Amazon to Announce Partnership with S&S at BEA

Just got word that Jeff Bezos will be announcuing at his 3pm talk here at the show that S&S will be adding 5,000 titles to the Kindle. Carolyn Reidy, President and CEO, Simon & Schuster will be joining Jeff on stage to announce it.

I've been aware that Amazon would be making a major announcement today but I promised to keep our my lips sealed.

More soon, gotta write my opening remarks for the Tom Friedman event at 11.

-L

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog:

www.mediumatlarge.net

203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

Opening Line from the Children's Author Breakfast

"Welcome to the ass crack of dawn at BEA."

John Scieszka

So begins BookExpo!

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog:

www.mediumatlarge.net

203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

The Ugly Side of BEA

When you go to the show, it's all light boxes, books arranged in displays, pretty booths. But there's an ugly side of BEA - they nearly million pounds of freight that come in over the course of the show. Here's you behind the scenes look at BEA - crated, thousands and thousands of crates.........

-L

Emerging Leaders Par-Tay

Had a great shindig at The Woods last night for the ABA Emerging Leaders Group. I gotta say, when I pulled up to this random strip mall in Hollywood and saw the bar wedged between a liquor store and a Laundromat, I was skeptical, but the place was awesome. Kitschy, cool, intimate and a great jukebox to boot.....

I got to reconnect with some bookseller buddies and meet some of the authors on hand. Particularly cool was talking with Tony O'Neill author of Down and Out on Murder Mile who used to live right in the L.A. neighborhood back when he had a hard core dug habit (he even used to come to the very bar we were in when it was under a different name!). He fled L.A., cleaned up and wrote a novel. Needless to say his experiences in L.A. we quite different from any that the rest of us at The Woods would be having! He was going around to his old haunts today and creating a book trailer for his forthcoming title. Pretty cool idea......

Cold drinks, cool bar and interesting people. What more would I want out of my Wednesday night at BEA?

-L

The Calm Before The Storm

I finally made it to the show today and everything is looking good - the banners and signs are hanging, freight is beginning to be unpacked and that eerie calm before 30,000 people invade is in full effect......

The building looks great, and while much is made about the distance between the South and the West Hall, it's not awful. In fact, read carefully, there is a nice shortcut you can take that shaves off like 30% of the walk. When you walk out of the South Hall, take an immediate left and go outside, from there its a short hike and you'll go back inside the building right near the entrance to the West Hall.

Try it, you'll like it.

Also, check out a post from my good friend Karl Pohrt from his blog There Is No Gap. It's titled, Why I love BEA. I can't argue with the genius of Shaman Drum Bookshop.....

-L

HALICALI Comes To Kinokuniya

While I’m currently away at BookExpo America in LA, my heart is still in NYC, and I wanted to make sure all you New Yorkers knew that my good friends at Kinokuniya Bookstore (1073 Ave of the Americas) will be playing host to J-Pop duo HALICALI on Friday.

HALICALI are coming into Kinokuniya at 6 PM on Friday, May 30 for a radio interview that’ll be broadcast on Samurai Beat Radio throughout Japan – and you’re invited to listen and watch.

So, if you’re free on Friday, stop into Kinokuniya to meet HALICALI and maybe get on the radio in Japan!

Mogg On

On my way to L.A. Now and as I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm feeling the excitement.

A few thoughts and mentions (sorry, no links when I'm mogging).

My biggest regret for this show is that I was not able to bring some of the ideas and energy from NY Comic Con to BEA. I suppose, I've only been running both events for 6 months, so we'll chalk that up to next year. I meant to work that into my earlier post today and forgot in the rush of work and packing.

The Media Bistro blog, Unbeige, has a cool BEA poll up today. Check it out.

Publishers Lunch's Michael Cader did a nice preview of the show today. He has a great view on our business and I always respect his views even if sometimes I don't see it from the same viewpoint.

I'll be mobile blogging (Mogging) from the blackberry all week, so look for random, Twitter like, poorly spelled insights all week long live from the show. In addition, I bought a hand held MP3 recorder I'm having shipped to my hotel, so I'll be doing on the spot interviews from the floor, green room, bathroom, what have you for posting and podcasting later.

I'm off to the show!

-L

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog:

www.mediumatlarge.net

203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

Stimulating Idea, Stimulating Person - Read This Now!

I don't even know the first time I met Jessica Stockton because at this point she's just such a part of my landscape in this business - and I mean that as a compliment in the highest order. Wherever I go, I see her, wherever I don’t go, I read that she was there. She's an amazing bookseller and a really cool person - but most of all, she’s a hell of a future small business owner (keep reading).....

I'll be hanging out in L.A. tomorrow night with Jessica and a whole host of other booksellers under the age of 40 that want to build a future for themselves in this business. The party is for a group called the Emerging Leaders and it's a great night of fun, networking, drinking, talk about the future, etc. However, Jessica is not just trying to find path for herself in indy bookselling, she's paving it.......

Check out the letter I got from her last week and more importantly, support Stimulating Reading! Hopefully I'll see you in L.A. tomorrow night where you can tell me about what you are going to do to help change bookselling forever......

Presenting Stimulating Reading: www.stimulatingreading.com

All the details are on the website, but the basic idea is something like the public radio model, except in a for-profit sense: kick in some cash and get back t-shirts, bags, or at higher levels, gift cards and discount cards at the future bookstore. It's kind of an act of faith, since the bookstore doesn't yet exist. But I have every confidence this bookstore will open within the next year, and everyone will find their investment has been worthwhile. And what could be a better way to use that windfall than by supporting a place where people discover books, discuss books, find community, create culture, and support the local economy of Brooklyn. So yeah, this is partly about asking for money. But there are lots of other ways to get money (I'm working on those too). This is more about offering an alternative to spend that stimulus payment purposefully, in a way that will actually strengthen the economy, and promote a culture of literacy that makes for an educated citizenry.

Am I Following Stan Lee or Is He Following Me?

Stan will be at BookExpo! I just got word late last week that he'll be at the show signing copies of his book, Election Daze. That's right gang, the creator of America's #1 movie, "Iron Man" will signing at the Book Expo!

STAN LEE, Author of "Election Daze."Saturday, 10:00-11:00, Booth 846, Atlas Books & Filsinger Publishing.

