Following up on my previous post, below are the highlights of day two on the BEA show floor.

Coming in August is Mary E. Pearson’s The Fox Inheritance, the companion volume to The Adoration of Jenna Fox. It is two-hundred-and-sixty years after the original story and Jenna Fox’s friends are still alive, but they’ve lost everyone that they knew. Except Jenna.

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson, YA
Henry Holt and Co.   August 30, 2011  9780805088298

…

So there I was scooting down the aisle and I notice a line of people waiting. A really, really long line stretching across many aisles. At the beginning was Alice Hoffman. Her new book is a historic retelling of the tragedy of Masada in 70 CE.

Stunning cover, huh?

The Dovekeepers, Adult/ YA crossover
Scribner (October 4, 2011); 512 pages
9781451617474

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And I ran into Caldecott winner, Jerry Pinkney and he showed me his hot-off-the-press book, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (Little, Brown, 9780316056960, Oct).

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I was thrilled to discover two reprints.

First from Workman Sandra Boynton’s lap-sized editions of her board books.

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Finally back in print, the Mythomania series. Funny fantastic fractured Greek Myths (for those who don’t know these books, they will be available on NetGalley.com at the end of the month).

Kate McMullan signing Nice Shot Cupid in the Capstone Booth.

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What do you really want to know? Yes, there is a new Elephant and Piggie (Should I Share My Ice Cream?; Mo Willems, Hyperion, 9781423143437; 6/14)

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A bit of silliness at the end of the day is always welcome. From How to Speak like a Wookie (Chronicle, August, 9781452102559; 16.95), with sound effects, of course.

Below are my picks of Day One (photos courtesy of my cell phone):

The Hot Galley

Brian Selznik, with his new book Wonderstruck (and Hugo Cabret)

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik
Scholastic Press (September 13, 2011)
9780545027892; 608 pages

Similiar to Hugo Cabret in format…story is told in the illustrations as well as the words.

Not to Be Missed

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Candlewick (September 27, 2011)
9780763655983

Sly humor, limited language and a twist at the end. It will delight readers who appreciate Emily Gravett’s Wolves and reading teachers obsessed with inference in books.

Robie Harris Tackles the Big Questions

Who Has What? by Robie Harris
Candlewick (September 13, 2011)
9780763629311

Ran into Robie Harris in an aisle and she let me peek at her new book coming this fall. Perfect for preschoolers… answers all those questions in a developmently appropriate way.

From the Illustrator of Eloise

Nina in That Makes Me Mad by Hilary Knight and Steven Kroll
Toon Books/Candlewick (September 27, 2011)
9781935179108

Can’t Wait to Read

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Deedy, illustrated by Barry Moser
Peachtree Publishers (October 1, 2011)
9781561455959

For middle graders.

If you’re scrambling to put together your BEA schedule, the best resource for librarian-oriented programs is LJ‘s list (please be sure to put the EarlyWord program, Buying for Demand, Wed. 9:30 to 10:30 Rm 1E on your schedule — more details in the gray box on the left. No need to sign up; just come).

In addition to LJ’s list, however, there are a few other general programs you will want to consider. We’ve listed them below, with notes on conflicts and hints to help you make your choice.

For a preview of  books that will be featured on the show floor, check the following:

Edelweiss Books@BEA

PW’s Big Books of BEA

PW Big Childrens books of BEA

BEA Events to Consider (In Addition To LJ‘s Listing)

Monday, May 23, 4:30PM – 5:30PM – Rm 1E13

BEA Editors Buzz

WHY GO: To hear six major book editors pitch their favorite upcoming titles. Last year, many people came away from the panel expecting Emma Donaghue’s Room to breakout. It did.

CONFLICT: LJ‘s Day of Dialog session, The Latest on Social Media, Readers’ Advisory and Your Library

WHY SKIP: It will be covered by PW Show Daily, but obviously, it’s not the same as being there.

Tuesday, May 24, 8:00 am – 9:30 am — Special Events Hall

Children’s Book and Author Breakfast

Ticket Required (Cost: $40 including breakfast / $20 theatre seating [no breakfast])

WHY GO: Moderated by Julianne Moore, author of Freckleface Strawberry, Best Friends Forever. The author has also appeared in a few movies. She will be joined by Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck (Scholastic); Sarah Dessen, What Happened to Goodbye (Viking); and Kevin Henkes, Little White Rabbit and Junonia (Greenwillow).

