Children's Book Activities at BEA

We've attempted to round up all of the children's book activities scheduled thus far. This year, the Association of Booksellers for Children will hold its annual meeting, its afternoon of programming plus the Evening with Children's Booksellers all on the same day: Thursday. The Children's Book and Author Breakfast will be held on Friday, and additional programs of interest to children's booksellers are scheduled for Saturday.

9–11:45 a.m. The Association of Booksellers for Children combines programming with the ABA for the morning's offerings (see p. 71).

11:45 a.m. ABC Annual Meeting. Room 502B. Fee: $50 for the all-day program; additional attendees from the same bookstore, $25 each. For a complimentary box lunch, courtesy of Hyperion, participants must register in advance with the ABC (reply to executive director Anne Irish: airish3900@aol.com) by May 9.

Afternoon programs (2–4:15 p.m.). Room 502B:

Books Too Good to Miss (2–2:30 p.m.), a discussion with Chris Crutcher and his editor, Virginia Duncan.

Children's Book Buzz Workshop (2:30–3:45 p.m.). Co-sponsored by ABA, ABC and CBC. The session takes a "moveable feast" format as editors and marketing staff from several publishing houses present new titles in small roundtable discussions.

Author Esmé Raji Codell (3:45–4:15 p.m.). The author of Sahara Special (Hyperion) will speak.

3–4:30 p.m. Youth Market: Books to Film & TV/Film & TV to Books. Convention Center, Room 404B. Fee $59 (register through BookExpo, www.bookexpoamerica.com). Key figures from both the print and agency sides of the deals will discuss the synergy between these entertainment forms. Moderator: Kendra Marcus, BookStop Literary Agency. Speakers: Bridget Marmion of Houghton Mifflin; Victoria King, 20th Century Fox; Jason Grode of Grodehouse; Byron Preiss, ibooks; and Bob Weiss, Spark Notes.

5:45–8:30 p.m. ABC Annual Secret Garden Silent Auction and Evening with Children's Booksellers Dinner. The Empress Pavilion, 988 North Hill St. (in Chinatown). ABC members: $60; nonmembers: $75;. table of 10: $650. Order tickets from the ABC by May 9. Auction: 5:45–7:15 p.m.; dinner: 7:15–8:30 p.m.; followed by speakers Wendelin Van Draanen (the Sammy Keyes series) and Cornelia Funke.

8–9:30 a.m. The Children's Book and Author Breakfast. Concourse Hall at the Convention Center. Tickets: $25 (through www.bookexpoamerica.com). Speakers: Barbara Park, the Junie B. Jones series (Random House); Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers, Blues Journey (Holiday); and Robert Sabuda, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (S&S/Little Simon).

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Children's Books in Spanish: Collection Development for Public Libraries. Room 504. Free admission. Highlights critical issues in selecting, acquiring and using children's books in Spanish. Speakers: Teresa Mlawer of Lectorum Publications; Isabel Schon, Barahona Center for the Study of Books in Spanish for Children and Adolescents; Thad Phillips and Margaret Saura of Downey City Library, Calif.

9–10 a.m. Big Events for Little People. Room 406A. Free admission.

For those interested in hosting successful children's book events, this seminar offers tips for booksellers, from small independent retailers with limited budgets to larger outlets with more fiscal flexibility. Speaker: Nikki Tate, author and children's bookseller, Bolen Books.

9–10 a.m. The Children's Christian Market 2003: Veggie Tales and More. Room 405. Free admission. Thanks to series like Left Behind and Veggie Tales, the children's Christian arena offers new revenue streams for retailers. Attendees will receive 10 new products and will interface with major Christian publishers. Speaker: Dr. Mary Manz Simon.

10:30 a.m.–noon. Targeting Today's Teens. Room 406B. Fee: $59 (through www.bookexpoamerica.com). Experts in teen literature answer questions about what has worked for them in appealing to this age group, including trends, teen literature awards and getting teen input. Moderator: Amy Alessio of Schaumburg Township District Library, Ill. Speakers: Marc Aronson, Carus Publishing; Michael Cart, author/lecturer/consultant; Carol Fitzgerald, The Book Report Network; David Gale, S&S Children's Books; Christopher Oarr of CrossGen Comics; Pam Muñoz Ryan, author.

1–2:30 p.m. Starting a Spanish-Language Section in Your Bookstore. Room 504. Free admission. This session will help booksellers assess whether to add a section of Spanish-language books to their stores, which titles to carry and how to order them.