Excelsior!

-L

BookExpo - I'm officially Excited.....

Last night the Editor in Chief asked me what I was looking forward to at the show, it’s funny as I don’t feel like I’ve even had time to think about that, you know? I gotta level with you, this has been a challenging 2 months for me. NY Comic Con was a huge success but it is so energy intensive and to have BookExpo just 6 weeks later made it really high stress. So it felt great to wake up on Friday morning with the energy, excitement and giddiness that’s been buried under piles of to do’s and deadlines for the last month and a half. I woke up Friday hours before my alarm clock knowing that BEA was just around the corner. And now I’ve rounded that corner! I’m about to head to the airport and by dinner time I’ll be in L.A. and I’m hoping to see a ton of you while I’m there so make sure and say hi when you see me racing around the LACC! So just what am I excited about?

Wednesday

The Emerging Leaders Party at The Woods from 7-9. I hosted this same party last year with the ABA and the Emerging Leaders Council. If you are in the business, under 40 and looking to network, meet authors and have some fun then come out to The Woods in Hollywood!

Thursday

The ABA’s Celebration of Bookselling at 5pm where they will unveil an all new plan for Booksense. I was luck enough to get a full preview a month ago and it is awesome. Really revolutionary stuff.

Friday

I am honored to introduce Tom Friedman for his conference keynote talk at 11am.

The ABA Town Hall meeting at 3pm is one of my favorite events of the weekend.

Jeff Bezos at 3 will be a huge event and promises to provide some new insights to Amazon.

The Children’s’ Author Breakfast at 8am.

Too many panels to mention, but here are a few: The Future of Reading (1pm), Global Market Forum – China (1pm), The Caravan Project (1pm) – I think I have too many 1pm panels. The New American Character: John Zogby (10am), Steal This Book! Selling and Promoting Literature on the Edge (11:30am),

Too many parties to get to in one night. I’m going to do my best to get to 5 between the hours of 6 and 11! Whew.

Saturday

The Diamond Graphic Novel Breakfast at 8am.

The Author Breakfast at 8am

More Panels! Unshelved’s Surviving The Public (11am – and I get to intro Gene and Bill!), Pen American Reception (4pm), The Gen Z Reader (4:30pm), The New Comic To Film Machinery (11am) Librarian Book Buzz (3pm), Upfront and Unscripted with Dan Pink (11am).

Lewis Black doing the Saturday night fundraiser at 9pm. I asked PW’s Sara Nelson to do the intro as she’s known Lewis for many, many years. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Sunday

The Sunday Author Breakfast at 8am.

Meet the Bestsellers lunch at noon.

Whew, then I finally get to rest after these two blockbuster shows just weeks apart!

-L

Lolita And Maid Fashion Day At Kinokuniya Bookstore!

The New York Anime Festival and partners Del Rey Manga, Samurai Beat Radio, and VIZ Pictures are proud to announce the first Lolita and Maid Fashion Day at the largest Japanese bookstore in North America -- New York City's Kinokuniya Bookstore. Taking place Saturday, June 7 in celebration of International Lolita Day, Kinokuniya Bookstore located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan will present a day-long series of events showcasing the diverse world of cute, cool, elegant, and hip fashion in modern Japan.

Lolita and Maid fashion have quickly become two of the most prolific ambassadors of anime, manga, and Japanese culture in America, and the New York Anime Festival couldn't be happier bringing these fashions to New York City -- the fashion capital of the world.

Kinokuniya's Lolita and Maid Fashion Day will include special all-day activities as well as a series of Lolita and Maid-themed speakers and presentations…

Kinokuniya Lolita And Maid Fashion Day All-Day Events

Anime And Manga Discount: Any customer who comes into Kinokuniya Bookstore at 1073 Avenue of the Americas on Saturday, June 7 wearing a Lolita or Maid dress or anime, manga, or video game cosplay will receive 10% off all anime and manga purchases.

Lolita And Maid Sweets: Café Zaiya on Kinokuniya's second floor presents a special menu of Lolita and Maid-themed desserts made especially for Lolita and Maid Day

Lolita And Maid Fashion Day Giveaway: All customers who come into Kinokuniya Bookstore can enter to win a number of prizes from Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, and VIZ Pictures. Prizes include a collection of 100 of Del Rey Manga's best-selling and fan-favorite books, free tickets to this September's New York Anime Festival, and select films from the VIZ Pictures catalog. Winners will be drawn at the end of the day, and customers must be present to claim their prizes.

Kinokuniya Lolita And Maid Fashion Day Event Schedule

10 AM: Kinokuniya Bookstore opens. The first 50 customers dressed in Lolita or Maid dresses or anime, manga, or video game cosplay will receive a Lolita and Maid Fashion Day Gift Bag including presents from Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, and VIZ Pictures.

10 AM to 3 PM: Lolita and Maid Fashion Day Tea Party. All customers who order a cup of tea from Kinokuniya's Café Zaiya between 10 AM and 3 PM will receive a complimentary assortment of Japanese treats along with their drink.

3 PM to 4 PM: An Introduction to Lolita and Maid Fashion. An overview of the diverse world of fashion in modern Japan. Lolitas and Maids are just the beginning.

4 PM to 4:30 PM: Akiba-Kei Music Scene. Maid fashion began in Tokyo's Akihabara. Samurai Beat Radio presents a look into Akihabara's music scene today, how it influenced Maid fashion, and how Maid fashion now influences Akihabara's music.

4:30 PM to 5 PM: A Reading from Maid Machinegun. Maid Machinegun, a new light novel from Del Rey Manga, follows the misadventures of Aaliyah, a recent recruit at one of Akihabara's busiest Maid Cafés. Del Rey Manga presents an overview of the world of Maid Machinegun, including a special greeting from the author written just for today and selected readings from the book.

5 PM to 7 PM: Screening of Kamikaze Girls. Momoko is a super-sweet Lolita. Ichigo is a tough-talking thug. They couldn't have come from more different worlds, but somehow the two become the closest of friends and embark on the most incredible of adventures. Screened with permission from VIZ Pictures.