CONFLICT: Random House breakfast (adult).

WHY  SKIP: You already signed up for the RH breakfast.

Tuesday, May 24, 2:00 – 3:15 pm — Rm 1E15

Young Adult Editors Buzz

WHY GO:  To hear YA editors pitch their favorites.

CONFLICT: AAP Annual Librarians Book Buzz (Rm. 1A21–1A22)

WHY SKIP: If you’re focused on adult books, you’ll want to go to the AAP Buzz session

Tuesday, May 24, 3:30PM – 4:30PM — Rm 1E13

The Future of eBooks Publishing Executive Panel

WHY GO: To find out what these execs are thinking about library lending and ask some pointed questions. Unforunately, we don’t know who they are or what companies they represent;  the program description simply says, “C-level executives from top publishing houses tell it like it is in a rousing panel discussion about the future of ebooks.”

CONFLICT: Hot Fall Book Club Titles (Rm. 1E15), 3–4 p.m.

WHY SKIP: Those “C-level executives” may not be able to address librarian concerns.

Wednesday, May 25, 2:00 – 3:15 pm– 
Rm 1E15

Middle Grade Editors Buzz

WHY GO: Newest addition to the buzz series, if you are a children’s librarian, you will want to be there.

CONFLICT: Nancy Pearl: Unshelved Again (Rm. 1E14); follow up to last year’s riotous interview by the Unshelved guys

WHY SKIP: It’s a tough choice, but if you’re a childrens librarian, you’ll want to do the Editors Buzz.

Wednesday, May 25, 2:00PM – 3:00PM — Rm 1E17

The Chairs Are Where the People Go: Community Organizing, Conflict Resolution, and Successful Book Events Thru the Better Placement of Chairs

WHY GO: This has got to be the most specific workshop at BEA. We’re only going by the title here, but it sounds like something any library programmer or book club leader could use.

CONFLICT: Nancy Pearl: Unshelved Again (Rm. 1E14)

WHY SKIP: See above

If you are struggling to put together your BEA schedule, check LJ’s admirable round up of events for librarians.

Please take special note of the EarlyWord session on Buying for Demand. Featured is Wendy Bartlett, collection development at Cuyahoga P.L., on how her department draws on readers advisory librarians to predict sleepers. Also on the panel is Cathy Langer, head buyer for the Tattered Cover in Denver. Indie booksellers and librarians have a great deal to share with each other. Cathy will describe how indie booksellers across the country network to generate word of mouth about forthcoming titles. We’ve just finished our final prep for the session and I guarantee that it will be insightful and fun.

The panel is Wednesday, 9:30 to 10:30, (room 1E16 in the convention center), leaving us plenty of time to get to the 11 a.m. session on Selling Trade Ebooks to Libraries (down the hall, in room 1E13).

Update: “ALA is most definitely not selling its trade show to Reed.” ALA Exec. Director Keith Fields told Library Journal, but did say, “BEA and ALA have been talking about ways in which we might work more closely together in the future.”

Initial reactions by librarians on Twitter to the idea of a combined show were positive.

Rumored for years, but intensifying in the last few months, it’s now official that Reed Exhibitions is in talks to take over both ALA shows, Annual and MidWinter, as reported by Publishers Weekly. Several years ago, Reed bought the former American Booksellers Association show, turning it in to Book Expo America. The Association continues to run educational programs in conjunction with Book Expo.

Further, the PW story says that the ALA Annual and BEA shows may be joined. PW notes the shows are “very different.” Well, there’s an understatement. BEA, of course, is dominated by publishers, while ALA floor space features library vendors, many of them technology companies.

If this comes to pass, ALA would gain much-needed revenue from the sale, librarians would have access to a wider range of big-name authors, more galleys, and would not have to choose between attending the two shows. BEA, which has been downscaled over the years, would stand a better chance of surviving. If there are losers in the deal, it’s independent booksellers, who will compete for attention with the 15 to 20 thousand librarians who regularly come to ALA.

The two shows have a different approach to choosing locations. BEA has been sticking to New York, to make the show less costly for the majority of publishers, while ALA changes venues, to make the event more accessible to a broader range of libraries. The PW story says, “If a deal is reached, Reed is believed to favor locating BEA and the ALA annual meeting in 2012 in Chicago.”

Nothing is definite yet; Reed’s only comment is that talks are in progress. Library Journal reported on the PW story, and is seeking comment from ALA.

