My BEA Flip Video Tour continues backstage at the Saturday Author Lunch. Not sure the sound is great......
From the Perseus Book: The Sequel project, a fun vid, plus take a look at the official Book: The Sequel YouTube Channel right here.
Whew, as the boys on the BEA team say, my dogs are barking! Happy to be back in the room blogging and the shoes are off for a few minutes.....
The hall felt less jammed today than Friday, but in my conversations with exhibitors traffic was good. The attendee numbers bear that felling out as the number of verified attendees through end of day Saturday is about 4% less than the total number of verified attendees through the end of day Saturday, 2007. If flat is the new up, then near flat is the new near up I suppose.....
An interesting stat is that members of the media in attendance is up to 1700 from 1250 in 07.
I'll try to do a random tidbit post with some flip vid after this, unless the party circuit calls me.....
As for tomorrow, join me in celebrating the last Sunday EVER of BookExpo! As you know next year we go to a weekday 3 day (1 day of education, 2 shows days) format as opposed to this 4 day format. Based on conversations on the floor today, I don't think anyone will be missing Sunday. Maybe we'll throw a memorial service tomorrow!
-L
I'll be honest, I thought the attendance at the author breakfasts and lunches might dip due to the economy. Its an easy place to save some bucks if you're attending BookExpo, but yesterdays Children's Author Breakfast and today's are both packed. I'm so thrilled.....
Craig Ferguson just wrapped up his intro and he was brilliant. In reference to the other panelists literary chops he said, "We'll get some real authors out here in a moment. I'm just a guy with a pushy editor, a powerful publishing house and a TV show."
He was awesome......
L
Lance Fensterman
Reed Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
C2E2
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!
Just got numbers for the day and so far verified attendees are up 5% over 2007. Yeah, read that again!
Here's the explanation - we verify attendees when you get your badge, you are scanned and we know you are here. So looking at the verified attendees through the end of Friday this year versus verified attendees through the end of Friday in 2007 the number of attendees is 5% larger.
I will leave it to the "pundits" to decide why, what that means and if it's good or bad, but for the end of day one, I'm extremely happy to see positive growth when very few expected it.....
-L
Opening day is almost wrapped up and from my biased vantage point the aisles seem busy and people seem upbeat......
But why use words?
NYAF is proud to announce it is partnering with the New York Asian Film Festival and TOKYOPOP to celebrate Lolita Fashion Day at New York City's Kinokuniya Bookstore. Taking place Saturday, June 6 in celebration of International Lolita Day, Kinokuniya Bookstore, located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, will present a day-long series of activities highlighting the diverse world of cute, cool, elegant, and hip Lolita fashion in modern Japan.
Kinokuniya's Lolita Fashion Day will include a selection of special activities aimed at Lolita fashionistas and New Yorkers up for a unique experience…
Kinokuniya Lolita Fashion Day Events
Gothic & Lolita Bible Giveaway: Any customer who comes into Kinokuniya Bookstore at 1073 Avenue of the Americas on Saturday, June 6 can enter to win a selection of Lolita items from TOKYOPOP's Gothic & Lolita Bible. Items in the giveaway include Ergi black bloomers with bow trim, an Angelic Pretty long-sleeved black bolero jacket with bows and lace trim, an Angelic Pretty cotton sailor blouse with lace trim, an Angelic Pretty white wallet with bow, and a HN+nois lock and key necklace. The giveaway is located beside Kinokuniya's cashier, and winners will be drawn, contacted, and their prizes mailed the week of June 7th.
Café Zaiya Sweet Treats: Any customer who comes into Kinokuniya's Café Zaiya wearing Lolita fashion will receive a selection of complimentary sweets with their order.
Gothic & Lolita Bible Photoshoot: TOKYOPOP's Gothic & Lolita Bible and photographer Anna Fischer present a special Lolita photoshoot from 1-2 PM on Kinokuniya's second floor. Photographs taken at Lolita Fashion Day will appear on tokyopop.com. Come by Kinokuniya during this photoshoot to have your fashion and smile on display for Lolitas across the USA.
New York Asian Film Festival Preview: Join Subway Cinema's Marc Walkow from 3-4 PM as he previews this summer's New York Asian Film Festival (June 19 - July 5), the eighth edition of what The New York Times called "one of the city's most valuable events" and what The Village Voice proclaimed to be a "super-freaky mega-mix of art house and grindhouse." Learn first-hand about the festival's most exciting Japanese (and other) cinematic offerings and watch selected trailers and clips from some of the films, such as 20TH CENTURY BOYS, PRIDE, THE MAGIC HOUR, ANTIQUE, LOVE EXPOSURE, and more. You'll also hear about the festival's many guests and special events and be able to pick up screening schedules and festival postcards.
Kinokuniya Bookstore, the New York Anime Festival, the New York Asian Film Festival, and TOKYOPOP invite anime fans, Lolitas, and New Yorkers up for an unforgettable experience to come out to Kinokuniya's Lolita Fashion Day on Saturday, June 6!
Were you at the NYCC Fan Happy Hour at Dave and Busters last week? If you weren't, you missed out! We had a blast hanging out with fans, raffling off prizes and handing out Terminator Salvation swag. And we'll be doing it again! Meet us for the next NYCC Happy Hour at 5:30 PM at Dave and Busters in Times Square on June 10! More details coming soon, but mark your calendars now!
Here is the 3rd of 3 of posts with some hopefully helpful BEA 411. Here I pick some evening events and parties that are open to anyone. The word is there will be less parties at BEA this year, but there are plenty out there that anyone can get into…..even me! Send me more if I am missing anything, ok???
A reminder that during the show I’ll do some blogging (mobile blogging) and I’ll also have my handy new flip video camera in hand to capture a few rare moments “live”. I hope to see you at the show and feel free to email or txt me, I’ll be wired to whole weekend….probably in more ways than one in fact.
L
Wednesday
The Emerging Leaders/Young to Publishing Group party and panel.
Note: You've got to be a member of one of these groups to attend. So if you fit the bill, why not join? Check the web sites and see: ABA's Emerging Leaders. AAP's Young to Publishing.
The Party:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7PM to 9PM
Last Exit Bar 136 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201
The Panel:
Wednesday, May 27th 5:30 pm
Marriott Hotel at Brooklyn Bridge Metrotech Room
The Association of American Publishers’ Young to Publishing Group Presents
How To Get A Job Like Ours (…in 63 Easy Steps)
Hear from Geoff Kloske, Vice President and Publisher of Riverhead Books (an imprint of Penguin Group USA) and Geoff Shandler, Editor-In-Chief of Little, Brown & Company (Hachette Book Group) on their opinions about book publishing today, in an era of ongoing digitization and changing retail landscapes. A thoughtful Q&A moderated by Ed Nawotka from Publishers Weekly
Thursday
Going Away Party for ABA CEO Avin Domnitz
9pm-12am
Hotel ABA (Brooklyn Bridge Marriott)
PMA Party with Bomb Magazine
7-9:30
Housing Works Bookstore (126 Crosby Street)
Join Granta contributors to celebrate the launch of issue 106
RSVP to rsvpbea@granta.com
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund BEA Party
What: CBLDF's Book Expo Welcome Party
When: May 28, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Where: Hudson Terrace, 621 W 46th Street between 11th & 12th Ave
How Much: $10 suggested donation, and free to CBLDF members!