7 PM: Raffle Drawing. 100 books from Del Rey Manga and free tickets to the New York Anime Festival are just two of the prizes up for grabs in the Lolita and Maid Fashion Day Giveaway. Customers can enter all day long, and to win, they'll have to be present at 7 PM for the giveaway's drawing.

Kinokuniya Bookstore, Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, Samurai Beat Radio, and VIZ Pictures invite anime fans, Lolita and Maid fashionistas, and New Yorkers up for a unique and unforgettable experience to come out to Kinokuniya's first Lolita and Maid Fashion Day on Saturday, June 7! I hope to see you there!

Creator of Vampire Hunter D Comes to NYAF

Over the weekend at Fanime in California, Dark Horse's always awesome Carl Horn gave a little panel about Dark Horse Comics and what to expect from them coming up. What can you expect? Hideyuki Kikuchi -- the creator of Vampire Hunter D -- at the New York Anime Festival.

If you dig back to some of the stuff I've previously written about this year's NYAF (like the introduction to the 2008 website) you'll see I've been planting the D name a fair bit, but Carl's panel is the first public announcement that NYAF and Dark Horse have been working since the start of the year to bring Kikuchi-san, the author of all the Vampire Hunter D novels, as well as Kikuchi-san's friend and translator, Kevin Leahy, to the 2008 New York Anime Festival.

The New York Anime Festival is a showcase for best of Japanese pop culture, and while we will be devoting a lot of time and energy to guests and events around titles which are currently captivating both America and Japan -- I want to focus beyond just what is big and popular now and explore the creators and the creations that first and forever defined anime and manga in America. Since the first Vampire Hunter D film was released in America, it was been creating followers. Even now, more than 20 years since the movie's debut, it is a staple among America anime fans -- a classic and timeless work. And, now that the original Vampire Hunter D novels are finally available in America, fans are discovering D as never before. D is a character who some have loved for over 20 years and others are falling in love with only today, and I want Kikuchi-san -- the man behind D and all his adventures -- to meet the men and women in America who have been shaped by his words and dream nightly of D.

Vampire Hunter D is what got me into anime, and bringing Kikuchi-san and Mr. Leahy to NYAF personally means very, very much to me, and I hope they'll both mean a lot to you, too.

What Are You Doing Over Memorial Day?

Memorial Day Weekend is here. Three days of fun, sun, and awkward time with family. So, where are you going? What are you doing? And, more importantly, what are you going to be playing or watching? Personally, I'm off to Boston to visit my girlfriend's family and when I'm not explaining my intentions towards their daughter, it's my plan to work my way through as much of The World Ends With You as possible. I love you, Nintendo DS!

Talk about your Memorial Day plans with people who understand you on the NYAF forum right here...

http://newyorkanimefestival.yuku.com/topic/560

NYAF 2008 Poster Revealed!

About two hours ago, I posted a blurry image of the NYAF 2008 poster, and forum member Cimi figured the picture out fast -- scarily fast. So, not waiting any further, I'm pleased to reveal to you all the New York Anime Festival's 2008 poster featuring Bandai Entertainment's Gurren Lagann...


A big thanks to our friends at Bandai and Aniplex for making this happen.

Cimi will be getting a copy of this poster sent out to him immediately. If you'd like a copy, head to Kinokuniya Bookstore at 1073 Ave of the Americas on Saturday, June 7 as NYAF's having a little party at Kinokuniya. What's the occasion? You'll find out soon...

Guess The NYAF Poster!

The New York Anime Festival's 2008 posters have just come into the office, and I'm excited. They look great and, personally, they make me geek out just a little bit. If you live in NYC, you'll start seeing them hanging up in Kinokuniya, Image Anime, Midtown Comics, and a few other comic and anime shops in the next few weeks. If you don't live in NYC, you'll see them at the NYAF booth at AnimeNEXT and Otakon.

But what if you're not in NYC or aren't going to any summer cons? Or what if you're impatient? Well, I've got just the thing for you! The New York Anime Festival's Guess The NYAF Poster Memorial Day Contest! You'll find below the New York Anime Festival's 2008 poster...


Notice anything odd? That's right, somebody pixelated the whole thing. If you're the first to guess which show it is over at the NYAF forum, I'll be sending you out your very own copy of this non-pixelated, movie-theater-sized poster! A big huzzah and kudos to the mysterious anime company who made this poster possible.

African American Programming at BEA!

For the last 5 years, we've been proud to highlight the African American Pavilion at BEA and this year the pavilion promises to be bigger and better, but that's not the only African American programming featured at BEA this year. Read on for some details......

“One World, Many Voices”
African-American Booksellers Luncheon at BEA
May 29, 2008
11:30 am -12:30 pm
Sponsored by One World/Ballantine
Room 515B
please RSVP for the Luncheon
212/940-7771
rsvpluncheon@randomhouse.com



The African American Pavilion Heads to Los Angeles for their 5th Record-Breaking Year at BookExpo America, activities in the West Hall include:


FRIDAY
9-10am – Opening Day 5th Year Star Studded Gala celebration
1-3pm – The Harlem Book Fair at BookExpo
3-5pm - The African American Pavilion Welcome Reception

Saturday
10:OOam – Magic Johnson Meet & Greet
1-3 - The African American Pavilion Exhibitors Forum (meet the Exhibitors) 3-3-5 – Awards Program

Book Industry Characters - Steve Ross

Meet just one of the many characters that make up the book world. Every few days I'll post a new profile of a Book Industry Character and to meet more, create your profile on myBEA. On myBEA you can organize your schedule and to-do lists, build your FREE custom Daily Planner and connect with other Book Industry Characters! Membership to myBEA is FREE to all registered attendees. We have almost 6,000 attendees and 4,200 exhibitor staff and 927 Exhibiting Companies on My BEA now.

Who are you?
Steve Ross, Father of Jordan Benjamin Ross and Henry Daniel Ross; also, President and Publisher of the Collins Publishing Group, a Division of HarperCollins Publishers.

What role do you play in the book world?
Like most everyone in book publishing I play multiple roles, including facilitator and enabler—but I come from a musical family (my brother is first violinist for a major symphony orchestra and my grandfather performed, in roller skates, on the Vaudeville circuit as “The Flying Jew”) so I hope you won’t mind a musical metaphor; my roles currently combine that of conductor to a group of extremely talented, motivated and experienced individuals, and second fiddle to a strong bass and percussion section.

