I’ll be attending BEA later this month!

Part of the reason I’m excited about attending BEA is that I haven’t been able to attend for the last three years because of various work commitments.

Part of the reason I’m excited is, well, BEA! BEA has a whole page explaining why librarians and educators would be interested in BEA. Now, it’s been a few years since I’ve attended, but my personal reasons for attending include the following:

– BEA is a different focus than ALA. Sounds obvious, right? This means that some publishers have different staff attend. So, the people I interact with as a book blogger may be at BEA instead of ALA. It also means that sometimes different books and authors are promoted; it’s always interesting to see what gets a push at ALA, what gets that push at BEA, and whether there is any overlap…

– Different programs! I confess, my first BEA I didn’t even know there were programs, because I was so overwhelmed by the exhibit floor. This time around, though, my focus is going to be programs.

– SLJ Day of Dialog. And I’m not just saying this because of the SLJ connection. I’ve been on two Day of Dialog panels (2009, after eye surgery; and 2011, which was sadly rushed because of having to get to work) but this time around I can go just as a participant which means I can focus on the panels.

– It’s vacation! Yes, this isn’t work related, so I’ll be taking vacation. I’m not on any panels, so I don’t have to prepare anything beyond deciding what programs to go to, where to eat dinner, what cupcakes or ice cream I want to have, and, most fun of all, just spending time with other book people. I’m going to be seeing people I haven’t seen in ages; it’s going to be so much fun!

– It’s vacation but I’ll be working because I have a strange definition of vacation and working. I’ll be getting lots of information that I plan to report on back here, in posts. So, you’ll be hearing a lot more from me about BEA after I’ve attended.

Here are some of the sessions I’m thinking about attending:

Thu. May. 30   

9:30 am – 10:20 am Getting Kids Reading – More, Faster, Better

10:00 am – 10:50 am “Do Kindle Owners Really Read More?” (And Other Nagging Questions About eBooks, Reading, and Amazon.com)

11:00 am – 11:50 am All’s Fair?: Book Reviews & The Missing Code Of Ethics

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm Future of eBooks and E Reading

3:30 pm – 4:20 pm E-books From Libraries: Good For Authors?

Fri. May. 31  

9:30 am – 10:20 am Digital Book Resale: What Does It Mean? How Would It Work?

10:00 am – 10:30 am Meet BEA Young Adult Buzz Authors 2013

10:00 am – 10:50 am TWITTER 2.0: Twitter Master Class For Publishing Professionals

11:30 am – 12:50 pm Publishers & Libraries Working Together: How The Douglas County Libraries Model Bypasses The Vendor System & Benefits Everyone

1:00 pm – 1:50 pm Libraries + Tumblr = Connecting Readers + Writers

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm Self-Publishing: Disruptor Or Defender Of The Book Business?

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Realistic Fiction – The next hot genre in Young Adult

So, are you going?

What are you looking forward to?

What sessions are you attending?