After months of buzz leading up to Book Expo, where The Passage was dubbed “the book of the show,” Justin Cronin‘s tale of a young girl who holds the power to save humanity from a plague of vampires arrives in stores next week. The media is giving it the full blockbuster treatment, while in most libraries we checked, holds are at about 10:1.

Was it worth the wait? Entertainment Weekly says yes, giving the novel an A-:

The Passage owes a substantial debt to both King’s [The Stand] and Cormac McCarthy’s [The Road], and he is not immune to some of the hoarier tropes of Armageddon fiction… but his bogeymen, the vampiric, blood-
hungry beasts known as ”virals,” are
 magnificently unnerving, and his power to compel readers to the next page seldom flags.

Time magazine’s Lev Grossman is all admiration, calling it a “magnificent beast of a new novel.” He gives Cronin props for combining his skills as a “literary” novelist (his first book, Mary and O’Neil, won the PEN/Hemingway award), his “extraordinary level of verbal craft and psychological insight” with strong pacing. “He lays out the ground rules, sets the initial conditions and then lets the machine run while you, the reader, claw helplessly for an off switch.”

People gives it the lead review, seconds the comparison to The Stand and adds The Andromeda Strain, but gives it only three out of four stars (review not online until next week):

“Unfortunately The Passage doesn’t quite live up to its forerunners. The first 200 pages are spectacular…Then the story jumps forward a century — and loses momentum… [the] books is bogged down by generic set pieces and color-by-numbers action sequences.”

The New York Times tells the backstory on how Cronin conceived the trilogy that begins wtih The Passage, which fetched a reported $3.75 million, and $1.75 for film rights. while USA Today offers snappy soundbites on the author and book, which was also selected by independent booksellers as the #1 Indie Next Pick for June.

The Passage Justin Cronin Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 784 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2010-06-08) ISBN / EAN: 0345504968 / 9780345504968

Other Major Fiction Titles on Sale Next Week

Vampire alert! In addition to The Passage, there are two other novels about the blood-loving breed landing next week. And let’s not forget the androids!

• Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown Teens) features a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits.
• Insatiable by Meg Cabot (Morrow) is a contemporary sequel to Dracula from the bestselling author of the Princess Diaries.
• Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books) is the latest in the Quirk Classics series.

These three Indie Next picks for June are also getting mentions in various summer reading roundups or were featured at BEA:

• Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson (Grand Central) is the #2 Indie Next pick after The Passage:  “Jackson writes like a woman on fire, hooking you in the very first sentence (‘It was an airport gypsy that told me I had to kill my husband’) and demanding total absorption straight through to the novel’s stunning conclusion,” says the blurb. Jackson was also one of the AAP Librarians Lunch speakers at BEA.
• A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Knopf) is a collection of layered stories about an aging record exec and his passionate, troubled employee.
• So Cold the River by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown) is about a floundering filmmaker who, in the course of making a documentary about a self-made millionaire, discovers abilities in himself that draw him to a powerful source of evil. “Koryta’s prose is fluid and masterful, making this a delightfully eerie and mesmerizing read,” according to Indie Next.

And here are some of the usual suspects for  summer reading:

• The Lion by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central) is a followup to The Lion’s Game and stars John Corey, former NYPD homicide detective and special agent for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force.
• Death Echo by Elizabeth Lowell (HarperCollins) is the fifth St. Kilda Consulting thriller (after Blue Smoke and Murder). According to PW, “Lowell’s primary focus on espionage rather than on romance is a major change from earlier novels, albeit a pleasing one.”

If you read the press coverage of last week’s Book Expo, you might come away with the impression that there were no actual books at the show. It all seems to be talk of eBooks, Google, dying business models and Sarah Ferguson (with only glancing mention of her book).

Last year, we were able to put together TWO “Big Books of BEA” lists, one fiction and one nonfiction, based on reports in the national press. Now, all we have is PW‘s roundup, which calls The Passage the book of the show. Yes, it has huge marketing behind it, which is refreshing in the book business today, but it’s coming out  NEXT WEEK; isn’t BEA about the big FALL season? The rest of the list is rundown of what was hyped at the Book Buzz panel, several big names authors’ next titles and a drive-by of some favorite indie presses.

This year, to get excited about the fall season, depend on the librarians’ Shout & Share picks and browsing the Edelweiss catalog of books at the show.

If you missed BEA’s Book & Author breakfast moderated by Jon Stewart, it will be broadcast this weekend on BookTV on Saturday at 11 a.m., with a repeat on Sunday at 1 a.m.

