BEA 2015 Offers Array of Children’s Programming

From the 21st Annual Children’s Book Art Auction and Reception on Tuesday evening, May 26, to the ABC/CBC Tea With Children’s Book Authors & Illustrators on Friday afternoon, May 29, BookExpo America offers a variety of programming with special appeal for children’s booksellers.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

Tuesday, May 26

The American Booksellers Association’s programming begins on Tuesday evening at Hotel ABA, the Grand Hyatt New York, at 42nd Street and Grand Central Station with the 21st Annual Children’s Book Art Auction and Reception. More than 100 pieces of art from well-known children’s illustrators, including special pieces created in recognition of Judy Blume, this year’s honoree, will be auctioned to benefit the American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE), the Kids’ Right to Read Project, and Banned Books Week. 

The auction and reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Hyatt’s Manhattan Ballroom. All BEA attendees are invited to attend. Tickets are $105 per person, but are free for members of the ABC Group at ABA, and $10 for other ABA member booksellers.

The auction is sponsored by ABFE, the ABC Children’s Group at ABA, and Random House Children’s Books (RHCB).

Learn more and purchase tickets here. To join the ABC Group at ABA, contact ABC Group Manager Matthew Zoni.

Thursday, May 28

The BEA Young Adult Editors’ Buzz, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. on Thursday, is open to all BEA attendees. The panel, which presents book editors discussing their favorite upcoming titles, will be supplemented with an Authors Stage appearance by featured authors. The Young Adult Buzz titles are:

• Dream Things True, by Marie Marquardt
  Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; Publication Date: September 1, 2015

• Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon
  Publisher: Delacorte Press; Publication Date: September 1, 2015

• Nightfall, by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski
  Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers; Publication Date: October 13, 2015

• The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume 1: At the Edge of Empire, by Daniel Kraus
  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Publication Date: October 25, 2015

• This Raging Light, by Estelle Laure
  Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Friday, May 29

Friday offers a full day of programming for children’s booksellers.

The day begins with the BEA Children’s Book & Author Breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Javits Center’s Grand Ballroom.

The authors and featured books are:

• Oliver Jeffers, illustrator of The Day the Crayons Came Home (Penguin Young Readers/Philomel)
• Rainbow Rowell, author of Carry On and a new special edition of Fangirl (St. Martin’s Griffin)
• James Patterson, author (with Chris Grabenstein and illustrator Juliana Neufeld) of Treasure Hunters: Secret of the Forbidden City and House of Robots: Robots Go Wild (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Nathan Lane, author (with Devlin Elliott and illustrator Dan Krall) of Naughty Mabel (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) – Master of Ceremonies.

This event is open to all BEA attendees; tickets may be purchased through the BookExpo America website.

Following the breakfast, at 10:00 a.m. will be the BEA Young Adult Editors’ Buzz – Authors Stage.

The Middle Grade Editors’ Buzz will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Editors will discuss these featured titles:

• George, by Alex Gino
  Publisher: Scholastic Press; Publication Date: August 25, 2015

• Last in a Long Line of Rebels, by Lisa Lewis Tyre
  Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books; Publication Date: September 29, 2015

• The Doldrums, by Nicholas Gannon
  Publisher: Greenwillow Books; Publication Date: September 29, 2015

• The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB, by Adam Shaughnessy
  Algonquin Young Readers; Publication Date: September 8, 2015

• The Thing About Jellyfish, by Ali Benjamin
  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Publication Date: September 15, 2015

Authors whose titles were highlighted at that morning’s editors’ presentations will appear at 1:00 p.m. on the Middle Grade Editors’ Buzz – Authors Stage.

From 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Friday, members of the ABC Group at ABA and friends of the Children’s Book Council are invited to the ABC/CBC Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors. Featured authors and illustrators who will pitch their new projects over lunch are:

• Deb Lucke
• Jim and Jamie Dutcher
• Ben Hatke
• Michael Buckley
• Linda Urban
• Salina Yoon
• Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri
• Gitty Daneshvari
• Jesse Andrews
• Adam Manscbach and Alan Zweibel
• Daniel Kraus
• T. Neill Anderson
• Steven Savage
• Jory John and Bob Shea
• Liniers
• Adam Silvera
• Gwendal Le Bec
• Patrick Ness

Reservations and prepayment ($25 per person) are required. Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration closes on May 15. Booksellers will receive their author assignments via e-mail in May. Learn more and purchase tickets here.

From 1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. as part of the BEA Conference Program, We Need Diverse Books will present WNDB Presents: Diversity, Be the Change You Want to See. Award-winning authors and WNDB team members will present tangible ways the publishing industry can talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to diversity in literature.

From 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., all ABA member booksellers are invited to the Indies Introduce Author Reception in the ABA Member Lounge, where they can sip champagne and have books and ARCs signed by the authors of titles in the 2015 Summer/Fall Indies Introduce program, including authors of middle grade and young adult titles.

To cap off the final day at BEA, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., members of the ABC Group at ABA and friends of the Children’s Book Council are invited to the ABC/CBC Tea With Children’s Book Authors & Illustrators. For this perennial favorite, booksellers will choose four of the participating authors and illustrators and will meet with three of them. The participating authors and illustrators are:

• Leigh Bardugo
• Sophie Blackall
• Kevin Henkes
• Emily Jenkins
• Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
• Marie Lu
• Meg Medina
• Don Tate
• Scott Westerfeld

For more on ABA programming at BEA, visit BookWeb.org.

To learn more about BEA’s education program and special events, to register, and to purchase tickets for the Book & Author Breakfasts, visit BookExpoAmerica.com.

To reserve a room at Hotel ABA, visit the Hyatt’s dedicated page for ABA members.