How long have you played that role?
This particular role, twelve years or so, but with this particular orchestra, nine months.

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?
Scavenging trash bins for jettisoned reading materials, spewing spittle as I thrust aside in disgust whatever I find to be a waste of trees, but also trying urgently to press the remainder of the crumpled and stained papers into the hands of frightened passersby. Or perhaps wait tables. Or be a lawyer—I hear that’s fun.

What are you reading?
At the moment, a questionnaire that asks, “What are you reading?” My bag and night table, however, include Lush Life, by Richard Price (dialogue like nobody’s business—except perhaps Elmore Leonard’s); The Yiddish Policemen’s Ball, by Michael Chabon (so imaginatively conceived and almost perfectly executed), and a proposal for The Anti-Bloat Diet (because apparently it’s a growing problem).

What's the last trip you took?
The last chemical trip was in the 70’s, but the last, and most lasting, major personal trip I took was either a motorcycle circumnavigation of New Zealand a few years ago, or the trek two years ago to the original crash site deep in the Andes where the story of “Alive” took place with Nando Parrado and his family; Nando (played by Ethan Hawke in the film) wrote a magnificent book about his tragic adventure, a book I had the good fortune to publish (titled Miracle in the Andes), a book that taught me more about love as a force with its own gravitational pull than any other book I’ve read, so to be able to accompany him—and the family he built after the crash—was an honor and adventure I’ll never forget.

What would the title of your life story be?
Clinging to the Shoestrings of Giants

Who would play you in the film adaptation?
Jason Alexander. If he’s too busy or too “big” then of course the fallback is obvious: George Clooney. But I’d lobby for Jason.

If you wrote your life story, what 3 adjectives would appear on the dust jacket to describe it?
“Driven”, “mistake-prone” (I’m hoping that with the dash that only counts as one), and “effervescent”, primarily because I admire both its sound and it onomatopoetic qualities.

What's the worst part of your job?
The need to say “no” so often to such earnest and well-intentioned people.

How many BEA's have you attended?
Approximately 22.

What’s your favorite BEA moment?
I have two: first, asking Toni Morrison if she’d like an “In ‘n’ Out” burger, and second, Amy Sedaris’ detailed discussion of female genital hygiene at last year’s breakfast, when she followed Barack Obama and was followed by John Updike, who held his own admirably under the circumstances.
No, wait I have a third: watching Bruce Springsteen play with the Rock Bottom Remainders (Florida?) and then meeting him at the after-party.

What's your drink of choice (latte, scotch, vitamin water, etc)?
Ketel One with a splash of tonic. (This has not been a paid promotional advertisement. However, this space is for rent.)

What excites you about our business?
The infectious optimism, altruism, and sheer love of books that each rolling wave of young people bring into our industry (before they absorb the ghoulish realities of a low velocity, low margin, business competing against an increasing bandwidth of media and games and music and TV channels and cultural noise for a finite range of public attention); the possibilities each day brings to discover a new talent or work with a new author with a fresh and unique perspective; the dynamism and rapidity with which the industry has begun to change and adapt, in many ways for the positive, and the wide range of intelligent minds working diligently to keep books alive and thriving in our culture as the sacred and potentially life-changing objects we all know them to be.

Book Brawl!

I think more book readings need fist fights. I'm not kidding. I also loved A Million Little Pieces and still do. I saw Frey read in Minneapolis and loved it, he's a fascinating guy.....

His reading in L.A. last week turned into an all out brawl.

See the full item from the NY Post.

How Cool Is McSweeney's?

Got McSweeney's Volume 27 in the mail today and as usual the design is beyond cool - it's 3 small books in a really simply yet hipply designed sleeve. One of the three books is a graphic novel (for lack of a better term - but who needs terminology anymore?) called Autophobia by Art Spiegelman (think I'll be getting that signed when i see him at BookExpo next week!). It's crazy, creative, and in the McSweeney's fashion I've begun to take for granted - really flippin cool.

Also in the trio is a book of short stories including pieces by Jim Shepard and Stephen King.

Ah, the nerds heyday, sweet ass books in the mailbox.......

-L

Asia Comes To BookExpo in Record Numbers

BookExpo is a unique amongst the leading global book fairs in that that it moves all over the U.S. from year to year. This assures that one show is never the same as the last which is a good thing and a challenge all at once, but what it does guarantee is that every show has it’s own personality. This year in L.A. we will see a much larger presence from Asian publishers and service providers, particularly from China and Singapore. This is in part thanks to the shorter flights because we are on the West Coast, but just as much it’s a about a strategy we set forth a few years ago.

I’ve now spent several weeks in Beijing meeting with Booksellers, publishers, and governmental agencies and our new Director of International Affairs, Ruediger Wischenbart has also made a trip to Beijing (this is the first time referring to Ruediger by his news title! He’s been a long time consultant on our team and we are just now giving him an official title!) all this means that the Global Market Forum that we launched last year will be an intense market study on China and one that is truly world class.

So why does this matter? Our industry, like all is getting smaller, yet larger, local yet more global. BEA in L.A. will certainly have a focus on California booksellers and publishers and to continue that focus we’ve gone halfway around the world to build relationships and we are now seeing it come to fruition in the form of unprecedented Chinese participation at BEA.

In total, three panels will be featured and the Forum will be co-sponsored by the leading Chinese trade publication China Publishing Today. The seminars include:

Panel 1: Chinese Reading: Success stories between China and the West. Books and issues that have opened the doors to the China publishing market.

Panel 2: Chinese Publishing: Mapping the market and extending the partnerships.

Panel 3: Chinese Retail: Bookshops, chain stores, and imports & exports in China.

The speakers from China will include the following top companies and representatives: the successful trade house Changjiang Press Group (who launched Wolf Totem); Chinese publishing wizard Larry Lu Jinbo (who is the brain behind the explosive growth of young adult fiction and many innovative internet ventures); China’s largest trade and educational publisher (Higher Education Press); and the innovative China Youth International (which is about to set up offices in the U.S.).

We have hundreds of Chinese booksellers and publishers planning to attend BookExpo this year, I hope it will prove to be a watershed year in BookExpo highlighting the Asian publishing and bookselling community – after all, we are all part of the same community.

