Be at the Bee (With the Author of Bee Season) at BEA

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Myla Goldberg

The American Booksellers Association is pleased to announce that acclaimed author Myla Goldberg, author of Bee Season (Anchor), will be moderating the BookSense.com/American Heritage Dictionaries Spelling Bee at BookExpo America in New York's Jacob Javits Center on Saturday, June 4. Bee Season was a Book Sense Book of the Year finalist in 2001.

The spelling bee, which will be from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. in Room 1B 02-03-04, is open to all BEA attendees. The event is a great way for booksellers to blow off steam with colleagues from all corners of the book industry at the end of a long day on the trade show floor.

Goldberg, who spoke to BTW via e-mail, was looking forward to the event. "I've been asked to participate in spelling bees since Bee Season, but this is my first invitation to host," she said. "I get to be the one with the list! The one to ring the little bell when a word is misspelled!"

Nancy Grant, vice president director of reference/guidebook marketing at American Heritage Dictionaries, talked to BTW about how the event got its start. "The idea of the Spelling Bee began at the Great Lakes Bookseller Association show a couple of years ago," Grant said. "Our American Heritage Dictionaries editors created the list of words, and booksellers teamed up to compete against one another. It was a great success, and last year we expanded the program to several other regional shows. We pitched it to the Book Sense folks thinking that there might be national interest and were thrilled when they decided to include the 'Bee' in the BEA programming."

Grant added, "For over 30 years now, the American Heritage Dictionaries brand has been loved and supported by independent booksellers around the country and it seems fitting that we celebrate this ongoing and mutual regard with a Spelling Bee specially designed for Book Sense retailers."

Booksellers who would like to participate in what's sure to be a fun-filled event should send an e-mail to BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos at [email protected]. --Karen Schechner