BEA 2016: Lounge Autographing/Galley Room, Publicists Speed Dating, Town Hall/Annual Membership Meeting & Other Reminders

Before BookExpo America kicks off next week at McCormick Place in Chicago, here are some final reminders about author autographing and the galley room in the ABA Member Lounge, Publicists Speed Dating, the ABA Town Hall and Annual Membership Meeting, discounted parking, and more.

ABA Member Lounge and Galley Room

The ABA Member Lounge will be located in Meeting Room T-100 on the McCormick Place trade show floor. Open to ABA members only, the lounge will provide booksellers with exclusive author autographing receptions and a galley room, as well as opportunities to learn about the latest ABA programs and services, meet one-on-one with a member of the IndieCommerce team, find paper products from affinity partner W.G. Ellerkamp, and relax with bookselling colleagues while partaking of coffee, tea, and other goodies.

The ABA Member Lounge and Galley Room will be open:

• Wednesday, May 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 12, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (closed for the ABA Annual Membership Meeting and Town Hall)
• Friday, May 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

There is also still time to schedule a one-on-one meeting with a member of the IndieCommerce team during lounge hours; however, booksellers who haven’t had a chance to book an appointment are welcome to stop by the lounge for a drop-in session.

Authors Autographing in Lounge

The ABA Member Lounge will once again offer author autographing exclusively for indie booksellers following the BEA Author Breakfasts and the ABA Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch.

After the Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch on Thursday, May 12, the award winners and honorees who will head over to the ABA Member Lounge for a reception from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. are:

• Kate Beaton, The Princess and the Pony (Arthur A. Levine Books) — E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Honoree
• Alex Gino, George (Scholastic Press) — E.B. White Read-Aloud Middle Reader Honoree
• Ryan T. Higgins, Mother Bruce (Disney-Hyperion) — E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Award Winner
• Loren Long, Little Tree (PYRG/Philomel) — Indie Champion Honoree
• Richard Russo, Everybody’s Fool (Knopf) — Indie Champion Award Winner
• Gavriel Savit, Anna and the Swallow Man (Knopf Books for Young Readers) — Indies Choice Young Adult Award Winner
• Adam Silvera, More Happy Than Not (Soho Teen) — Indies Choice Young Adult Book Honoree
• Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven King (Scholastic Press) — Indie Champion Honoree
• J. Ryan Stradal, Kitchens of the Great Midwest (Pamela Dorman/Viking) — Indies Choice Adult Debut Award Winner

Also siging at the reception will be two 2016 Summer/Fall Indies Introduce authors:

• Robin MacArthur, Half Wild (Ecco)
• Heather Tucker, The Clay Girl (ECW Press)

Space at the Celebration lunch is now completely full; however, booksellers can add their names to a waitlist here.

Also on May 12, BEA Breakfast speakers who will be autographing in the ABA Member Lounge from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. are:

• Sebastian Junger, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging (Twelve)
• Louise Penny, A Great Reckoning: A Novel (Minotaur)
• Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad: A Novel (Doubleday)

BEA Children’s Breakfast speakers signing in the lounge on Friday, May 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. are:

• Jamie Lee Curtis, This Is Me: A Story of Who We Are and Where We Came From (Workman)
• Gene Luen Yang, Paths & Portals (First Second)
• Dav Pilkey, Dog Man (Scholastic)
• Sabaa Tahir, Torch Against the Night (Razorbill)

Wednesday Morning Plenary and Discussion on “Meeting the New Localism Challenge”

Stacy Mitchell, a nationally recognized expert on small business and healthy local economies and an influential leader in the formulation of innovative policies in support of indie businesses, will present the ABA plenary talk “Meeting the New Localism Challenge: Protecting and Promoting Communities and Local Economies” on Wednesday, May 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00.a.m. in Room W183 at McCormick Place.

Immediately following the plenary, booksellers will have the chance to meet in groups based on store location to discuss the themes raised by the New Localism presentation and to exchange tips and best practices. (Regional association names will be used for room designations only; booksellers from those regions need not be members of the regional trade association to attend the breakout.)

Publicists Speed Dating

Publicists Speed Dating from 9:45 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. on Friday, May 13, is part of ABA's overall effort to create multiple opportunities for bookseller-publisher interaction at BEA. Booksellers who have registered for Publicists Speed Dating are reminded that it is important to show up for all assigned meetings; registrants are asked to check in with ABA staff at the door of McCormick Room W183 prior to the start of the session.

Because only a limited number of stores can take advantage of this opportunity to meet with publishers, booksellers who are unable to keep their appointments should e-mail ABA Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger and Program and Development Coordinator Gen de Botton by midnight on Monday, May 9. After that time, stores should contact Dallanegra-Sanger via text at (914) 413-3548.

ABA Town Hall and Annual Membership Meeting

All ABA members are encouraged to attend the ABA Annual Membership Meeting to be held on Thursday, May 12, from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Room W183 at McCormick Place. The meeting agenda will include the formal announcement of ABA’s election results, reports from the president and CEO, a membership and financial update, and the opportunity for members to bring old and/or new business to the attention of the Board of Directors.

The Annual Membership Meeting will be preceded by ABA’s Town Hall meeting from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., also in Room W183. The Town Hall provides booksellers with the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns and to share ideas with ABA Board members and staff in a less formal setting.

To provide an opportunity for as many members as possible to speak during the Town Hall, a sign-up sheet will be prominently displayed starting Wednesday morning, May 11, in the ABA Member Lounge (Meeting Room T-100 on the trade show floor). Booksellers will be called upon to speak at the Town Hall in the order in which they sign up. Questions about the Town Hall and/or the Annual Membership meetings should be addressed to Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith.

ABA’s Consolidated Financial Statements (2015 and 2014) and Form 990 are available to members in the Governance section of BookWeb.

ABC/CBC Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors and Tea With Children’s Authors and Illustrators

Tickets can still be purchased for the ABC/CBC Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors and the ABC/CBC Tea With Children’s Authors and Illustrators, both to be held on Friday afternoon, May 13.

Tickets for the Speed Dating Lunch are $30; tickets for the Tea are $25. Preregistration and prepayment is required for each event.

• Learn more about the Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors and purchase tickets here.
   
• Learn more about the Tea With Children’s Authors and Illustrators and purchase tickets here..

Discounted Parking

Discounted parking at McCormick Place is available to ABA member booksellers in good standing. 

A flat $10 parking fee per day will be available for Lots A, B, or C on May 11, 12, and 13. To receive a discount voucher, ABA members must bring their parking receipt to the ABA Member Lounge (Meeting Room T-100 on the trade show floor). A separate voucher is required for each day of the show and will need to be presented when exiting the parking lot.

A BEA shuttle bus will also run May 11 through 13 on a loop from The Drake Hotel to McCormick Place.

Friends of Bill Meetings

Friends of Bill meetings will be held in Room W192C at McCormick Place from noon to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, May 11 to 13.

For complete details about ABA programming at the show, visit BookWeb.org.