BEA 2009 Wrap-Up & 100th Review Giveaway Announcement

Got home at 2am this morning from a fantastic four day trip to NYC for Book Expo America. It was just incredible and we had a wonderful time! It was my first BEA and I was repeatedly told that it was "the smallest one ever." All I have to say to that is "Thank Goodness!" I did not sit down for three days so my back was killing me and I was completely exhausted. But also thrilled to meet bloggers and publicists who I have been talking to online and emailing for the last year. They are all so nice and such fun to talk to, I wish there had been time to say more than "hi" to most of them! But I was so happy to get to spend a little time with Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog, Julie from Booking Mama, Amy from My Friend Amy, Stephanie from Stephanie's Written Word, Nicole from Linus's Blanket, Beth from Beth Fish Reads and Lisa from Online Publicist.

It was also great to meet the publicists at Hachette (so much fun!), Sourcebooks, Unbridled, Five Star, Medallion and Penguin.

There are probably people that I am forgetting at the moment, but they were all a pleasure to meet. Each and every one was positive and enthusiastic. I saw no evidence of the much-hyped "death of publishing," for which I am grateful.

Friday night was the BEAtweetup party. Huge turnout and a very cool venue at Greenhouse:

There were signings with many interesting authors but the one that pleased me the most was Julie Andrews, who wrote the book that was my absolute favorite when I was a kid: Mandy. (She even signed a bookplate for me to put into my old copy of Mandy.) And so many others: Annie Barrows, Eileen Goudge, James Patterson, Alan Bradley. For a book lover, it was heaven!

I also got some great books to add to my giveaway pile, which is outgrowing my house. I've been planning a HUGE giveaway to celebrate my 100th review. I am currently at 91, so 100 will be coming up in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for the details, it looks like I'm going to be giving away in excess of fifty books, you won't want to miss it!

Saturday night we went to The Strand. It is the best bookshop anywhere (in my humble opinion) and I never miss a chance to visit there when I am in NYC. For the first time ever, I did not pick up a single book! Not even one. I was so overwhelmed with great galleys at BEA, I didn't even want another book. My husband went a little crazy, though, and made up for me not buying anything!

**Edited to add that I did have one disappointment at BEA, and it was a biggie. One of my all-time favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon, was there signing and I missed her because I had no idea that she was scheduled to appear. She wasn't on any of the published schedules before the show. Here's a tip for anyone going to their first BEA: Publishers Weekly puts out a daily BEA newspaper, which is distributed free all over the conference center. Pick one up first thing in the morning and read it. I grabbed one on Friday morning and then proceeded to carry it around with me for the entire day. It wasn't until I was sitting in bed Friday night that I opened it up and read it. There was the ad for Diana's appearance on Friday morning. And I missed it! I'll admit, there was some cursing in my room at that moment. My sweet hubby felt so bad for me!