BookExpo 2017: Day 1 Recap

BookExpo (previously known is BookExpo America) is book industry trade show that will took place May 31, 2017 to June 2, 2017 at the Javits Center in New York City. This is an awesome event to network, to learn about upcoming titles and to immerse yourself in everything bookish. BookExpo is the leading book and author event for the North American publishing industry. I was fortunate enough to attend this year as an educator and blogger. I only attended the expo on June 1st and June 2nd.

Off to NYC

BookExpo went by so fast but I had so much fun meeting people and reuniting with friends. On Wednesday, May 31st, Selina and I met up at South Station and took the Amtrak to Penn Station. The trip felt fairly quick. After we arrived at Penn Station, we ended up Ubering to the Javits Center to pick up our badges and then headed to our Airbnb. I got to see the Warcross banner go up when I was wandering around the Javits for a bit which was pretty awesome.

I totally forgot how small NYC apartments are but it was doable for our needs for the next couple of nights. Our Airbnb host was super nice and her apartment was located in a good location of Hell's Kitchen. It was very convenient to get around the city. We ended up getting some Italian food at 44 Southwest Ristorante & Bar near by the apartment and I ended up picking up a milk tea at the Vivi Bubble Tea shop. Both of us were excited about the first day of BookExpo and unfortunately for me, I didn't really get much sleep.

Day 1 of BookExpo

Selina and I woke up around 7:15-7:30 and went to a diner down the street for some breakfast. We didn't get to the Javits until a bit after 9:00. I believe we were on the floor by 9:04 and it's nuts how most of the galley giveaways were gone in minutes. We unfortunately didn't get anything in the morning and we decided to focus on our signings for the AM. I ended up going to Macmillan to get a ticket for the Katherine Applegate Wishtree signing at 10:00. I love how Macmillan paired up with First Book to give a book per wish initiative. For every wish written on a paper leaf sticky, a book is donated to a child.

After that I went do a quick round of the show floor to familiar myself with my surroundings before heading to the Autographing Area for the Margarita Engle and Mike Curato signing. It was so nice to see Mike again and he let me page through his upcoming Little Elliot book, Little Elliot, Fall Friends, while he signed my copy of All the Way to Havana. Everyone also got a Little Elliot signed print.

I proceeded to HarperCollins for a drop of Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire. The novel sounds interesting and it's a retelling of the Nutcracker. Some how I found Marci from The Plot Bunny wandering around the exhibit hall and I met her friend Ashley from The Tattered Page. We ended up chatting for a bit before heading to Macmillan for a galley drop for Girls Made of Snow and Glass. Then we proceeded to Bloomsbury for a drop of The Unicorn Quest: The Whisper in the Stone. Afterwards, the three of us went to the Rules of Magic signing line to meet Alice Hoffman at Simon & Schuster. I was so excited to meet Alice and the Rules of Magic is one of my most anticipated books to get for Thursday. The novel is the prequel to Practical Magic.

The Warcross line was super long but so worth it! The Penguin Random House are was swamped with people but I know Warcross is on a lot of people's TBR list. Disney was having a drop of The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken which is MG novel. Marci, Ashley and I were able to get a copy. I had a quick lunch afterwards before heading toward HarperCollins for a drop of They Both Die at the End. It was interesting that the drop was during the same time as Adam Silvera's signing of the very same title. Since I've seen Adam so many times before and he will be at the Boston Teen Author Festival in Cambridge, MA in the fall, I didn't need to be in the signing line. I heard the signing was quite lengthy and some people couldn't meet Adam.

After the drop, I went to the Autographing Area to meet Rossella Rago and to get a finished copy of Cooking with Nonna. I cannot wait to try these fantastic Italian recipes at home. One of the adult fiction novels on my list was The Twelve-Mile Straight. I couldn't wait to meet Eleanor Henderson and she was super nice. I was excited that she recognized me from Twitter. Next on the list is Ringer by Lauren Oliver. I am looking forward to reading this sequel in the Replica series. Also, It's nice to see Lauren again. I had my ARC personalized to Elizabeth and Lauren told me how her sister got named after Elizabeth Bennet and how she got named after a neighbor. Lauren is always a pleasure to chat with.

I stopped by Sourcebooks for a drop of The List by Patricia Forde and totally forgot that Tamara Ireland Stone was signing Click'd at Disney. I had to meet Tamara since I loved Every Last Word and I definitely wanted to tell her how much I liked the book. I succeeded and was able to see her at 2:50. I can't believe I almost missed the chance to meet Tamara! 

Bloomsbury had a drop of Reign the Earth at 3:00 so when I was waiting in line for the Meg Kassel signing, I was able to get a copy. Entangled Teen had a booth for the first time at BookExpo and I was excited that Meg Kassel was going to be signing copies of Black Bird of the Gallows. This book has been on my TBR list for quite sometime and I wasn't sure if it was ever going to be published since it was dropped from Egmont when Egmont closed. I am so happy Entangled Teen picked it up! Meg is such a sweetheart too. She was definitely enthusiastic to be at BookExpo and I don't blame her :).

My last thing of the day was the pick up a cocktail and a finished copy of The Wildcrafted Cocktail. I have to say that the drink was delicious and very smooth. Cheers to the end of the first day of BookExpo!

I went to get my bag and met up with Selina. We caught an Uber back to the apartment and then we took a nap for an hour or so before we headed out for dinner. Selina and I met up with Josh, one of the MISTI-Con staff members who also happens to be Selina's friend. We ended up eating at Southern Hospitality BBQ for some pulled pork sandwiches. Selina wanted some Pink Berry so she got some froyo afterwards. Let's say we spent a good amount of time talking about the MISTI-Con that occurred last month and we came up with some ideas for MISTI-Con 2019. I can't wait for the next MISTI-Con!

After a long day, we got some sleep for the next day, which happens to be our last day in NYC. We had to make sure all our bags were pretty much packed before hitting the hay.