The breakfast featured Condoleezza Rice, John Grisham and Mary Roach.

Stewart & Roach cracked up the audience, and Rice was surprisingly touching (causing Stewart to beg, “Don’t make me like you.”)

At last week’s BEA, the Assoc. of American Publishers presented the second annual “Shout ‘n’ Share” program. This is an opportunity for librarians to come together at the end of the show and talk about the galleys, ARE’s, ARC’s and books that grabbed their attention on the show floor.

We have posted all the lists from the presenters on the panel; they are on the right, under “BEA Presentations” (note: if you have trouble downloading the document, email me and I will send you a copy).

The following are titles that were picked by two or more presenters. The titles link to the publishers descriptions.

JUNE

A Fierce Radiance Lauren Belfer Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 544 pages Publisher: Harper – (2010-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061252514 / 9780061252518

Listen to the presentation of this title from the HarperBuzz Panel at ALA MidWinter

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So Cold the River Michael Koryta Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 528 pages Publisher: Little, Brown and Company – (2010-06-09) ISBN / EAN: 0316053635 / 9780316053631

Large Type; Pbk; Little, Brown; 031608512X; $24.99
–

JULY

The Surf Guru Doug Dorst Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover – (2010-07-15) ISBN / EAN: 1594487618 / 9781594487613

AUGUST

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Mary Roach Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company – (2010-08-02) ISBN / EAN: 0393068471 / 9780393068474

Brilliance Audio; UNABR

8 CD’s; 9781441876638; $99.97
MP3-CD; 9781441876652; $39.97

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The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam Eliza Griswold Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux – (2010-08-17) ISBN / EAN: 0374273189 / 9780374273187

Blackstone Audio; UNABR

11 CDs; 1-4417-5360-1; $109
1 MP3CD; 1441753632; $29.95
10 Tapes; 1441753595; $79.95

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Juliet Anne Fortier Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2010-08-24) ISBN / EAN: 0345516109 / 9780345516107

RH Audio; UNABR; 9780739384954; $40
.

SEPTEMBER

Russian Winter: A Novel Daphne Kalotay Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: Harper – (2010-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061962163 / 9780061962165

HarperAudio; UNABR 9780062012371; $27.99
HarperLuxe; 9780062002426; $25.99
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HarperAudio; UNABR; ISBN: 9780061988486; $39.99
HarperLuxe ; ISBN: 9780061979224; 540; $25.99

This was also presented at the Harper Buzz Panel, listen here.

OCTOBER

Great House: A Novel Nicole Krauss Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company – (2010-10-04) ISBN / EAN: 0393079988 / 9780393079982

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Exley Brock Clarke Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Algonquin Books – (2010-10-05) ISBN / EAN: 1565126084 / 9781565126084

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The Sleepwalkers Paul Grossman Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2010-10-12) ISBN / EAN: 0312601905 / 9780312601904

HighBridge Audio; UNABR; 9781615731053; Oct; $31.46
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The Wake of Forgiveness Bruce Machart Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade – (2010-10-21) ISBN / EAN: 0151014434 / 9780151014439

NOVEMBER

Cleopatra: A Biography Stacy Schiff Retail Price: $29.99 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Little, Brown and Company – (2010-11-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316001929 / 9780316001922

Hachette LARGE PRINT; Hdbk; 9780316120449; $31.99
Hachette Audio; UNABR; 9781607887010; 34.98
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Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories Simon Winchester Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Harper – (2010-11-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061702587 / 9780061702587

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Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love Larry Levin Retail Price: $19.99 Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing – (2010-11-04) ISBN / EAN: 0446546313 / 9780446546317

Hachette Audio; UNABR; 9781607886617; $24.98
.

DECEMBER

HarperAudio; 9780062034533; $18.99
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The Sherlockian Graham Moore Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Twelve – (2010-12-01) ISBN / EAN: 0446572594 / 9780446572590

FEBRUARY

If you didn’t get to BEA, or even if you did and feel that you missed a few publishers, Edelweiss has created an online catalog of titles that were at the show. It’s worth checking out, if only to get a glimpse of the future of publishers catalogs.

The Edelweiss catalog offers several advantages over print. You can browse all the catalogs by genre, allowing you to look at all 332 cookbooks that were exhibited, and further letting you to narrow the search down to the 17 Vegetarian and Vegan books (hey, look at that, there’s a vegan book for “Latin Food Lovers”).