I hope you'll join me in celebrating the global book community in L.A. next week and in welcoming our Chinese counterparts to BookExpo America!

-L

Book Industry Characters - Nora Rawlinson

Meet just one of the many characters that make up the book world. Every few days I'll post a new profile of a Book Industry Character and to meet more, create your profile on myBEA. On myBEA you can organize your schedule and to-do lists, build your FREE custom Daily Planner and connect with other Book Industry Characters! Membership to myBEA is FREE to all registered attendees. We have almost 6,000 attendees and 4,200 exhibitor staff and 927 Exhibiting Companies on My BEA now.

Who are you?
Nora Rawlinson, Co-Founder (with Fred Ciporen) of Early Word (http://www.earlyword.com/), a new Web site that connects librarians and publishers. We want to treat the library market the way good publishing sales reps treat their customers -- giving them insider tips on the upcoming list and recently pubbed titles that are on the rise.

Why did you start Early Word?
Libraries are an important market for publishers, but most publishers don’t know how to reach them. That’s why I’m doing two panels this year -- How Libraries Buy (Saturday, 9:30 to 10:30, Room 402 A) & What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew (Saturday, 1:30 to 2:30, Room 402A). The Web site gives librarians useful publishing contact information and identifies titles that are getting buzz. For instance, we were the first to write about The Art of Racing in the Rain, which had great buzz at the Public Library Assoc. meeting at the end of March.

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?
Working in a library!

What are you reading?
I just finished re-reading a 1980 book on publishing, The Blockbuster Complex. It got a lot of attention when it was first published as an article (a very long article) in the New Yorker. The author, Thomas Whitehead, announced that publishing had become a business (shocker), with books selling as many as 200,000 copies, that big money was being paid for advances and the status of editors had changed (and, as a result, the standards of editing had declined) and the midlist was suffering.

I find this oddly encouraging – if we’re still talking about midlist books, it means they are still with us. In fact, midlist has a new life, since many trade paperback successes are born there.

The book also has some great publishing lore and a wonderful interview with then S&S CEO, Dick Snyder, which is vintage Snyder. Get from your library.

What's the last trip you took?
Two weeks in an apartment in Taormina, Sicily. Our balcony had a great view of Mt. Etna and the Aeolian Sea. I took SO many pictures of Etna; it changes constantly. Can’t wait to go back.

What's the worst part of your job?
My boss (please don’t let her see this!). She’s demanding, unreasonable and a perfectionist. Plus, she never gives me a vacation.

How many BEA's have you attended?
So many that I may have actually attended more ABA’s than BEA’s. I went to my first one when I was the librarian in charge of buying for Baltimore County Public Library. The ABA was definitely not librarian-friendly. One of our wholesalers urged us to go because “that’s where the books are” and he snuck me in. What a revelation. I went every year after. When I was Editor of Library Journal, I encouraged other librarians to attend. We even made up “I Buy Books” stickers for librarians to put on their badges, to try to generate librarian friendliness. It’s great to see the change.

What’s your favorite BEA moment?
I think it’s coming up – I can’t wait to see Lewis Black perform. My second favorite was watching Knopf publicity director Paul Bogaards talk to the Secret Service on his cell phone when Bill Clinton was the BEA keynoter.

What's your drink of choice (latte, scotch, vitamin water, etc)?
Whatever you’re buying.

What excites you about our business?
Trying to figure out what draws people to particular books.

NY Comic Con - See Us in the Funny Papers

Check it out, we got these comics with NY Comic Con mentions in them from our friend Gail at Konami who got them from a friend, who if the email string is right, is in the Navy. It's a like a chain letter, you just never know where it came from or where it's going. Cool to see where impressions of NYCC show up around the web and world - from Frank Millers blog to Working Daze......

-L

Dan Pink and I - The BEA Interview

I bristle at the sound of my own voice while listening to the interview but it was so cool to sit and talk with Dan Pink for an hour! Really, I had a blast just soaking up his ideas and answers.....At one point he mentioned working for former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. I didn't have the gumption to make a joke about seeing Reich jogging once when I lived in DC - topless. Probably a good thing I didn't go there, if you listen I was already teetering on the edge of respectability!

Dan will be at BEA participating in a pair of Upfront and Unscripted sessions on Saturday, May 31. From 10:00AM – 10:30AM, he will host a session with Art Speigleman, author of Breakdowns: The Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!, as his guest. At 11:00AM, the tables will turn as Pink takes questions from Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother.

Take a listen to my interview:

Join Me For A Glass of Champagne? Or Is That Too Foreword?

My good friend Victoria Sutherland and the entire crew over at Foreword Mag is celebrating the publications 10th birthday with a big line up of fun having at BookExpo. Join me in congratulating Foreword at a champagne reception scheduled at the INDY LOUNGE on Friday at 4pm immediately following the Foreword Book of the Year Awards.

Foreword is also co-hosting the Consortium party (after hours Saturday) but you've gotta have an invite to that one. However, thanks to my Minnesota roots (just like Consortium) I'm hoping they'll send me one!

-L

Meet Over 1,000 Authors At BookExpo!

How big is the autographing program at BEA going to be this year? Consider these names are just a handful of the authors that will be appearing on just one day of the three day program.

Neil Gaiman, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Brooke Shields, Jon Scieszka, Robert F Kennedy Jr. , Judy Blume, George Hamilton, Garth Stein, Anita Shreve, Seth Kantner, Brad Meltzer, Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Cory Doctorow, Kate DiCamillo, Sherman Alexie, Laura Numeroff, Eoin Colfer, Paul Feig, Berkeley Breathed, Brian Selznick, Dennis Lehane, R.L. Stine, Scott McCloud, Jeff Smith, Gary Hart...

The official numbers on autographing: 926 signings (auto area and in booth) plus another 100+ in booth that came in after the print deadline (I’ll try and get those online soon).

Grand total: 1026!

Click here for the full program

-L

Singapore, Meet BookExpo, Book, Meet Singapore – Matchmaking at BEA

So what are book fairs really about? Parties? Seeing old friends? Meeting new one’s? Getting drunk and embarrassing yourself in front of co-workers? Yes on all fronts.

