BEA Spotlight: Joyful Celebrations of Book Sense, Booksellers, Books & Authors

Just Three Weeks & Counting

This week, BTW shines a spotlight on special events sponsored by ABA and Book Sense at this BookExpo America. BEA will be held from Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5, at New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center.

The Third Annual "What Are You Reading/Publishing?" Lunch

All ABA member booksellers registered for ABA's Thursday, June 2, "Day of Education," at BEA are invited to the Javits Center's Special Events Hall from 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. for the "What Are You Reading/Publishing?" Lunch. This is an opportunity to break bread with bookseller colleagues from around the country and engage in discussions about your favorite handsells. The lunch has a new twist this year: In addition to talking to booksellers, tables will feature editors from ABA's Book Sense Publishing Partners, who will come prepared to discuss hot books and sleepers from their coming fall lists. The lunch is free of charge, but booksellers must register in advance through BEA. BEA will provide a "Thursday Lunch" ticket, which must be presented for admission.

ABA's Celebration of Bookselling

Booksellers and other industry professionals attending ABA's Celebration of Bookselling at this BEA will be treated to a very special event hosted by multitalented performer Al Franken and sponsored by Putumayo World Music. Franken, the bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, Grammy-winning comedian, and host of The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio, will serve as master of ceremonies for the highly anticipated Celebration of Bookselling, which will be held from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 3, in the Special Events Hall of the Javits Convention Center.

Always a high point of BEA programming, the Celebration features the presentation of the 2005 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards. This year, the authors and illustrators of all of the winning titles will be there to receive their awards:

• Nonfiction: Robert Kurson (Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II, Random House)
• Fiction: Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Bloomsbury)
• Children's Literature: Author Blue Balliett and illustrator Brett Helquist (Chasing Vermeer, Scholastic Press)
• Children's Illustrated: Author Doreen Cronin and illustrator Betsy Lewin (Duck for President, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers).

The Celebration will also feature a special presentation by ABA and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression to Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in recognition of his work in defending reader privacy.

The presentation of the Publishers Weekly Bookseller of the Year Award to BookPeople of Austin, Texas, and the Rep of the Year Award to Charlie Boswell of Heinecken & Associates will also be part of the Celebration festivities.

Colombian singer and Putumayo World Music artist Marta Gomez will treat guests to a live performance of original songs during the event, which is free and open to all BEA participants.

The Book Sense Author Luncheon

From noon - 1:30 p.m. on Friday in the Special Events Hall, booksellers from stores with Book Sense will meet over 50 authors and illustrators whose books they have chosen as past or present Book Sense Picks. This year's event, sponsored by the Quills Literary Foundation, will be emceed by bookseller -- and recent Book Sense Picks author -- Betsy Burton of The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The luncheon, which is only open to stores with Book Sense, requires an e-mail confirmation of reservation for admittance. Confirmations will be sent to registered booksellers by May 16. Reservations are no longer being accepted for this event, which is booked to capacity.

The Book Sense Reading Room

This year's Book Sense Reading Room will feature four of independent booksellers' favorite authors, including two Book Sense Book of the Year winners. On Saturday, June 3, all BEA attendees are invited to the Reading Room (Room 1C 03 of the Javits Center), where these four outstanding authors will read from, and speak about, their books in a relaxed setting:

• Blue Balliett, author of Chasing Vermeer (Scholastic), the 2005 Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Literature winner and a 2004 Summer Kids' Pick
• Susanna Clarke, author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Bloomsbury), the 2005 Book Sense Book of the Year Fiction winner and a September 2004 Pick
• Betsy Burton, author of The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller (Gibbs-Smith), an April 2005 Pick
• A.J. Jacobs, The Know It All: One Man's Humble Quest to Be the Smartest Person in the World (Simon & Schuster), an October 2004 Pick

Readings will take place from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The BookSense.com Spelling Bee

Book Sense favorite Myla Goldberg, author of Bee Season (Anchor), will be hosting the BookSense.com/American Heritage Dictionaries Spelling Bee at BEA 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.

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].