The GeoSearch tool (accessible from the tabs across the top) is a new function from Edelweiss, allowing you to find books related to your local area. I used it to discover that a new book on the Auburn Cord Duessenberg Racers is coming in October; it’s within driving distance of my former high school. This works with publishers full catalogs, too; get to them via the “Switch Market View” tab at the very top.

Under specific title pages, you will find publishing background you won’t find elsewhere. For instance, the first novel, Juliet, which was one of the picks for the librarian’s “Shout ‘n’ Share” program, will be getting quite a bit of promotion when it is released in August; clearly, the publisher has already invested heavily in it, as evidenced by this note:

HOT TITLE!: The talk of 2008’s Frankfurt Bookfair, this debut novel was preempted by Ballantine on the morning of what promised to be a highly competitive auction. Write-ups about the novel appeared in all the publishing press. Foreign rights were subsequently sold in twenty-nine territories.

Edelweiss also lets you see how the book is being discussed on Twitter and, if you register with Edelweiss, you can tag titles, to create lists accessible from the navigation bar at the top.

Hurry, though, the BEA listings will only be up through June 11th.

Below are some items from the BEA panel “Libraries in a World of Digits,”

• OverDrive White Paper, “How eBook Catalogs at Public Libraries Drive Publishers’ Book Sales and Profits.”

• Michael Santangelo Brooklyn PL’s Downloadable Collections & an IFLA-Sponsored eBook Survey (PowerPoint download)

If you are waking up today with the sense that BEA flashed by way too quickly, you will be happy to hear the news that it’s returning to the three-day format next year, as announced by show manager Steven Rosato announced on his blog yesterday.

It will continue to be midweek, however, which Rosato says was “absolutely the right decision,” running Tuesday through Thursday, with conference programming on Monday.

Making an interesting distinction, he explains the decision, “… while many people liked BEA as a 2 day show – more people need BEA to be a 3 day show.”

Just in time, Library Journal‘s Barbara Hoffert picks the “authors to stalk and galleys to grab” from the thousands that will be at BEA this week.

Just don’t take that grabbing and stalking too literally, like some librarians did at TLA this year, bringing a rebuke from The Goddess of YA Literature herself, Teri Lesesne.

Even if you’re not going to BEA, Barbara’s guide is a handy look at the upcoming season.

There will be hundreds of authors in the BEA booths next week, but one has a special appeal for librarians. Tantor Audio will be hosting the Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All at booth #3976  next Thursday from 11 am to noon.

In the process of promoting her book, Marilyn has become even more passionate about the need for library support, as she exhibits in this video from MidWinter:

—-
MARILYN JOHNSON
This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All
Read by Hillary Huber
Running Time: 7 hrs 30 min – Unabridged
Trade 9781400116348 6 Audio CD $34.99
Library 9781400146345 6 Audio CD $69.99
MP3 9781400166343 1 MP3-CD $24.99

You may notice that “procrastinator” in the headline is singular — the procrastinator is actually me. I know none of my fellow librarians would have waited until now put together their schedules.

Identifying all the BEA programs you might want to attend can be frustrating, since, unlike ALA, programming is created by many different groups, from the AAP to FOLUSA and are announced in various places.

Happily, for this procrastinator, Publishers Marketplace has put together a handy app. Under schedules, it gives you quick information on Main Events, Author Signings and even has a special section for Librarian Events (note that the LJ and SLJ events on Tuesday are part of each magazine’s Day of Dialog, which are sold out now).

I’m also checking LJ‘s guide, which selects all programs that are of interest to librarians, not just those that have “library” in the title.

NOT included on the Publishers Marketplace app, is the AAP’s great author dinner for librarians; we hear there are still a few spots open, but you need to RSVP (dinner is FREE) by tomorrow:

The Association of American Publishers Cordially Invites you to:

Dinner on Tuesday, May 25^th

Holiday Inn West 57^th Street. Embassy Ballroom 7 pm

With authors:
Cory Doctorow, author of For The Win (Tor/Forge)

Rachel Vincent, author of My Soul To Keep (Harlequin Teen)

Anne Fortier, author of Juliet (Ballantine)

Jane Green, author of Promises To Keep (Viking)

Ann Brashares, author of My Name Is Memory (Riverhead)

Co-Hosted with Library Journal

Please email Marlene Scheuermann, AAP by Friday, May 21st. Be sure to  indicate you want to attend the Librarians Dinner.