Friday
New American Writing: A GRANTA 30th Anniversary celebration
2-3pm
The Jacob Javits Center, Room 1E04
Join novelists Paul Auster, Olga Grushin and Sherman Alexie for a discussion about the role of American writing in world literature.
BookExpo America’s Global Market Forum Cultural Programming
7:00PM
Goethe Institute New York Wyoming Building, 5 East 3rd Street
The Thousand and One Nights”. Muhsin Al-Musawi presents his new book, Amal Al-Jubouri reads Arabic and European remixes of “The Thousand and One Nights” (English/German/Arabic) organized by the Berlin-based cultural association west-östlicher diwanh.
The BEA Tweet-Up
8-10pm
GreenHouse (150 Varick Street)
Hellfire
I’ve said too much already.
Saturday
BookExpo America’s Global Market Forum Cultural Programming
7:00PM
The New York Public Library, Manhattan, 42nd Street
New Eyes on the Arab World—Breaking Down Barriers of Fear and PrejudiceSponsored by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, in cooperation with the Center for Literary Translation at Columbia University and ArteEast.
Peter Theroux, Raja Alem, Tom McDonough, Muhammed Al Mur & Joe Sacco with Sulaiman Al Hattlan, moderator.
Five writers, Arab and American, who have taken innovative approaches to portraying the Arab World to an American audience discuss the challenges they have faced and the successes they have achieved in breaking down the barriers of fear and prejudice through their work. Whether through travelogue, memoir, graphic novel, children's literature or translation, these writers have widened the lens and sharpened the focus of American readers' view, setting a new precedent for sensitivity, creativity and insight in literature about the Arab World.
Sponsored by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation
Perseus Booth Party
4pm
Perseus Booth, #4335
Marvel Booth Party
4pm
Marvel Booth, #2762
Read How You Want Party
5pm
The New Title Showcase display in the Crystal Palace of the Javits Center
Here is the 2nd of 3 of posts with some hopefully helpful BEA 411. In this installment I humbly offer my favorite events and panels happening during the show. I'm loathe to play favorites so the list is a bit long, so happy scrolling!
A reminder that during the show I’ll do some blogging (mobile blogging) and I’ll also have my handy new flip video camera in hand to capture a few rare moments “live”. I hope to see you at the show and feel free to email or txt me, I’ll be wired to whole weekend….probably in more ways than one in fact.
-L
Thursday, May 28th
The Tie That Binds: A Conversation Between Authors & Indie Booksellers
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Special Events Hall
Keynote panel discussion focusing on the importance of the relationship between authors and independent bookstores, and exploring how that relationship can continue to grow and prosper in challenging times. Moderated by Roxanne Coady, owner of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, the panel will feature four of today's bestselling authors:
Sherman Alexie, Jon Meacham, James Patterson, Lisa Scottoline
Viral Marketing in our Viral Culture
10:45-12:15 - Room 1E10
Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, inventor of the flash mob, and author of And Then There's This (Viking)
BookExpo Opening Press Conference
12:15 – Press Office
Today's New Media Investments: A Discussion with Softbank Capital's Eric Hippeau on where VC Dollars are Flowing and What it Means for Publishers
1:30PM - 2:30PM - Room 1E14
The Concierge and the Bouncer: The End of the Supply Chain and the Beginning of the True Book Culture
2:30PM - 3:30PM – Room 1E16
Richard Nash and Dedi Feldman
CEO Roundtable with Tina Brown
3:00PM - 4:00PM – Room 1E14
Moderator: Tina Brown, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of "The Daily Beast" Panelists: Brian Murray, President and Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide; Carolyn Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc.; John Sargent, President and Chief Executive Officer, Macmillan; and David Steinberger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Perseus Books Group
BEA Editors Buzz
4:15PM - 5:15PM – Room 1E14
BEA’S Opening Night Keynote
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Special Events Hall
Steven Tyler and Clarence Clemmons in conversation with Chuck Klosterman
Friday, May 29th
Children's Book & Author Breakfast
Special Events Hall - 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
This opening-day breakfast will feature Meg Cabot, author of Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls Book 4: Stage Fright (Scholastic Inc.); Tomie de Paola, author of Strega Nona's Harvest (Penguin Young Readers Group); and Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of Duck! Rabbit! (Chronicle Books) and Little Oink (Chronicle Books). Julie Andrews Edwards, author of Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) will be the Master of Ceremonies.
D2T2: Digital Debut Tool Time
9:30AM - 10:30AM – Room 1E15
An insider’s presentation of new and soon-to-be-mainstreamed web-based entities providing innovative digital services and tools to authors, publishers and readers. Mike Shatzkin - Founder & CEO, Idea Logical Co, Inc. Peter Clifton - President & Ceo, FiledBy, Inc. Mark Coker - founder & CEO, Smashwords, Inc. Tammy H Nam - Vice President, Content & Marketing, Scribd, Inc.
Literary Lions - John Irving, LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER; Pat Conroy, SOUTH
OF BROAD
10:30 AM - Uptown Stage
Chris Brogan, TRUST AGENTS; Erik Qualman, SOCIALNOMICS
12 Noon Social Media - Downtown Stage
BEA (Young Adult) Editors Buzz
2:00PM - 3:15PM – Room 1E15
Insightful and passionate, this intimate editorial exchange will provide you with the insiders perspective on some of the Fall's new YA discoveries and potential breakouts. David Levithan - VP & Editorial Dir, Scholastic Trade Publishing. Arthur Levine - VP & Editorial Dir, Arthur A. Levine Books with Laini Taylor's LIPS TOUCH. Ari Lewin - Sr. Editor, Disney/Hyperion with Sarwat Chadda's THE DEVIL'S KISS. Krista Marino, Sr - Editor, Delacorte Press for Young Readers with James Dashner's THE MAZE RUNNER. Mark Siegel - Editorial Director, First Second Books with Danica Novgorodoff's REFRESH, REFRESH. Liz Szabla - Editor-in-Chief, Feiwel & Friends with Jill S. Alexander's THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY. Tara Weikum - Executive Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books
ABA Town Hall Meeting
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 PM - Room 1E11
Cannon Tales US
4:30PM - 5:45PM – Downtown Stage
A unique event designed to inspire conversation, creativity, and passion for the future of publishing. Ten presenters who are at the forefront of what is exciting in publishing now will be given seven minutes each to present their stories to the crowd. Their presentations will be accompanied by a Powerpoint presentation of 20 slides, with a strict 21-second limit per slide, which forces the presenter to keep the presentation moving forward quickly. Our guidelines for what they discuss will be left wide open, in order to encourage a wide range of topics and styles of presentation throughout the panel
Saturday, May 30th
Saturday Book & Author Breakfast
Special Events Hall - 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Saturday morning will feature Tracy Kidder, author of Strength in What Remains (Random House); Jeannette Walls, author of Half Broke Horses: A True Life Novel (Scribner); and Ben Mezrich, author of The Accidental Billionaires (Doubleday). Craig Ferguson, author of American on Purpose: A Memoir (HarperCollins) will be the Master of Ceremonies.
