Last week was quite a week for fun-loving readers and bloggers. At the same time and in the same place, there were three interconnected events: Book Expo America, the annual celebration of books, authors and readers; BlogWorld/New Media Expo, at the heart of social media; and the Book Bloggers' Convention, where several hundred dedicated book bloggers gathered to exchange ideas.
It was an amazing week.
I had never been to BEA before, and it was a revelation: more than a thousand exhibitors, including publishers, authors, influence groups, technical types, etc., all gathered in a hall more than large enough to hold a political convention. One separate area was set up as an organized place to collect autographs from favorite authors, many of whom also signed books at their publishers' exhibition spaces. I stood in more lines than I like to remember and came away with many, MANY autographed books and galleys. The galleys were probably the best part - free, advance copies of books to be published later this year.
I had been to past BlogWorlds, and I was glad to see it join forces with BEA this year. I ran into a couple of my social media cronies there and checked out those exhibitors as well.
And I probably had the most fun at the Book Bloggers' Conference. The panels, as always, were entertaining and informative, although the real fun comes at the breaks and meals, sitting around tables with several hundred other bloggers to talk about books and blogs.
Preliminary plans call for a repeat performance, complete with cohabitation, next year. If you're in the New York City area, it's worth being there. In the meantime, it's back to normal for these blogs.
(Co-posted at Classic Mysteries and LB's Rambles.)
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