Non BEA Events Recap

The thing I love most about Book Expo America is the people you meet, the vibe and entire feel that the week long celebration of books has. It's hard to convey in words, but I have been fortunate to experience this for the third time this year.

Before I start with a daily breakdown of what my BEA experience was like, I am going to talk about a fun pre-BEA event I was invited to.

The lovely people at Simon and Schuster invited me to their blogger fall preview night. After taking a nine hour bus ride to New York City and a quick nap, Emilie (from Emilie's Book World) and I embarked to the stunning Hudson Terrace.

The authors in attendance were Jenny Han, Siobhan Vivian, Cat Patrick, Suzanne Young, Jason Reynolds, Corey Ann Haydu and Amy Butler Greenfield.

Corey Ann Haydu impressed me with her thoughts on research and how she approached a novel about OCD.

Jason Reynolds quickly charmed everyone. His novel sounds interesting, and he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

Amy Butler Greenfield's novel Chantress weaves music with the supernatural. I was immediately interested in reading it when she described the process of writing the novel. She mentioned that when she came up with the ideal of something happening when you sang, she immediately realized it had to be something sinister.

Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian teased us with Fire With Fire details, and promised that 'all would be revealed' in regards to the illusive Mary. I was already dying to read this one, but they made me even more eager. Their friendship comes through in even in little interviews like this. They know each other so well that writing together must be fun for them.

Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick discussed what it was like to write together for Just Like Fate. I loved that each of them was writing their own story. It made it so that they were eagerly awaited the next chapter as well as looking forward to feedback on their own writing. I was intrigued by the concept of two different love interests for the two different storylines, and can't wait to meet each of the guys.

Along with getting some scoop on the hottest upcoming fall titles, we were able to mix and mingle with fellow bloggers, authors, and Simon and Schuster staff. The food was delicious, and I loved the special watermelon flavoured drinks they were serving as well.

Getting to run into Jamie from Broke and Bookish was a highlight. She's the sweetest! Seeing fellow Canadian bloggers Michele (Just A Lil' Lost) Ardo (A Wordsmith) and Jess (Read My Breath Away) is always fun, but getting to hang out with them during this amazing party was nothing short of awesome.

Siobhan Vivian chatted with our group for quite awhile. I adore her. She's hilarious, and so friendly.

We were spoiled with some fantastic goodie bags as we left for the evening, included were titles from each of the authors and another surprise - Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. I may have squealed and did a happy dance when I spotted it included in the bag.

Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield (Goodreads)

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu (Goodreads)

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds (Goodreads)

Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (Goodreads)

Just Like Fate by Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick (Goodreads)

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano (Goodreads)

Huge thank you to Simon and Schuster for the lovely evening. It's an experience I won't soon forget. Sadly, I don't have pictures as I totally forgot to put my battery in my camera. However, I believe someone has a photo of the Ottawa and Toronto bloggers together. If I track it down, I'll update this to include it.

Another event I attended during BEA was the annual Teen Author Carnival. It's always a fun evening and the panels are one of my favourite parts of the entire week.

I received a goodie bag from this event as well. Inside were two titles I was super excited about. Ann Redisch Stampler also had a few copies of Where It Began from Simon and Schuster that she was able to hand out as well.

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott (Goodreads)

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts (Goodreads)

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler (Goodreads)

The panels I attend were called Reality Bites and the second panel was Heros and Heartthrobs. The authors participating in the panels were as follows

Reality Bites

David Levithan

Cat Patrick

Leila Sales

Elizabeth Scott

Ann Stampler

Suzanne Young

Allen Zadoff

Heros and Heartthrobs

Erin Bowman

Susane Colasanti

David Levithan

Elizabeth Scott

Jennifer Smith

Allen Zadoff

My take away from these panels is mainly that David Levithan is awesome. Hilarious, and insightful. He's also a fantastic speaker. Leila Sales was also rather fun, and her book sounds wonderful. Each of the authors did a fantastic job of promoting their book, and I've added many to my 'to be read' wish list.

Suzanne Young, Cat Patrick and David Levithan during Teen Author Carnival

Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young at Teen Author Carnival

Other random insights from BEA week (but that aren't relating to BEA itself) are...

I tried Shake Shack for the first time. I may be in love. So yummy! A return trip next BEA is needed. They give you the cutest little pagers so that you know when your food is ready too! Love little things like that.

Henry Cavill's face is EVERYWHERE in the city (and this is not a bad thing)

Tomorrow I will be recapping the first day of Book Expo and Wednesday I will recap days two and three in one post, so be sure to come back to check those out.