How the SBA and the Federal Stimulus Package Can Help Your Business
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 Noon - Room 1E09
Ana M. Ma, chief of staff at the U.S. Small Business Administration, will address what the Small Business Administration is doing as part of the Recovery Act to help small businesses get access to much-needed capital.
Stage to Page - Adam Rapp, BALL PEEN HAMMER; David Rabe, MR. WELLINGTON
12 Noon - Downtown Stage
Saturday Book & Author Luncheon (Ticket required)
12 Noon – 2:00 PM - Special Events Hall
This year's lunch will feature Pat Conroy, author of South of Broad (Doubleday), Lorrie Moore, author of A Gate at the Stairs (Alfred A. Knopf), and Dan Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Truly Motivates Us (Riverhead Books). Ken Auletta, author of Googled: The End of the World as We Know It (Penguin Press) will be the Master of Ceremonies.
CONSUMER PANEL: Teens Sound Off
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM - Room 1E14
AAP Annual Librarians Book Buzz
2:00PM - 3:00PM – Room 1C03
Hear from the nation's publishers on what books they're excited about for the forthcoming season, and hear their behind the scenes secrets why! In an ALL NEW round robin format, librarians are also encouraged to share their thoughts with publishers on what they hear from their patrons.
Presenter:
Book Bloggers -- Today's Buzz Builders
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM - Room 1E15
Consumer Panel: Book Club Facilitators Sound Off
2:00PM - 3:00PM – Room 1E03
We'll get it straight from the Book Club Facilitators: Insight, and answers to what works, what doesn't and how publishers, booksellers and librarians might further assist in their taste-making efforts. Carol Fitzgerald - co-founder & President, TheBookReportNetwork.com.
Stupid Things Booksellers and Publishers Do
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM - Room 1E16
Sunday, May 31st
Sunday Book & Author Breakfast
Special Events Hall - 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Sunday morning will feature Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic (Alfred A. Knopf), Gail Collins, author of When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1950 to the Present (Little, Brown), and Pete Dexter, author of Spooner (Grand Central). Joe Scarborough, author of The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise (Crown Forum) will be the Master of Ceremonies.
Meet the Bestsellers Room (FREE)
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM – Rooms 1A10, 1A12 and 1A14
Get signed copies of best-selling books and enjoy a COMPLIMENTARY LUNCH Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group
Nicholas Sparks and David Baldacci will come face to face with booksellers in a casual interview setting.
Thanks to Charles for this vital shindig! Remember, it's not just a party but a fundrasier and the CBLDF needs your support, they've been busy protecting our rights....
This Thursday, kick off the summer convention season at the CBLDF's BookExpo America Welcome Party! Enjoy free gourmet bites and a cash bar, while mingling with the best and the brightest authors and pros from the graphic novel world! The party runs from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Hudson Terrace, conveniently located near the Javits Center on 621 W 46th Street between 11th & 12th Ave
This event is open to all attendees of Book Expo and CBLDF supporters. The party is free for current year CBLDF members. A suggested donation of $10 is asked for non-members. Sign up for membership at the party and receive a CBLDF lapel pin!
What: CBLDF's Book Expo Welcome Party
When: May 28, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Where: Hudson Terrace, 621 W 46th Street between 11th & 12th Ave
How Much: $10 suggested donation, and free to CBLDF members!
Dress: Business Casual
About the CBLDF: The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community. They have defended dozens of free expression cases in courts across the United States, and led important education initiatives promoting comics literacy and free expression. For additional information, donations, and other inquiries, call 800-99-CBLDF or visit them online at www.cbldf.org
-L
Sunday, May 31 is Japan Day in Central Park (japandaynyc.org)! Taking place in the East Meadow (entrance at Fifth Avenue and 97th Street), Japan Day's an event now in its third year designed to promote a deeper understanding of Japanese culture. It offers a wide range of Japanese traditional and family-friendly activities, free samplings of popular Japanese cuisine, and powerful stage performances throughout the day.
Japan Day begins at 8 AM with the Japan Run, a four mile race, and the festival kicks off at 10 AM.
Count yourself lucky to live in NYC this Sunday, as this is a city thick with Japanese traditional and pop culture. Besides NYAF, there are events throughout the year including Sakura Matsuri, Japan Day, and The New York Asian Film Festival, organizations such as Japan Society, and shops starting off with Kinokuniya and Image Anime.
Celebrate Japanese culture and grab some sun this Sunday!
As of noon on Tuesday I am in BookExpo American land until Sunday night. I’ll be sleeping for a few hours each night at the Marriott in Times Square and otherwise running around the show and the city. But before I leave, I’ve put together 3 posts with some hopefully helpful links and highlights for you. This is the first with some basic intel you’ll need for the show – links to schedules, building layout, interactive floor plan, media coverage, etc.
On Tuesday morning I’ll give you my picks of the panels and events that I’m looking forward to and think are can’t miss happenings.
On Tuesday afternoon I’ll post the evening events and parties that are open to all (or almost all) that you should check out.
During the show I’ll do some mogging (mobile blogging) and I’ll also have my handy new flip video camera in hand to capture a few rare moments “live”.
I hope to see you at the show and feel free to email or txt me, I’ll be wired to whole weekend….probably in more ways than one in fact.
Color Coded Floor Plan
Interactive Floor Plan
Day by day BookExpo Events at a Glance
ABA Day of Education (open to ALL BookExpo participants)
Publisher's Lunch BEA Index (stories, blog posts, photos, vids and more) breaks down thusly:
Live news/coverage
Aggregation of everyone's else pieces will be run through the Automat, and tagged BEA
Aggregation of community-contributed photos
PW's Around the BEA Booth's Series (an overview of exhibitors)
-L
Never thought you'd see the infamous cheddar head QB and the nations leading trade book fair linked, did you? Well leave it to my pal Seth Dellon at Combined Book Exhibit for pulling that off.....
Seth humored me with a an interview you can read right here. In it, we discuss BEA, Favre, publishing, yet surprisingly not his kick ass band The Jukebox Romantics.....
Read at your own peril.
-L
I wrote a post this week about the cool stuff happening in the New Media Zone at BookExpo, but really, that's just what we here at BEA World Headquarters are working on, there is much, much more bubbling up when it comes to new media at the show. A few happenings, events and general goings on's (send me more if I'm missing anything!) for you to peruse:
The, Book: The Sequel project in the Perseus booth (you can read all the details form this post) will officially kick off Thursday afternoon, but you don't have to wait for BEA to participate in this cool project, do it now in 5 easy steps!
