BEA 2015 Recap Part III

If you missed out my first and second BEA 2015 recaps, check them out!

Friday, May 29, 2015

I had only six things I HAD to attend on the last day of BEA. Selina and I woke up around 6:15 again but we were a bit late leaving the hotel since we had to make sure we had all of our bags. We

managed to grab the shuttle a few minutes after standing outside of the hotel and made it to the Javits. The line for the luggage check in was super long and we barely made it to the Children's Author Breakfast in time. The Children's Author Breakfast was fantastic. I loved hearing Nathan Lane, Oliver Jeffers and Rainbow Rowell talk about their past and about some of their influences for their books. Oliver Jeffers talk captivated me. I love how he told the audience a story and illustrated it right in front of us. Selina and I left the breakfast after Rainbow's talk and skipped out on James Patterson since the floor just opened. I was able to get a The Day the Crayons Quit tote bag, Fangirl and Naughty Mabel.

I believe I headed toward the Autographing Area and saw Elizabeth in line for Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly. I already own the book but I wanted to chat with MarcyKate and I wanted a signed copy. I ended up meeting Angela in line and she had the most amazing dress. Her dress has miniature copies of some of her favorite YA books sewn onto the skirt part of the dress. The books open up and they contain actual text on the pages. I know her dress was a huge hit at BEA because many photos of her sporting the amazing dress is on Twitter.

I ended up walking around the booths for a bit before lining up for Kim Liggett's signing of Blood and Salt at the HorrorWrites booth. Marci joined me soon afterwards. We actually met a librarian from Bolton, MA who was super nice. I was so happy to finally meet Kim. We chatted briefly on Twitter and it's so great to meet authors you chat with online in person. Kim will be a guest at the Boston Teen Author Festival in September so I hope I will be able to see her then as well.

I actually forgot about Bobby Flay's signing but I assumed it would have been a huge line and it would cause me to miss Liza Wiemer's signing. I ended up walking around the booths before heading to line up for Liza's signing. I chatted with Lauren from Love is Not a Triangle for a bit before the signing started. Liza is one of those authors who is so lively and she super grateful for everyone lining up to meet her and to have their chance to read Hello? I tried to jump into the Katherine Applegate line for Crenshaw but they were out of books half way through her signing which made me sad. I walked back to the other side of the Exhibit Hall to wait for a drop of Marie Marquardt's Dream Things True at Macmillan. I wish I stayed behind to get Marie to sign my book. I didn't know she was signing as well until later on after the drop. I bailed on the Rainbow Rowell signing earlier in the day due to the ticket fiasco. Plus, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a light pink collector's edition of Fangirl at the Children's Author Breakfast and I already met Rainbow last year.

I didn't have anything on my schedule until 1:00 so I ended up meeting with Melissa, Elizabeth and Devin for lunch at the food court. I bought an expensive chicken sandwich but it was seriously the cheapest thing that was substantial enough to call a meal. After lunch I lined up for Jennifer Walkup's line for This Ordinary Life. I was so overjoyed to meet Jennifer. She had bookmarks and pins to promote her book as well. I actually had time to pop in the Leila Sales line. Although I already picked  up a copy of Tonight The Streets Are Ours, I wanted to meet Leila and to tell her how I loved This Song Will Save Your Life and how I am excited to see her again in Brookline, MA when she tours for Tonight The Streets Are Ours. I ended up giving away my unsigned copy of the book to someone who wasn't able to pick up a copy. NOVL tweeted about a secret password (Project Buffalo) for Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray so I was able to pick up a copy at the Hachette booth.

The book that I wanted the most at BEA is Soundless by Richelle Mead. I ended up using my front of the line pass and it was so worth it. I saw Nicole, Melissa, Britt and Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner around this time. I lucked out and caught the end tail of Jackson Pearce's and Maggie Stiefvater's line for Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures. Afterwards, I went to sit down and chatted with some people. I ended up meeting up with Xander again and we chatted for a bit and he convinced me to join him for the Lexa Hillyer line for Proof of Forever. I wandered the floor and passed by Disney when they were handing out the Ballet Cat tote bags and ARCs. Earlier in the day, I actually forgot what time the drop was going to be at but everything worked out fine since I just happened to peruse by the Disney booth at the right time. I have been really bad about being on top of galley drops at Disney but I was excited I made the Ballet Cat one.

I met up with Selina for the Middle Grade Characters & Adventures panel with Corey Ann Haydu, Lauren Oliver, Kevin Sands and Ken Oppel. It was nice to rest for a bit and to enjoy what authors had to say about their books. Selina and I stopped by the Out of Print booth to pick up a couple of things before getting our bags. We somehow fit everything in our bags and took the shuttle to Penn Station. Of course our train was delayed but I was so excited to go home. We were fortunate enough to see a lovely sky on the train ride home.

The train ride wasn't that bad. It was pretty quick and I got into Boston around 10:20ish. I was super tired and all I wanted to do is go to bed. My boyfriend informed me that I would be waking up early the next day for a day trip to Martha's Vineyard with two of our friends. I don't think I even unpacked my bags until Sunday since I was so tired on Friday and I had no time on Saturday to unpack.

Overall my BEA 2015 trip was a success. I probably won't attend BEA 2016 in Chicago but you can count me in to be at ALA Midwinter since Boston is hosting it in 2016.