BEA Recap

(P.S. - er, can I call this a pre-script? Whatever! My win-a-manuscript-crit contest will be closing TOMORROW NIGHT, so last chance to enter! DO IT! we almost have 20 entries! I love round numbers! anyway!)

For those of you who haven't heard about it before, BookExpo America is North America's largest publishing conference, held once a year in New York City. Every major publisher, and most of the minor ones, have booths at the fair, where they promote their big upcoming titles for the year to come, and push their recent backlist.

In other words? They give away lots and lots of books. ARCs (advance read copies), galleys, and remainders (super-cheap backlist you can buy for around $2). Basically, it's Book Lover's Paradise.

And this year, I scored a ticket! So yesterday, along with my roomie and my intrepid crit-partner, I stocked up on tote bags (insider tip: McGraw-Hill give away the best tote bags. Double-pocketed, huge, and complete with zipper. Take note, other companies!) and hit the exhibition floor running.

By the time noon rolled around, we had collected so many books we could barely lift the tote bags (oops, overexcitement?). Then we moved on to the author signing booths (more free books, but signed this time!).

Some highlights of the day?

Meeting Flavor Flave



as he promoted his new book (Flavor). Also, Flavor Flave gave us some champagne, w00t.
(which might be why I look deranged? not sure. other roomie tells me I must work on my meeting-celebrities-face. apparently I always go weird. which reminds me of this really funny story, when I met Scott Westerfeld, which I will not tell you now, because it was too embarrassing! har.)

Illuminated manuscripts from a gorgeous hand-painted, hand-bound art publisher:



(their print-runs are only a 500-800 copies, never to be reprinted. Prices start around 10 grand. YIKE. but if I were rich? totally worth it!)

Watching Melissa Marr, Ellen Hopkins and Melissa de la Cruz talk about making the transition from YA to writing adult novels:



which was pretty interesting. Ellen Hopkins said it was actually her editor who suggested the shift, as her last couple books really pushed the limit of upper-YA. All three of them agreed that they did not plan to write either YA or adult books -- they just wrote the stories that occured to them.

Melissa Marr also mentioned that when she was on tour for Wicked Lovely, a surprising number of her fans were college students or young professionals/working adults. Not in high school anymore. This made me kind of want to leap up in the audience and shout OMG PLEASE WRITE SOME NEW ADULT BOOKS. cough. I resisted, clearly...

But of course, the best highlight of all... Dude, check out how much swag I scored*:



What's that you say? Meh? Not that impressive? Here's the contents of those totes:



39 books in total. 35 lbs (I weighed them. Because my shoulders hurt so much).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, before you accuse me of bragging too much,** this is good news for you too! Because it means I'm stocked up on plenty of ARC-goodness to give away to YOU, dear readers! :D

Some highlights of the pile?

The Future of Us - Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (OMG SO EXCITE TO READ)
The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater (SIGNED)
Blood Wounds - Beth Pfeffer
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
Glow - Amy Kathleen Ryan
Liesel & Po - Lauren Olivier's new middle-grade novel (SIGNED)
(not an ARC, but) Delerium - Lauren Olivier (SIGNED)
Wisdom's Kiss - Catherine Gilbert Murdoch
Shelter - Harlan Coben's YA novel (SIGNED)
Between - Jessica Warman
The Beginning of After - Jennifer Castle (SIGNED)
You Are My Only - Beth Kephart (SIGNED)
Legend - Marie Lu (SIGNED)
Janitors - Tyler Whitesides (MG)

EXCITEMENT. Ok, first I gotta read these. And possibly force some friends to read. And tease you with more teasy reviews (which won't be spoilery I PROMISE). But THEN! Expect sparkly giveaway excitement, weeee!

* These are just the books I brought home. Not counting crit-partner or roomie's spoils of war.

** ok, I admit it, I'm bragging a little. I've wanted to go to this show foreeeeverrrrr!!! and everyone else always made me jealous! so turnabout is fair play! or something!