By our count about 200 plus joined us at Dave & Buster's in Times Square last night for booze, coll free stuff form our friends at Marvel, & DC and of course, the opportunity to rub elbows with the geek chic of NYC.....
Every year we get dozens of submissions to be featured on our Editors Buzz panel at BEA. This year our newly formed Conference Advisory Board handpicked all of the participants and I think we have an exceptional line up for all of the incarnations of the Editors Buzz franchise (Adult, YA and Indie), however there are certainly more books out there that are buzz worthy then 3 panels allow for. Enter the Breakout Books of BookExpo. You can see all of the submissions right here.
In case you missed the details of the 3 Editors Buzz Panels, I've pasted them below for your convenience as that's just the kind of guy I am.
-L
BEA Editors Buzz 4:15PM - 5:15PM (Thursday, May 28, 2009)
BEA's original and ultimate transfer of tastemaking is back to where it all began. Insightful and passionate, this intimate editorial exchange will provide you with the insiders perspective on some of the Fall's new discoveries and potential breakouts.
Program Chair: John Freeman - US Editor, Granta
Paul Elie - Editor, FSG, Michael Sandel's JUSTICE
Deb Futter - VP, Editor in Chief, Grand Central Publishing with Leila Meacham's ROSES
Alexis Gargagliano - Editor, Alex Lemon's HAPPY
Harriet Popham Rigney - Executive Editor, Tor Books with Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's A MEMORY OF LIGHT
Ben Sevier - Sr. Editor, Jonathan Tropper's THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
Robert Weil - Executive Editor, WW Norton with David Small's STITCHES
BEA (Young Adult) Editors Buzz 2:00PM - 3:15PM (Friday, May 29, 2009)
Insightful and passionate, this intimate editorial exchange will provide you with the insiders perspective on some of the Fall's new YA discoveries and potential breakouts.
Program Chair: David Levithan - VP & Editorial Dir, Scholastic Trade Publishing
Arthur Levine - VP & Editorial Dir, Arthur A. Levine Books with Laini Taylor's LIPS TOUCH
Ari Lewin - Sr. Editor, Disney/Hyperion with Sarwat Chadda's THE DEVIL'S KISS
Krista Marino, Sr - Editor, Delacorte Press for Young Readers with James Dashner's THE MAZE RUNNER
Mark Siegel - Editorial Director, First Second Books with Danica Novgorodoff's REFRESH, REFRESH
Liz Szabla - Editor-in-Chief, Feiwel & Friends with Jill S. Alexander's THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY
Tara Weikum - Executive Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books
Independent Publishers' Editors Buzz 11:00AM - 12:00PM (Saturday, May 30, 2009)
Insightful, passionate and Independent; this intimate editorial exchange will provide you with the insiders perspective on some of the Fall's new Independent discoveries and potential breakouts.
So let’s just put it out there - BookExpo will be smaller this year, no doubt. The economy and the state of our industry has dictated that publishers take out smaller booths (some not at all), send less staffers, and some attendee groups will also send fewer staffers. This is fact. However here at BookExpo World Headquarters (rows of cubes and offices in lovely Connecticut) we've made a series of decisions, particularly around attendees, that will consciously, regardless of the economy, change the shape of the event. Crazy?
Look at the numbers and decide, but we have felt strongly that BookExpo needs to evolve into a more focused, high level event where publishers can connect with the key influencers in the book industry. I should point out that we didn’t just arrive at this conclusion recently; we have felt that this would be beneficial for a while and the real question has been how to get there. Admittedly, it is a challenging year to make choices to limit participation in a show when the economy is already doing that for us, but ultimately less people, provided they are the “right” people, is healthy for the show long term.
That said, our goal can be summed up as follows: achieve a lower number of attendees of higher quality walking through an exhibit floor filled with smaller booths from exhibitors who are now focused on content and engaging those attendees, as opposed to focusing on things like the size and color of their booth. That’s a mouthful but it does define where we’re at.
Through the years we have done what comes naturally and instinctively in the trade show business, which is to provide more attendees, more panels, more events, and bigger booths. But what we have found at BEA is that despite all this growth, or perhaps because of it, customers have not been finding each other. We had, to use a less than eloquent colloquialism, put 10 pounds of show into a 5 pound bag.
This year we made a conscious decision to focus on quality not quantity in as many forms as we could. We've cut our number of educational panels in half and focused on higher end events like the CEO Round Table, all programmed by our Conference Advisory Board. The conference is smaller, more focused, higher quality and programmed by the industry for the industry. We've created more platforms for authors but done it on the show floor to keep the focus (and the people) where they belong. Lastly and most significantly, we've put in place strict registration procedures to ensure that those attending BEA are the quality trade professionals our exhibiting customers want to see. I won't bore you with all the details, but we've created new categories for attendee registration, putting in place strict credential requirements to verify their status as trade professionals and we have dramatically raised the price for all attendees who we deem secondary or less important. In short, and to be perfectly blunt, we have tried to define and target those attendees who our customers do not consider of high value in order to discourage them from attending.
So what does that mean, and why might a smaller BEA be a better BEA?
The numbers:
Currently (2 weeks out from the show) the show physically (the square footage of booths) is looking to be about 20%-25% smaller than 2008 in L.A. However, registration of attendees is 50% higher than in L.A. This equates to more people on a smaller exhibit floor which may mean busier aisles. But the important question to ask is who are those people and how do they compare to NYC in 2007 (a more "apples to apples" comparisons)?
Comparing 2007 to 2009 (NYC to NYC), the number of registered attendees is currently down 30%. Our librarian numbers are down about 25%, which is disappointing, but our ABA members numbers are almost flat (100 or so down). Meanwhile, the Industry Professional category, which is our catch-all "other" or "Miscellaneous" category, is down dramatically from 2600 to 250. So who were those people? We haven’t wanted to eliminate anyone of value so we created new badge categories (Publishing Consultant, Non Editorial Media, TV/Film Production, Licensing/Right/Agent and Non Profit/Association) and those new categories currently total about 1,000. This means we have eliminated 1350 attendees from the Industry Professional category based on pre registration and I would argue, after looking through the registrations lists line by line, that these are the attendees that our exhibiting customers told us were not of high value to them.
One last point, currently our exhibitor registration (booth personnel, publishing staffers, assistants, etc) is down 35%. This, too, is a category which I think needed some shrinking.
So what does all this mean in the simplest of terms? For BookExpo in NYC we are going to see an appropriately smaller exhibit floor with less "low quality" attendees, less exhibiting personnel and roughly the same number of retailers, ABA booksellers, national booksellers, and authors. Unfortunately, we will see a few less librarians but I am hoping that this is temporary, a result of very tight budgets in very hard economic times.