I tell people that if I’m doing my job well, BEA should be planned serendipity. Meeting content solutions experts from the around the world may not be highest on your list as some of the other things I mentioned, but I wouldn’t be doing the planning part of my planned serendipity well if I didn’t bring this to your attention.

Part of our Global Markets Forum on China specifically and Asia in general is about matchmaking and we have a huge contingent of content solution providers coming all the way from Singapore just to meet you!

The old image about outsourcing to Asia was, for printing just as well as for all the rest: To save cost. The new thing is: Yes, it DOES come at attractive prices, but quality, fulfillment and even green certificates are among the strengths particularly of the Singaporean printers just as well; PLUS don't think they are all the same (and, on top, some weird sweatshops with children working) - they're not. They have pretty similar standards as us, and they are very specialized, some more about the big jobs, others more about those highly specialized niche jobs like art, sticker books or that creative things that art director's are so fond of (and win those awards with) - you see those specializations at www.wischenbart.com/singapore oh yes, and we customize our matching as much as possible: Just let us (BEA / my team) know what a publisher wants, and we will try to find them good friends overseas - this is the serendipity part!

-L

Book Industry Characters - Cathy Langer

Meet just one of the many characters that make up the book world. Every few days I'll post a new profile of a Book Industry Character and to meet more, create your profile on myBEA. On myBEA you can organize your schedule and to-do lists, build your FREE custom Daily Planner and connect with other Book Industry Characters! Membership to myBEA is FREE to all registered attendees. We have almost 6,000 attendees and 4,200 exhibitor staff on EventMingle. 927 Exhibiting Companies on My BEA now.

Who are you? Existentially I'm not certain, but physically I'm Cathy Langer

What role do you play in the book world? I am happy to say that I have the best job on earth. I am an independent bookseller! My primary position is as the Lead Buyer for the Tattered Cover Book Stores in Denver. I'm also on the Board of the American Booksellers Association.

How long have you played that role? I began my career at the Tattered Cover in 1977.

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing? Lord help me, I'd probably be a lawyer, but Joyce Meskis showed me another path to travel.

What are you reading? Fahrenheit 451 (Really. We should all reread it before it's too late.), Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III and I just finished the new Dennis Lehane, The Given Day, and a first novel from Unbridled Books called In Hovering Flight.

What's the last trip you took? Last pure pleasure trip was to Sanibel Island, Florida. My idea of heaven is reading on the beach. Last work trip was to Louisville for the Winter Institute. That was pretty much pure pleasure as well.

What would the title of your life story be? Daring Book for Girls

Who would play you in the film adaptation? Though some might suggest Meg Ryan, I would consider Meryl Streep if she would get serious, or, the perfect fit would be Helen Mirren.

If you wrote your life story, what 3 adjectives would appear on the dust jacket to describe it? Heartwarming, joyous and cinematic

What's the worst part of your job? My rear end gets sore when I sit with reps all day.

How many BEA's have you attended? 19 or 20

What's your favorite BEA moment? Oooh, that's really hard. Being almost alone with Paul McCartney. (Darn that Linda, may she rest in peace.) Dining with Al Gore. Partying with Bruce Springsteen and the Rock Bottom Remainders for a 40th birthday to remember.

What's your drink of choice (latte, scotch, vitamin water, etc)? Macallan 12, neat.

What excites you about our business? Books that change lives, books that make us think, books that let us escape and all the fabulous people that write, publish, sell and read them. That's why BEA is so cool! We're all here.

Neil Gaiman Interview & Get Your BookExpo Special Event Tickets Now!

Ticket sales for the BookExpo special events have gone through the roof this past week, so if you are thinking about getting tickets, get them now. Click here for tickets.

Meanwhile, I really think that the Children’s Breakfast lineup is perhaps the best we have EVER had. Sherman Alexie, Neil Gaiman, Judy Blume and Eoin Colfer – with opening remarks by Jon Scieszka.

Really, this is an impressive lineup and it will only further cement my fledgling best friendship with Neil Gaiman; I talked with him in Beijing, he did an amazing talk at NY Comic Con, and in the days leading up to NYCC, he even typed my name on his blog (and not in reference to a medical procedure). If this is not grounds for a best friendship, than what is? Really, I’m pretty stoked that I’m getting to host Neil at 2 events in less than two months, so listen to the interview and then buy some tickets to the breakfast!

-L

Great Programs for Indy Pubs at BookExpo!

Since I've been running BEA we've had a great relationship with the New York Center for Independent Publishing and Foreword Magazine, in fact these two groups do a ton of programming for Indy Publishers at the show. BooKExpo is a massive event and it's difficult sometime for a smaller independent publisher to finds its own community in the midst of a million square feet of insanity. So I'm really proud of the relationship we've built with NYCIP and Foreword, they've built a village for the hip, indy pubs at BEA.....

Check out some of the happenings at the show.....

L


During Book Expo America, be part of an informal Q&A discussion with publishing specialists. Space is very limited, so email smallpress@aol.com to ensure that you meet some of publishing’s leading authorities, and benefit from their expertise. These seminars are co-sponsored by the New York Center for Independent Publishing and Foreword Magazine, with support from Book Expo America and will be held at Independent Press Lounge, booth 5639. Please note these free events are only open to BEA attendees.


Friday, May 30th


9.00am: How to Get the Most Out of Book Expo: A Book Fair Briefing - Dan Poynter, Consultant, Publisher and Author of The Self Publishing Manual.

11.00am: How to Make Real Money Selling Books - Brian Jud, Book Marketing Works, Author of Beyond the Bookstore and How to Make Real Money Selling Books

Saturday, May 31st

11:00am How Publishers Can Maximize Sales Through Bookstores - Marcella Smith, Director of Small Press and Vendor Relations, Barnes and Noble.

12:00pm: How to Structure a Deal: Flat fees vs Royalties vs Profit Shares - Deirdre Smerillo, Consutltant, Smerillo Associates, former Contracts Director of Hyperion and Random House.

1:00pm: Your Book Is Your Hook: How to Increase Your Sales - Jennifer S. Wilkov, book consultant, marketing platform strategist and author of Dating Your Money and co-author of The Green Guide Girls: Guide to Book Publishing.

