience of a Liberal (W.W. Norton); and Russell Simmons, author of Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success (Gotham Books). Alan Alda, author of Things I Learned While Talking to Myself (Random House) will be the Master of Ceremonies. Admission $50.

4PM – 5PM THE HEARD WORD: BEA’S AUDIOBOOK & AUTHOR TEA (The Galleria, River Pavilion)
Come hear Roy Blount Jr., author of Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South (Highbridge Audio); Jennifer Egan, author of The Keep (BBC Audiobooks America); John Lithgow, author of The Poets Corner: The One and Only Poetry AudioBook for the Whole Family (Hachette Audio); and Tom Perrotta, author of The Abstinence Teacher (Audio Renaissance) talk about their recent and upcoming audiobooks and the experience of hearing their works translated into audiobook format. Hosted by the Audio Publishers Association. Admission $20.

SUNDAY, June 3, 2007

8:00AM – 9:30AM SUNDAY BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST (Special Events Hall)
Sunday morning will feature Paul Coehlo, author of The Witch of Portobello (HarperCollins); Alice Sebold, author of The Almost Moon (Little Brown and Company); and Ian McEwan, author of On Chesil Beach (Doubleday). Rosie O’Donnell, author of Celebrity Detox (Warner Books/Hachette Book Group USA) will be the Master of Ceremonies. General Admission: $15. Breakfast Admission: $35.