My mantra this year has been that BEA is about connectivity and I think our numbers and our new shape and size will help us in this critical respect. As I said at the beginning of this entry, BEA needs to be a high level book industry event where publishers can connect with key influencers. We need to make this connection easier, not harder, and I genuinely think we may be on the road to doing just that.
-L
Don't forget that tomorrow is the first New York Comic Con Happy Hour at Dave and Busters in NYC. Join me and the NYCC team as we talk about the con, comics, movies, and anything else on your mind. We'll be enjoying half priced drinks until 7:30pm, half priced games until closing, and an awesome raffle at 8 PM! Prizes include...
NY Comic Con Beach Pack
Dave and Busters Power Card
DC Variant Comics
$50 Midtown Comics Gift Card
Marvel Variant Comics Signed by Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada
And in honor of the premiere of Terminator Salvation, we'll be raffling off Terminator Salvation shirts and shot glasses!
Dave and Busters in Times Square, 234 West 42nd Street New York, NY.
Meet us there!
The World Cyber Games is a year-long, international tournament widely renowned as the Olympics of Video Games. In it, more than 1.5 million gamers from 74 countries compete for a share of more than $100,000 in cash and prizes and the chance to play in the Grand Final – this year taking place in Chengdu, China. NYAF is today proud to reveal that it will serve as the WCG's USA National Final, with the winners crowned at NYAF going on to play the best gamers in the world.
Gamers will be able to see elite competitors live at NYAF as the WCG USA National Final will host several returning members of last year's WCG Team USA as well as the cast of the SCI FI Channel's WCG Ultimate Gamer. All will be gaming all weekend on Samsung high definition TVs, monitors, and mobile phones. PC, console, and mobile games featured in the WCG USA 2009 tournament include:
· Half-Life®: Counter-Strike™ 1.6 (5 v. 5 Team FPS)
· Starcraft®: Brood War™: (1 v. 1 RTS)
· WarCraft® III: The Frozen Throne™ (1 v. 1 RTS)
· FIFA Soccer 09 (1 v. 1 Sports)
· Carom3D (1 v. 1 Casual)
· Red Stone (4 v. 4 Team MMORPG)
· Gears of War 2® (4 v. 4 Team FPS) US title only
· Guitar Hero® World Tour (1 v. 1 Music)
· Virtua Fighter® 5 (1 v. 1 Fighting)
· Asphalt 3: Street Rules (1 v. 1 Racing)
· WiseStar (1 v. 1 Strategy)
Registration for the 2009 WCG USA Championship Tournament is open now. US citizens are invited to visit www.wcg.com/usa to register for this year's tournament and to obtain more information about the WCG USA Championship tournament, the WCG Ultimate Gamer TV show, and WCG's Team USA.
My good friend, we'll just call her, Carol F, every year tells me what a bad job we do at communicating all that is happening at BookExpo. If you want special event info go to this page of the web site or program, African American programming is another page, it's like a maze just to figure out when John Irving is giving his talk. She speaks the truth, it is really hard just to see everything that is going on at BooKExpo on any given day at any given hour.....
Well, we've taken some baby steps towards righting this wrong, because believe it or not, we want you to see and do as much as you can while you are at the show!
Click here for a handy day by day schedule that gives you an overview of most events on any given day at BookExpo. It's an imperfect PDF, but it's a start and one day we will realize the vision Carol has for us!
-L
BEA is a big show. The Javits Center is a big building. There will come a time at BookExpo, and probably when you are running late for a meeting, that you will look around and say to yourself, "Where the hell am I?"
We here at BookExpo have a long history of naming things for what they are, not because it sounds good. For example, the Hot Show of 2007 was really about the fact the the hall was 85 degrees and I won't even mention the Author Explosion promotion that was tried in the early 90's....
The latest in a line of bad names but good ideas is the New Media Zone we've built on the show floor at BookExpo this year. It's near the 3100 aisle smack dab int he middle of the show floor. Why is the experience better than the name?
-L
My friend John Freeman from Granta shot this to me this weekend and as usual, it's worth hearing what Auster has to say in this Vid conversation between Freeman and Auster....
I got to meet Auster while doing a talk at the Brooklyn Book Festival a few years ago, and I'm always appreciative when literary geniuses like him are kind when they meet schlubs like me...And he was great......
Check out the interview here
-L
With Lost and Dollhouse over, you may be wondering what to do with your life. Can't answer that question for you, but I can tell you what to do this weekend.
Central Park Steam Punk Picnic
Saturday - 1-3 PM - Central Park
Get out your Victorian underpants, as it's time for a Steam Punk picnic. There'll be events, photo shoots, contests, and lots and lots of goggles!
Super Para Natural Manga Day
Sunday - 11-7 PM - Kinokuniya Bookstore
Kinokuniya, the NY Anime Festival, Alone Together, Bandai, Del Rey Manga, Dark Horse Comics, FUNimation, Right Stuf, Samurai Beat Radio, VIZ Media, and VIZ Pictures present a day of spooky panels, screenings, and contests. Halloween comes early this year!
Like Japan? Like jazz? Well, then, you may like Nippon Jazz NYC, a concert series at the Blue Owl Cocktail Room (196 Second Ave) in NYC. The next event takes place May 17 and features Meg and Aki(www.myspace.com/megandaki). For more, visit www.meetup.com/nippon-jazz-nyc-meetup-group/.
NYC’s Japan Society will be hosting an anime production workshop for teenagers this summer. Taking place Monday-Friday, August 10-14 and August 17-21, 2009, 10 AM to 4 PM each day, this two-week intensive workshop will allow participants to learn firsthand about the history of anime, its unique features and cross cultural influences in Japan and in the U.S., as well as the market and distribution systems. Participants will gain practical experience creating short anime clips using various animation techniques and learn about scenario writing, character development, storyboarding, and voiceovers under the guidance of anime production experts, scenario writers and designers, including Dai Sato, Japan’s leading anime scenario writer.
Tuition is $200 and includes all materials, books, breakfasts, and lunches. A limited number of tuition-waivers are available. For more information about this program, please call (212) 715-1203, (212) 715-1254, or e-mail kminamoto@japansociety.org. The deadline for application is Thursday, May 21, 2009.
Summer is almost here, and what better way to start it off than with food, booze, games and prizes! The New York Comic Con is taking over Dave and Busters in Times Square (234 West 42nd Street), Wednesday, May 20th from 5:30pm-9:30pm, and we'd love to see you there! The NYCC staff will be hanging out at the Dave and Busters bar, and we want to chat with you about this week's comics, season finales, and the start of the summer movie season. It's a great time to be a geek, so let's clink some glasses and celebrate!