2:00pm: Publishing Law 101: Copyright & Contract Myths Busted & Sneaky Lawyer Tricks Revealed - Lloyd Jassin Esq., Specialist in Copyright, Trademark & Publishing Law and Author of The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook.

Sunday June 1

11.00am: The Seven Keys to Marketing Books This Year - John Kremer, Consultant and Author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books

These programs are co-sponsored by the New York Center for Independent Publishing, Foreword Magazine, with additional support from Book Expo America.

Death Note Ticket Winners!

Last week, the New York Anime Festival, VIZ Pictures, and Fathom Event offered up some free pairs of tickets to the May 21st screening of the Death Note live-action movie in New York City. Yesterday, the winners were chosen.

Congratulations to Kelly Davidson, Dani Gavilanes, and Scott Von Schilling!

For all the entrants who weren't selected, if you'd like to see Death Note on the big screen, check out deathnotefilms.com for show times and locations. Also, keep on checking the Anime Festival's website and blog, too, as we'll have more contests coming to you throughout the summer!

PEN@BookExpo

Over the last year plus I've gotten to know a number of people at the PEN American Center here in NYC and I'm continually impressed with the work the do on a multitude of causes but notably freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I'm really pleased to be working with PEN closely this year on a few events at BEA and I'm certain it will be the beginning of a long relationship.

In getting to know Andrew Proctor at PEN we've talked often about what we can do together between PEN and BEA, and I'm a firm believer in building relationships with organizations you respect and believe it. PEN is one of those organizations.

Plus, the primary constituency of PEN (although they are expanding their base) are authors and each year BEA attracts more and more authors to the event - and not just authors with a forthcoming book, but authors that see the show as the community they associate with (I expect over 900 this year at the show) all this makes the PEN relationship even more natural.

So check out what we've got planned and buy a ticket to the champagne reception we've got planed for Saturday at BookExpo. Make a donation to PEN and come join us for a toast and some good mixing with a great organization. Buy your PEN reception invitation here.

Reception for "Something to Hide: Writers and Artists Against the Surveillance State."
When: Saturday, May 31What time: 4–5:30
Where: Petree Plaza
Hosted by: Roxana Robinson from the PEN Advisory Council and Jameel Jaffer, Director, National Security Project for the ACLU.

Meet and greet Judy Blume, Jim Crace, Andre Dubus III, Chris Lawford, Dennis Lehane, Azar Nafisi, and more, in addition to PEN and ACLU staff members.

The reception immediatly follows the PEN Panel on the Surrvaliance State in room 404B (2:30-4:30)

A reading to provoke reflection on controversial post-9/11 government surveillance programs in the U.S. PEN has been challenging some of the most pernicious of these programs; we have been working with booksellers, publishers, and librarians to restore privacy protections for bookstore and library records, for example, and this month we joined other leading human rights organizations in filing a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of NSA telephone and internet surveillance. We would like to present “Something to Hide” in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union, with whom we filed this lawsuit and with whom we have been working to curb some of the abuses occurring under current U.S. policies.

Book Industry Characters - Talia Ross!

Meet just one of the many characters that make up the book world. Every few days I'll post a new profile of a Book Industry Character and to meet more, create your profile on myBEA. On myBEA you can organize your schedule and to-do lists, build your FREE custom Daily Planner and connect with other Book Industry Characters! Membership to myBEA is FREE to all registered attendees.

Who are you? Can I get back to you after my 30th birthday?

What role do you play in the book world? I am the Director of Library Marketing for Macmillan’s adult publishers. Translation: I connect books and authors with libraries

How long have you played that role? 4 years on August 11th

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing? Working in the ER of the ASPCA

What are you reading? White Nights by Ann Cleeves and The Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll

What's the last trip you took? I was most recently in Kingsport for the Tennessee Library Association and before that in Minneapolis for the Public Library Association and before that in Israel

What would the title of your life story be? Hmmmm…. Forbidden Donut. (I love donuts and wish I could eat them three times a day. Strawberry frosting kicks serious donut butt.)

Who would play you in the film adaptation? Claire Danes (I worshipped “My So Called Life”)

If you wrote your life story, what 3 adjectives would appear on the dust jacket to describe it? Ambitious, energetic and of course goofy

What's the worst part of your job? Sitting at my desk – I’d rather be on the road visiting libraries
How many BEA's have you attended? 4 or possibly 6

What’s your favorite BEA moment? When I scored an ARC of Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner – which I still haven’t read.

What's your drink of choice (latte, scotch, vitamin water, etc)? Diet Coke

What excites you about our business? Gory mysteries!

Superfudge!!!!! Catch The BEA Judy Blume Interview

I loooooved, Judy Blume books as a kid! Take a listen to our interview with her from the BookExpo Cast site.

Judy will be at BEA 2008 on Friday, May 30 at the Children’s Book and Author Breakfast. This breakfast will take place in the Concourse Hall from 8:00AM – 9:30AM. To get tickets and info, just click here.

-L

Final, A Podcast Player!

I finally got a nifty little flash player for the blog, look for this little guy often as I bring you some of the cool pre-show podcasts we've been working on.

I got to interview Dan Pink last week and we yakked for about an hour, it was a blast, and I really do think I have a future in talk shows - although Dan might feel completely different. The interview will be posted this week and I'll use my new flash super pod cast cool tool to bring it to you right here.

In the meantime, I'll warm up the crowd with my show preview chat.

MC CHRIS PERFORMS AT NYAF

A few days ago, I said the New York Anime Festival would be announcing its first 2008 guest this week. Well, not wasting any time, I'm very pleased to announce this guest -- mc chris -- today. mc chris calls his music "rap for dorks," but his blend of hip hop beats and lyrics paying tribute to anything and everything a geek could love really has to be heard to be appreciated. And, hey, you can do just at mcchris.com.

(Also, mc chris is a veteran of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Working at Adult Swim for five years, he provided the voice of MC Pee Pants in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Hesh on Sealab 2021, and various voices in The Brak Show.)

