Algonquin to Host Top-Shelf Evening for ABA Booksellers at BEA

All ABA member booksellers at BookExpo America are invited to the Algonquin Buzzed Panel on Wednesday, May 28, from 9:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt New York’s Gallery on Lex.

 The top-shelf evening will feature:

• Whiskey tasting sponsored by award-winning High West Distillery out of Park City, Utah
• Hand-crafted beers from Nantucket’s Cisco Brewers, including its acclaimed Indie Pale Ale (the official beer of indie booksellers, from the brewery founded by Wendy Hudson of Nantucket Bookworks and her husband, Randy).

 And intoxicating appearances by Algonquin’s barrel-aged authors:

• Edward Hemingway (Of All the Gin Joints: Stumbling Through Hollywood History)
• Bill Roorbach (The Remedy for Love)
• Brock Clarke (The Happiest People in the World)
• Lin Enger (The High Divide)

Algonquin’s director of marketing and chief bartender, Craig Popelars, has made it clear that he won’t take responsibility for what happens at the Algonquin Buzzed Panel or the state in which booksellers will arrive at BookExpo the next morning. “I can ensure that the blend of High West’s exceptional whiskeys, Cisco’s hops-happy brews, and the authors that we have on tap will make for a very entertaining evening.” 

While a High West “whiskey missionary” will be on hand to introduce the distillery’s spirits, the highlight of the event will be the “You Can’t Do This at a Trade Show Buzz Bowl.” This off-kilter trivia contest will pit four teams against each other. Each team will feature one Algonquin author and two booksellers that are versed in literature, ’70s soft rock, bookselling lore, and oddities of the universe.

“Do you really think we’d make booksellers sit through a traditional author panel discussion after a day of ABA Education? Heck no!” said Popelars. Prizes, including swag from High West Distillery and Cisco Brewers and treasures that Popelars has purchased cheaply off of eBay, will be awarded.