You won’t want to miss out on all the night has to offer…
*Half Priced Drinks from 4:30pm-7:30pm
*Half Priced Games until Closing
Need more motivation than that? How about this… NYCC, Dave and Busters, plus our friends at Midtown Comics, Marvel, and DC are donating amazing prizes! Be there at 8pm for our Summer Kickoff Raffle for your chance to win…
*$50 Midtown Comics Gift Card
*Marvel Variant Comics Signed by Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada
*DC Comics Variant Comics
*Dave and Busters Power Card
*New York Comic Con Beach Pack
If you can’t make it -- which you better have a good reason for -- don’t worry because this is the first of many! The New York Comic Con will be holding happy hours at Dave and Busters in Times Square once a month all summer long. Mark your calendars for our upcoming events June 10th, July 15th, and August 19th!
See you next week!
If we are doing our job right here at BookExpo World Headquarters, BEA should be the gathering spot where the book industry leaders discuss just what is happening in our industry….And these days there is a lot to talk about.
That was the spirit in which we created our first ever BookExpo CEO Roundtable and we’ve got a bumper crop of CEO’s to debate and dissect the critical issues the book world is facing at this fulcrum of a moment….
The CEO panel will be moderated by Tina Brown, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of “The Daily Beast” and take place on Thursday, May 28 at 3:00pm in Room 1E14. We’ve lined up a great cross section of publishing leaders including Brian Murray, President and Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide; Carolyn Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc.; John Sargent, President and Chief Executive Officer, Macmillan; and David Steinberger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Perseus Books Group.
The CEO Roundtable with Tina Brown will be immediately followed by the BEA Editor Buzz at 4:15pm, which will take place in the same room, and then the Opening Night Keynote in the Special Events Hall at 5:30pm which will feature Steven Tyler and Clarence Clemons being interviewed by Chuck Klosterman. A nice line up before the show even opens its doors….hmmm, almost like someone planned it that way!
-L
Soft Skull and author Daniel Nester have done something terribly inappropriate....And I love it. They created a How to be Inappropriate @ BEA preview PDF of Nester's new book with Soft Skull which you can, and should check out by clicking here.
We've been asking authors coming to BookExpo to make vids for us to share with you and here is our latest batch. To find more visit our YouTube channel which you can find right here.
-L
Mary Higgins Clark
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Elizabeth Noble
NYAF’s proud to announce Super Para Natural Manga Day at New York City's Kinokuniya Bookstore. Taking place Sunday, May 17 at Kinokuniya Bookstore (located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan), NYAF will present a day of events celebrating the creepy, spooky, and cool side of Japanese comics and animation. Super Para Natural Manga Day partners include Alone Together NYC, Dark Horse Comics, Del Rey Manga, FUNimation Entertainment, The Right Stuf International, Samurai Beat Radio, VIZ Media, and VIZ Pictures.
Super Para Natural Manga Day Event Schedule
11 AM: Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody Screening. After unidentified beings known as "Blanks" start popping up, they are soon followed by a Soul Reaper named Senna who makes them disappear. Puzzled by these unknown beings and the even more mysterious girl, Ichigo and Rukia set out to learn more, but uncover an evil plot when a menacing clan tries to kidnap Senna. The first Bleach feature film! Screening courtesy of VIZ Media.
1 PM: Vampires In Manga Presentation. Performance group Alone Together NYC presents an educational and entertaining presentation on the most famous (and infamous) vampires in manga and anime history. Alone Together will discuss vampiric powers, social classes, and interesting facts about Japan's bloodsuckers.
2 PM: Ghost Hunt Screening. Psychic freshman Mai Taniyama has joined the ranks of the Shibuya Psychic Research Team. Led by the enigmatic Kazuya "Naru" Shibuya, Mai works alongside a spirit medium, a shrine maiden, an exorcist, and a monk to uncover the darkest mysteries of the unseen. Screening courtesy of FUNimation.
3 PM: Del Rey Manga Presentation. Del Rey Manga publishes some of the best manga in America -- and some of the creepiest, too. Join representatives from Del Rey as they talk about upcoming releases and some of their best sellers that all share a spine-tingling twist.
4 PM: D.Gray-Man Screening. Darkness has spread across 19th Century Europe, and young exorcist Allen Walker is humanity's greatest hope against the wicked forces conspiring to bring civilization to its knees. Akuma -- cruel spirits born of tragedy -- lurk in every shadow, willing and eager to do the bidding of their leader, the Millennium Earl. Screening courtesy of FUNimation.
5 PM: Samura Beat Radio Broadcast. Samurai Beat Radio broadcasts across Japan through Tokyo FM. Sit in on a live taping at Kinokuniya and be prepared for a few special announcements as the Samurai Beat Radio Team talk about Hyde, K.A.Z, and the upcoming VAMPS concert in NYC!
6 PM: Boogiepop Phantom Screening. Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop… Everyone knows the urban legend, meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh. No one believes that Boogiepop can possibly exist in this day and age. Screening courtesy of The Right Stuf International.
7 PM: Raffle. NYAF sends Super Para Natural Manga Day out in style with an amazing raffle. Attendees can enter all day long, and to win, and they must present at 7 PM for the drawing. Prizes include…
- 50 books from Del Rey Manga
- Five Bleach prize packages from VIZ Media
- DEATH NOTE posters and pins from VIZ Pictures
- Two tickets to the VAMPS NYC concert from Samurai Beat Radio
- Boogiepop Phantom and The Third: The Girl with The Blue Eye sets from Right Stuf
- Vampire Hunter D busts, artbooks, figurines, novels, and manga from Dark Horse Comics
Excited to see J-Pop singer Hikaru Utada tomorrow in NYC? So were we, but she’s had to cancel her upcoming USA events because of health-related issues. For more, visit http://blog.utada2.net/?p=1508. Get well soon, Hikki!
In 2007, NYAF chibi-ized the Statue of Liberty. In 2008, NYAF’s Chibizilla attacked NYC. In 2009, NYAF’s mascot will be taking fans on the ride of their lives. Fan and artist Mel’s artwork was selected from 200 entries, winning the praise of Mascot Contest partners theOtaku.com and Del Rey Manga and the votes of attendees at Brooklyn’s Sakura Matsuri, and after collecting her thoughts, Mel took a few moments to talk to us about creating the NYAF 2009 Mascot…
NYAF: What was your inspiration for your mascot design?
MEL: Taxis. The main thing I think of when I hear New York are taxis.
NYAF: Have you given the mascot a name?
MEL: Ron. Based from my delivery-driving boss.
NYAF: The mascot has a very polished and stunning style. Are there any artists - American or Japanese - who inspire you?
MEL: I feel Hiromu Arakawa inspired me a lot in my style.
NYAF: What materials did you use to create the mascot, and - overall - how long did it take you to design?
MEL: Photoshop CS. To design it took me about two days to decide on what I wanted it to be like.
NYAF: There are a lot of minute details, such as the street motif incorporated into the outer border. Anything you want to say about the little thing we may not notice at first?
MEL: Maybe the button on his shirt that is secretly a street light?
NYAF: What will you do with the instant library of 50 manga Del Rey will be sending your way?
MEL: DEAR. Drop Everything And Read.
