I’ve been reading everything I can about what I missed at Book Expo America last weekend.  Why?  Because it’s book heaven!  Rachel Kramer Bussel refers to BEA as a “book orgy.” Oh my… sign me up.  I really, really need to make a pilgrimage to BEA next year.

Salon’s Laura Miller covered BEA and titled her observations Would You Like Some Books With That Totebag? Anyone who has ever attended any sort of conference related to the publishing industry knows the truth in that question! 

I found this snippet particularly amusing:

In unguarded moments, however, publishers complained that they received more pitches than they had a chance to deliver. “It’s relentless,” one sales rep sighed at a party for Connelly in L.A.’s Union Station. “Every time you turn around, someone’s shoving a manuscript into your hands. I keep telling them I’m not an editor, but they don’t seem to understand the difference.” Aspiring writers planted themselves in autograph lines in a bid to pass unpublished manuscripts to established authors or to beg celebrities to plug their book on TV. (Apparently, all those Americans who claim to be too busy to buy or read books can still find plenty of time to write them.)

The next three locations for BEA are New York City in 2009, Washington, DC in 2010 and Las Vegas in 2011.  I will make it to one of them and I will not shove a manuscript at anyone. 

Posted by Kristina in Writing at 03:06 PM Permalink Leave a comment