I'm very happy to announce mc chris's participation in the New York Anime Festival and chose specifically to lead off this year's guest list with him. mc chris isn't from Japan. He doesn't voice anyone in Ultimate Mop Daisuke DX. Instead, he's at NYAF because -- while not directly connected to anime -- he's a big part of anime fan culture in the USA. The New York Anime Festival definitely has anime at its center, but just as New York Comic Con isn't just about comic books, I really want to make the New York Anime Festival a showcase and celebration of everything that's a part of anime culture and anime fandom culture is both the US and Japan.

mc chris's concert begins at 8:30 PM on Friday, September 26 in the New York Anime Festival's Main Theater. He will be signing autographs from 3-4 PM on Friday and 11 AM-12 PM on Sunday in the Autograph Room. mc chris is holding a Q&A with fans from 4-5 PM on Saturday in the Anime Culture Panel Room. To attend mc chris's concert, you'll need a separate mc chris ticket priced at $10. Convention tickets and mc chris concert tickets are both available now at newyorkanimefestival.com.

In summation, you (and by you I mean all the fans who've e-mailed me since last April asking for him) like mc chris, I do, too, his music -- an amalgam of anime, fantasy, sci-fi, and video game themes -- is pretty frakking awesome, and it's even more frakking awesome that he's coming to NYAF.

First NYAF Guest Coming Today!

It's 1 AM here in New York City.  Today -- well technically yesterday -- was filled with preparing for my buddy Ed Stemkowski's birthday.  By preparing, I of course mean buying him a Gundam toy, buying myself a Macross toy, buying my girlfriend a Wii game, and then almost buying $100 worth of Gurren Lagann books at Kinokuniya.  I'll be heading to bed in a bit -- after Doctor Who -- and I hope I get enough rest because I've got a big day ahead of me.

1) I've got to buy those Gurren Lagann books.

2) I've got to meet up with Corinne Orr.

3) I've got to announce the first NYAF 2008 Guest.

Didn't I just announce the first guest with item number two?  Nope. 

You're Invited - Emerging Leaders Party at BEA

Last year I worked with Jessica Stockton Bagnulo of McNally Robinson and Written Nerd fame to stage a killer Emerging Leaders party at Floyd NY in Brooklyn. The picture indicates what truly professional party planners we are - be warned. Weare at it again with some help from Lisa at the ABA as well.

I’m told by our party guru here at BEA HQ, Beth, that this years party scene, The Woods, is even hipper than Floyd – it has a doorman, might it even have a velvet rope? Starting at 7pm the Wednesday before BookExpo it’ll be filled with booksellers under 40 and some great authors. Take a look at the particulars below and if you are going to be in L.A. for the big show, stop by and BookExpo will buy you a drink!

What: BEA Emerging Leaders Party

Where: The Woods - 1533 N. La Brea Hollywood

When: Wednesday, May 28th, 7:00pm - 9:00pm (open bar from 7:00pm - 8:00pm)

RSVP: Space is limited, must RSVP no later than Wednesday, May 21st. RSVP Here

Enjoy cocktails and mix & mingle with some of our favorite authors:

▪ Cylin Busby Author of The Year We Disappeared: A Father - Daughter Memoir (Bloomsbury, August)

▪ Curtis Sittenfeld Author of American Wife (Random House, September)

▪ Diana Spechler Author of Who By Fire (HarperCollins, September)

▪ Tony O'NeillAuthor of Down and Out on Murder Mile (HarperCollins, October)

▪ Jonathan Evison Author of All About Lulu (Soft Skull, July)

▪ Scott McCloud Author of Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991 (HarperCollins, July)

Where's My Head At?

Man, blog drought. My apologies. I gotta be honest with you (am I ever anything but?) I have been totally spent the last two weeks. After BookExpo last year I blogged candidly about the loss of my creative mojo, and after NYCC, I think I lost my horsepower. I've been really low energy for the last 2 weeks and for anyone that knows me, that is extremely unusual! That meant coming home and blogging a few posts every night until late was just not an option.

So I've taken my ginko, done my meditation, eaten my Wheaties and perhaps most importantly, I've eaten my Kaki.

Expect posts regularly.

Go Kaki!

-L

Death Note Movie Ticket Giveaway!

The New York Anime Festival, VIZ Pictures, and Fathom Events are very pleased to offer two pairs of free tickets to a special May 21st screening of the Death Note live-action film in New York City! The screening takes place at 7:30 PM at the Union Square Stadium 14 (850 Broadway).

What do you need to do to enter to win? Simply e-mail me – ptataraATreedexpo.com – with your name, e-mail address, and mailing address before 12 PM EST on Monday. The e-mail's subject line must be "I Want Death Note Tickets". I'll randomly be selecting two winners, and each will receive a pair of free tickets to the event.

Death Note will be playing for two nights only in NYC and, if you want to order tickets to be sure you see it on the big screen, you can do that right now at deathnotefilms.com.

If you're unfamiliar with the world of Death Note, it's the story of ace student Light Yagami and his Death Note, a notebook dropped by a death god into the human world. Any human whose name is written in the Death Note dies, and Light vows to use this power to create the perfect world. When authorities, though, realize the number of criminals dropping dead, they send the legendary detective L to investigate these killings. Both Light and L believe themselves to be on the side of justice, and the two must match wits to determine the fate of the Death Note and the fate of the world.

Get me that e-mail by noon on Monday!

When's The Anime Festival Announcing Guests?

How about next week?

Love Mode at the Knitting Factory

New York Comic Con is over and the New York Anime Festival is still months away. So, how are you supposed to spend all your time? Dunno, but I do know how you should spend your Friday night. Love Mode - Japan Beat at the Knitting Factory.

Love Mode, organized by Karaterice, is a concert series blending traditional Japanese music with contemporary elements like pop and jazz, and the latest Love Mode concert begins at 7:30 PM this Friday at the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard Street) in New York City.

The event features J-Pop duo Zan, NYC-based Japanese group Love Etc., and the Okinawan pop, folk, and festival musical experience HAPPYFUNSMILE.

HAPPYFUNSMILE performed at the New York Anime Festival last December and I'll admit I'm a big fan. If you saw HAPPYFUNSMILE at NYAF, I invite you to the Knitting Factory this Friday to see them again. If you missed HAPPYFUNSMILE in December, I still invite you to take them in this Friday along with Love Etc. and Zan.

Doors open at 6:30 and tickets are $10.

I hope to see you there!