NYAF: How long have you been posting art at theOtaku.com? How'd you discover your site?
MEL: I want to say about two years. A piece of art caught my attention and the site looked pretty friendly.
NYAF: What manga are you reading and anime are you watching right now?
MEL: I'm watching Axis Powers Hetalia!
NYAF: How long have you been a fan? What got you into manga and anime?
MEL: Since sixth grade, so about six years? Dragon Ball Z was my secret love that pulled me into the anime world.
NYAF: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
MEL: Domino's Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwiches.
NYAF: What do you do when you're not designing mascots, and what do you want to be doing in five years?
MEL: I draw comics, gift art, and more pictures. And in five years, hopefully I'll be entering law school, studying till my hair is turning gray.
NYAF: Any message to the readers at NYAF?
MEL: READ SAIYUKI! It's so amazing.
NYAF: Have you thought about the mascot's taxi at all? Does it fly, transform, or blare J-Rock at 3 AM down Broadway?
MEL: It has a detector that finds and steals away the fans of anime and delivers them to a world filled with anime goodness!
May 17 is Super Para Natural Manga Day at Kinokuniya in NYC! Details are coming soon, but, NYC otaku, clear off your calendar and get to Kinokuniya on Sunday!
J-Pop force of nature Hikaru Utada will be in NYC next week to promote the physical release of her latest album -- This Is The One. If you recall, Utada was in New York last month to promote the digital release of this same album, and if you recall further, the event turned me into a screaming fangirl. Let's see if lightning strikes twice when Utada returns to NYC...
Tuesday, May 12
7:00 PM
Best Buy at 529 5th Ave
New York, NY 10017-4608
212-808-0309
PS: Utada, if you're reading this, give me a call and let's talk NYCC and NYAF.
A special offer for you from Japan Society to take in Hiroaki Umeda’s upcoming performance! Umeda will be performing May 14-16 at 7:30 PM, and you’ll be able to get tickets for $15 tickets (nearly 50% off) by mentioning code “CAPA” when you call 212.715.1258 and order on or before 5/13. Also, your Umeda ticket will get you into Japan Society’s KRAZY exhibit, too! For more, visit http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=3fcd2a3b.
If you haven't already read about it, Perseus is going to do something really cool at BookExpo this year. They're not going to line their booth with light boxes with book covers blown up inside them. They're not going to have sales reps standing in the aisle handing out paper catalogs. They're not going to give booksellers stress balls with a book title printed on them. Oh no my friends, Perseus and the crazy marketing wizard (which I say VERY affectionately) Rick Joyce are going to do something interactive, edgy, groundbreaking at the Perseus booth and you can participate!
Perseus Books will be creating a book – from beginning to end -- at BookExpo America this year. The book is “Book: The Sequel” and will be designed, edited, published, promoted, and sold live from BEA’s show floor with all the proceeds going to the National Book Foundation. What’s more the book will be published in every format – print, eBook, audio and maybe even telepathically!
The plot of Book: The Sequel will be a collection of the first sentences of made-up sequels to famous books. And you can submit your own sentences to be considered for the project.
Sentences can be submitted at www.bookthesequel.com until May 28 and from there they start editing and creating the book right on the show floor at BEA.
So send in your opening lines at Book: The Sequel and post em here too! Need inspiration? Try using this Wikiquote page with tons of literary opening lines to get you started.
Need more inspiration?
Here’s my opening line:
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. The wind in my hair thanks to propecia and much less frequent stops thanks to the FloMax means we were making great time heading for Branson.
- Fear and Loathing in Branson
Here’s Peter’s first line:
Brains!
- The Great Gatsby II: The Zombie Years.
-L
It’s time for the 3rd annual BEA Emerging Leaders Party! Who are the Emerging Leaders, you may ask? Visit the web site and find out, you may be one and you dind't even know it. Plus, if you join up with this youthful gang of bookselling rebels, you can come to the party I'm about to tell you about......See the Emerging Leaders Web Site here.
For the last few years, the Wednesday before BEA we've thrown a party for the Emerging Leaders and invited some authors to join us as well (I met Kate Christensen 2 years ago in NYC at this party!). So this year we'll have booze, we'll have authors and we've added (all totally thanks to our pals at the AAP's Young to Publishing Group) panel as well so now the upwardly mobile booksellers and publishers can feed there heads before they drown there livers.
Remember, this is a super exclusive party and panel, you've got to be a member of one of these groups to attend. So if you fit the bill, why not join? Those web sites again:
ABA's Emering Leaders. AAP's Young to Publishing.
The Party:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7PM to 9PM
Last Exit Bar 136 Atlantic AveBrooklyn, N.Y. 11201 Get Directions
Authors In Attendance Will Include:
- Peter Terzian, editor of HEAVY ROTATION (HarperCollins).
- Margot Berwin, author of HOTHOUSE FLOWER (Pantheon)
- Ben Greenman, author of PLEASE STEP BACK (Melville House)
The Panel:
The Association of American Publishers’ Young to Publishing Group Presents
How To Get A Job Like Ours (…in 63 Easy Steps)
Hear from Geoff Kloske, Vice President and Publisher of Riverhead Books (an imprint of Penguin Group USA) and Geoff Shandler, Editor-In-Chief of Little, Brown & Company (Hachette Book Group) on their opinions about book publishing today, in an era of ongoing digitization and changing retail landscapes. A thoughtful Q&A moderated by Ed Nawotka from Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, May 27th 5:30 pm
Marriott Hotel at Brooklyn Bridge
Metrotech Room
333 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY
The name says it all, no? Photographer, fashion plate, and all-around awesome lady Anna Fischer is organizing a Steam Punk Picnic on Saturday May 16 in Central Park. The event takes place between 1 and 3 PM at the Heckscher Lawn. Beyond the general food, drink, and meet and greet, the picnic will have a few organized events including...
Steam Punk Photoshoot - Wear your best or bring a camera.
Small Mechanicals Race - Your ambulation or rolling device may be no larger then 8 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 6 inches high. Ribbons not only for the fastest but also for handsome, innovated, and charming machines.
Six Pence and Haypenny Craft Trade - Bring a handcrafted item that cost you no more then 5 dollars to make and receive one in return.
You know you're going to cancel your May 16 plans and get to the Steam Punk Picnic with (steam-powered) bells on.
A good friend of mine in the bookselling biz emails me every year about this time and asks me to send him a pdf of the floor plan so he can plan his meetings. The one in the directory on site is too small, the one on our web site has always been too slow to load and not scalable, so I always send him the pdf, he prints it and then plots his course for BEA.
So this year when I got that email, I was no longer embarrassed by the fact that my trade show company had no user friendly way to help a customer navigate the trade show. No sir. I had the solution for him.
Behold, the BookExpo Interactive Floor Plan!
The tool is really helpful, I used it on New York Comic Con as well and people loved it. You can search by exhibitor name, by type of exhibitor, you can set up a calendar to manage your time but most of all, you can figure out just where the hell you are going!
