Book Expo America

Well, I had a thrilling day meeting book publishers, listening to authors and editors, and grabbing galley copies of books for The Wheatley School IMC. My shoulders are killing me from lugging around a thousand pounds of books and catalogs, but it was well worth it. Once I conquered the traffic of the Long Island Expressway, and I mean conquered, I entered the cavernous Javits Center in NYC. Two huge floors of books- I was like a kid in a candy store. At my first stop, I met a librarian from Cleveland and we shared our top titles that we are dying to read. This was while we were waiting to hear Charles McGrath of the New York Times moderate a discussion between John Irving (The World According to Garp) and Richard Russo (Empire Falls), They discussed their writing styles, both storytellers, and if they write to please others- no, they write to please themselves. It takes them about 5 years to write a book, so they both commented on how important it is to care about their characters- after all, they will be living with them for quite some time. Both authors also commented on their love for Charles Dickens as a storyteller. Neither man reads many other current authors, only for lack of time due to their focus on writing both their novels and screenplays. Then it was off to scour the shelves to see what forthcoming titles I MUST order for the IMC. Later in the afternoon, I attended an YA editors BUZZ session. Six top editors book talked their newest most favorite book due out in Fall 2009. It was spectacular. I was able to snag the galleys for three of the books mentioned, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, which sounds like a perfect book for all us Hunger Games fans, as well as those who love The Giver and The Uglies. In addition, I snagged Viola in Reel Life by bestselling author Adriana Triiani, which focuses on a girl from Brooklyn New York who has to attend boarding school in the small town of South Bend Indiana while her documentary filmmaker parents are shooting in Afghanistan for a year. Finally, I got a hold of The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander and I cannot wait to read it. Set in Texas, it is the story of a 15 year old girl who is tired of waiting on the sidelines of life and wants to ride on the hood of the shiny pickup truck in the annual parade in Proper County. Becoming the Sweetheart also involves participation in the Future Farmers club and our protagonist becomes involved with her lovable Rooster, Charles Dickens!
I have a bunch of other titles, so come into the IMC and check out my haul!