Sunday, May 31, 2009

Book Expo of America

My top 10 BEA moments


(which really aren’t in top 10 order, because how could I possibly choose?)



10) Twitter people! It was great to put faces with the image-avatars that Alea & Amy use, great to see Gail, Steph, Laura, Stacy and Mitali IRL. As we stood in Javits’ lobby and said goodbye, it felt like the end of summer camp. Except, instead of sincerely-meant but soon abandoned promises to write & stay in touch, I could tweet at them as soon as I got on the BEA shuttle bus. I love technology!


9) Meeting people in lines. I have no actual patience and a do a very poor job of pretending to be patient, but I enjoyed waiting in autograph lines. Why? Because I met the most wonderful people. At different points during the day, I was lucky enough to wait with Cinda Williams Chima and Bettina Restrepo. I loved hearing their publication stories and welcomed their advice as I battle the query-waters. Bettina’s inscription in her book, MOOSE AND MAGPIE, might end up framed: “To the great debut author I knew before it happened.” Some people are made of sunshine and positivity – she is one of those people & I can’t wait to read her YA book ILLEGAL, when it comes out in Winter, 2012.


8) Being referred to as “The Tiffany’s.” Lisa McMann coined this at her signing in March. At BEA, Barry Lyga and Justine Larbalestier also called T.O.T. and I “The Tiffanys.” Clearly, The Other Tiffany and I cannot go to signings separately. Agreed, T.O.T.? :)


7) Uber-helpful publishing people. I especially have to thank Greg Ferguson at Egmont and Karen Walsh at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. They were incredibly helpful. I can’t wait to pass along the books they suggested to my kiddos and add the titles to my recommended reading lists.


6) Showing Maureen Johnson the photo of the kiddos’ ABBA masks. Maureen is one tough cookie to battle the Leakyflu to come to her signing and I couldn’t resist spreading a little ABBA love to make her smile.


5)) The BEATweetUp. It was loud, packed, and so great to meet the people I communicate with in 140-character bursts. Conversations without character limits, @-signs, abbreviations and emoticons were even more fun. Although, I did not see very many other people in the super-cool TweetUp badges. (Was wearing them un-cool? Like how you never wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert? If so, I did NOT get the memo… and I still want to see the bar-code thing on the back in action)


4) The post-Tweetup hilarity that was had by the dilly-o’s of #CasualPickle. Allegra, Indiepub medal-wearing Jen Fosberry, & T.O.T., you will never convince me that there is a such thing as too many pickles and my dress was most certainly BLACK.


3) Unloading my suitcase of books when I got home. Each time I pulled out a book, I told St. Matt why I was excited to read it and about the author. His eyes got larger and larger and his mouth hung open. Finally he managed to croak: “Am I even going I even going to see you for the next month?” He doesn’t look too convinced by my promise that once I finished CATCHING FIRE, I’d put the rest to the side until summer.


2) Suzanne Collin’s CATCHING FIRE. It was my must-get ARC and despite my many, many moments spent worrying, I did get a copy, read it, and LOVED it. Now, when will book three be done? Who can I Book Bully into finishing it NOW so I can discuss? And do I really need to keep my promise to St. Matt and not read the rest until summer?


1) Knowing there’s another BEA next year…

9 comments:

  1. 10) It was so GREAT meeting you too...and all the other people who tweet! It was like a high school reunion every time I ran into someone. All hugs and smiles. Was also fun tweeting & texting everyone at the Javits. *in line 3? u? NM going to booth 4350* hehe

    9) Line people are AMAZING!! Everyone was so nice and talking with them made the wait seem not so long. Was so great to talk about books and authors and BEA finds. =)

    8) You and T.O.T. will always collectively be 'The Tiffany's' you are a matched set. can't have one without the other. Think that might be why I never saw T.O.T. on Fri. She wasn't really there...

    3) I can't wait until my box o' books arrives!!!! So glad I decided to lug a bunch home with me! So there is some instant gratification.

    2) I'll start in on CF tonight before bed. Need to format & post some of the reviews that I wrote on the train. Can't believe that you finished it already!!

    and no you don't really need to keep that promise, St Matt would never be so cruel as to make you. Just remember to look up from reading and give him and the puggles some luves.

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  2. Great top ten and I'm glad to be in it! We'll definitely have to make the summer editor's evening happen.

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  3. Tiffany!

    Thank you so much for posting about me - I'm blushing.

    My only regret about BEA was that I didn't have more books to give away. I had so much fun at the signing making people wear the moose hat.

    Hmmmm, when YOUR book comes out, what kind of funny thing will you do at your signing?

    keep in touch,
    Bettina

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  4. You're not supposed to wear a band's t-shirt to their concert?? ;D

    Ok it's decided - I CANNOT go to a conference without you. You talk to people in lines! I avoid eye contact with everyone as hard as I can! Will you be my co-dependent partner for four days in January?? Plz?? :)

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  5. emily - it was so easy to talk to peeps in the lines for the author signings. you almost couldn't avoid it. everyone was just so nice!

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  6. Lucky girl. I wanted to go to BEA, it seems so fun.

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  7. I'm so loving re-living BEA through others' blogs and comments. (next year, Emily and Courtney, I will kidnap you and entertain you in line).

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