Enjoy it.
-L
We received 200 entries in this year's mascot contest earlier this month, and we spent the past weekend at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Sakura Matsuri where fans voted and voted and voted for the winner. (It was a long weekend.) But, now, we have a victor -- Melissa Wilson!
Melissa will be taking home ten Weekend Passes to NYAF, 50 free manga from Del Rey Manga, and a metric ton of praise from fellow artists at theOtaku.com. Praise must also go out to our nine other finalists -- Jessie Cooke, Johan Faulstich, Joanna Happ, Lindsey Henninger, Jayleen Jackson, Jessie Loo, Juu-Yuki Luu, April Osborne, and Nicholas Samarripa.
Also, shout outs to Jason Barberan, who won a pair of tickets to NYAF at Sakura Matsuri's ticket giveaway, and contest partners Del Rey Manga and theOtaku.com.
Be on the lookout for an interview with Melissa coming soon, and expect to see the 2009 Mascot a lot of places in the near future.
Crain’s Business New York released its list of biggest events in NYC and it’s amazing to see that New York Comic Con is now the second largest event that takes place in the entire city. It’s the NY Auto show and then us. We are now bigger than the NY City Marathon. Can you believe that? Me neither, that’s why it’s handy to have a outside source like Crain’s that tabulated and validated the numbers. Crazy! See the list and the stats by clicking right here.
On BookExpo, I have my attendance numbers audited every year but that standard is not common practice in the world of cons which leads to some, um, dubious numbers at times. The Crain’s piece is flattering as it validates the massive numbers NYCC has been putting up. However, more flattering is that after just 4 years, NYCC has become a city wide cultural happening on par with some of the cities most notable public institution.
Congrats NYCC, I guess this means they like you, they really like you……Don't worry though, we won't get a big head as we are still 930,000 people behind the auto show (but that runs for like 6 months, plus the auto industry is so massive, robust and healthy!)
If you've not heard of them, Crain's has been around for 20 years and operates about 30 business publications in various geographic and commercial markets. It's like a big adult business publication in other words.
-L
NYAF staff Kim and Peter and friends of show Chris, Kevin, Nathan, and Petrina spent the weekend at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for their Sakura Matsuri. Simply, it was an awesome event, and there’ll be pictures and more write-ups coming soon. Right now, though, I wanted to share the 2009 Mascot Contest’s 10 finalists…
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/292278/nyaf_mascot_entry
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/292439/nyaf_mascot
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/292626/japan_meets_the_big_apple
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/292881/nyaf_mascot_2ndentry http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/293125/manhattan_chan%253A_nyaf_mascot_contest_entry http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/293139/nyafball http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/293266/nishiko-chan_%2528nyaf_mascot_entry%2529 http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/293461/nyaf_mascot_entry http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/293489/koneko%2527s_fan http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/293404/irihi
The winner? Dunno yet. We’ve just started counting the ballots.
We've been getting a few inquiries about BookExpo and the Swine Flu situation, particularly from our international friends. Know that we are monitoring the situation closely but at this juncture we have no plans to make any special accommodations, but we are are well prepared should we need to. As a company, Reed has been through this, and specifically BookExpo as well if you recall the SARS scare of a few years back. The news today seems to continue to get less concerning on this subject, but I did feel we needed to address it nonetheless.
My advice is the same as it is for any show: Wash your hands often and bring some Pureell or disinfectant of your choice. I do it for almost every show I attendee, flu scare or not.
-L
Our official statement is below.....
GENERAL STATEMENT- SWINE FLU as of April 29 1:00 PM
We continue to monitor the situation closely and consider the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (www.cdc.gov), the US Government and the World Health Organization (www.who.int/en/) to be the primary sources of information and authority concerning this matter.
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention are not recommending any travel or trade restrictions at this time. WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.
While we remain diligent in following this situation, all existing plans for Bookexpo America May 29-31, 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York remain in place.
We are anticipating a great event in New York and you'll benefit from quality over quantity, seeing and learning exactly what you need to survive today's changing industry and challenging economy . . . the authors, the books, the trends, the buzz – don’t miss it!
In these economic times, Bookexpo America is on track to deliver educational content, business alliance and partnerships and finally, the entire North American publishing community! Taken together, Bookexpo America will take a great bite out of the Big Apple!
Sincerely,
The Bookexpo America team
Pretty cool looking eh? I'm really happy with the look of the Uptown and Downtown stages we are building on the show floor. In case you missed earlier posts on my strategic musings about the show, we built these stages for 3 primary reasons:
Here is the first draft of the programming we have planned for these stages with much more to come (you see several holes in the daily schedule, that's because we have a few things we are currently working on). You'll see that in most cases we have an author or authors paired up with a member of the media but I would really like to see that expand to also feature booksellers and librarians interacting with the authors as well.
In particular, I think the Authors of Editor's Buzz Books (I love Jonathan Tropper....OK, and I love John Freeman too, what can I say!) and the Literary Lion panels are pretty awesome pieces of programming. In general though I think we've got some intriguing, diverse offerings here......
But what do you think? More updates to come!
-L
Friday, May 29th 2009So, I just got Netflix this week. What's that mean? It means I'm watching Lust, Caution right now from my Xbox. It also means I'm totally, totally in love with it and my next 20 posts will probably be Netflix-centric. Fret not, though, as I'll soon become infatuated by something else. Probably the mysteries and marvels of my new dishwasher.
Anywho, my Netflix queue is now 106 titles deep, but one of the first films on the list is "Helvetica" - a documentary on the origin and evolution of the Helvetica font. Really.
I'm more excited than I should be about a documentary about a font. Have you seen Helvetica?
It's a jampacked weekend for geeks - with Wolverine, Free Comic Book Day, Sakura Matsuri, and Ice Spiders IV on Syfy. While I and the team will be out and about because of all the above, I wanted to show a little love to some of our favorite comic shops...
New York, NY
Forbidden Planet
Jim Hanley's
Midtown Comics
Chicago, IL
Challengers
Chicago Comics
Graham Crackers Comics
Vigilante Press
Rochester, VT
Jetpack Comics
If you've got a favorite comic shop, post it below. Where'll you be visiting today?
We're all outside at Brooklyn's Sakura Matsuri today. To keep with the outside, springtime theme, it's time for a special cats-outside-in-a-big-green-field edition of Caturday. Go!
Ai Kawashima Day at Kinokuniya is a sea of fans, press, cameras, and awesome!
I've got an important note for you all from Kim...
Want to be a part of the first ever C2E2 Artist Alley? Now is your chance!
The Artist Alley is a dedicated area of the Show Floor for artists and creators within the industry. We welcome the talent of up and coming artists, current industry leaders and living legends. The Artist Alley is in high demand and space is extremely limited. Artists will be selected on a first come first served basis. Apply for your table today via the Artist Alley Registration Form at C2E2.com and be a part of history!
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 Fall 2012 |
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