A BEA Photo Album: Children's Books and Authors at the Show
By Diane Roback -- Publishers Weekly, 6/5/2008
Throughout the speeches, autographings, events and parties, and even while strolling the convention aisles, our photographers were on hand. Here we bring you a photographic view of the children's book scene at this year's BEA.
Friday morning dawned bright and early, as booksellers gathered for the annual Children's Book and Author Breakfast. Jon Scieszka, the national ambassador for young people’s literature, welcomed guests and introduced the speakers. Photo: SteveKagan.com
The Friday breakfast speakers: Neil Gaiman, Judy Blume, emcee Eoin Colfer, Sherman
Alexie and Jon Scieszka. Photo: SteveKagan.com
Many booksellers said they thought this was the funniest children's breakfast they'd
ever attended. See our full writeup here. Photo: SteveKagan.com
Alexie, Blume and Gaiman watch Colfer warm up the crowd. Photo: SteveKagan.com
Authors Jeff Kinney and Rick Riordan, who both spoke at the ABC Dinner. (OK, the "Not a Dinner.")
Andrew Smith of Little, Brown (red tie), hanging out with some of the house's authors:
(from l.) Trenton Lee Stewart, Sherman Alexie, Todd Parr, Pseudonymous Bosch
(remaining incognito) and Paul Feig.
Old friends and longtime ABC supporters Betty Takeuchi and Jody Fickes Shapiro
catch up at the ABC silent auction.
Katherine Paterson (l.) and Mary Brigid Barrett, contributors to Our White House:
Looking In, Looking Out (Candlewick), at the ABC Dinner. Barrett is the president
and founder of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, and Paterson is
the vice-president.
Random House Children's Books saw its name in lights, when it welcomed booksellers to a Saturday night party on the field of Dodger Stadium (conveniently, the Dodgers were in New York that weekend). Here, John Adamo, senior v-p of marketing, tests the outfield grass. Later, Paolini, Sachar, RHCB president Chip Gibson and others further tested the grass by playing a spirited game of catch.
Random House's new CEO, Markus Dohle (far l.), greets an all-star cast of authors:
Louis Sachar, Marjorie Priceman, Polly Horvath, Judy Sierra, Marc Brown, Judy Blume,
Kate Klimo and Christopher Paolini. Photo: Karina Pires Photography.
Booksellers proudly display baseballs signed by the authors in attendance that evening. From l.: Anne Holman from The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah; Kelly Wells from The King’s English; Brandi Stewart from Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Ariz.; Sue Boucher from Lake Forest Book Store in Lake Forest, Ill.; Ann Armstrong from Yellow Book Road, La Mesa, Calif., Mary Hayward from Yellow Book Road and Margaret Neville from The King’s English.
Meeting the new boss: Polly Horvath (l.), whose novel My One Hundred Adventures
pubs this fall under RH's Schwartz & Wade imprint, chats with her editor, Anne Schwartz, and Dohle. Photo: Karina Pires Photography.
Rick Riordan signs an exclusive-for-BEA card for The 39 Clues, at the party Scholastic threw for him at the Biltmore.
Just try taking a wedding photo with Frankenstein. It’s a nightmare. Here Adam Rex (center), author of Frankenstein Takes the Cake (Harcourt), attempts to serve cake at the wedding of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
Two children's moguls meet: Marc Brown chats with R.L. Stine.
The fanciest Nancy at the show. Actually she's not Nancy at all, but illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser, decked out in her best tiara and boa. Photo: SteveKagan.com
"Hey, Selznick," Scieszka whispered to the new Caldecott Medalist. "You written your speech yet?"
Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer (center) visits Johnny Temple, publisher of Akashic Books, and Johanna Ingalls, managing editor. Colfer, who wrote a story that was included in their Dublin Noir anthology, dropped by to introduce himself.
After trading quips with Eoin Colfer at a Disney dinner for booksellers Thursday night,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. signs blads of the latest title in his American Heroes series,
Robert Smalls, The Boat Thief. Photo: SteveKagan.com
Penguin threw a party for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to promote Influence (Razorbill), their coffee-table book about designers, photographers and other figures who have influenced them. From l., Ben Schrank of Razorbill, Mary-Kate Olsen, David Shanks, CEO of the Penguin Group, Ashley Olsen and Doug Whiteman of the Penguin Group. Photo: John Sciulli©Berliner Studio/BEImages
That's Kate DiCamillo, signing posters for her new picture book, Louise: The Adventures
of a Chicken (HarperCollins/Cotler), which Harry Bliss illustrated. Photo: SteveKagan.com
"We got towels! Who wants a towel?" Melanie Chang of Little, Brown
displays one of the show's more coveted giveaways: a beach towel
promoting Sergio Makes a Splash by Edel Rodriguez. Photo: SteveKagan.com
M.T. Anderson signs galleys of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, T
raitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves (Candlewick).
Nobody “walked on by” the Running Press booth when Dionne Warwick was in attendance; she signed copies of her picture book Say a Little Prayer, and chatted with associate publisher Craig Herman and publisher Jon Anderson.
Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson (l.) and Bone creator Jeff Smith.
First novelist Donna Freitas signing galleys of her forthcoming novel, The Possibilities of Sainthood (FSG). Photo: SteveKagan.com
Sourcebooks held a party Thursday night featuring performances by Marty Stuart, Alan Cheuse and Nikki Giovanni (above), who holds her new Hip Hop Speaks to Children picture book. Photo: SteveKagan.com
The Speed Dating with Children's Authors event was its usual whirlwind; here, Chris Raschka
shows a spread from his newest picture book with Norton Juster, Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie
(Scholastic/di Capua).
For the debut of the first book in the new James Patterson Pageturners line, Patterson signed copies of The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, written with Michael Ledwidge. Photo: SteveKagan.com.
Laura Geringer, Laura Numeroff and Valerie Lewis raise a cupcake to Numeroff's new picture book for HarperCollins. Photo: SteveKagan.com
Madeleine makes an appearance at the Penguin booth,
to draw attention to Madeline and the Cats of Rome
by John Bemelmans Marciano (Viking).
The most glamorous new author in children's books: Brooke Shields, signing her debut picture book, Welcome to Your World, Baby (HarperCollins). Photo: SteveKagan.com
President Lincoln (aka Mark Von Bargen, director of children's sales for Macmillan) holding the f&gs for Lincoln Shot: A President's Life Remembered (Feiwel and Friends), with Jeanne-Marie Hudson, executive director of marketing for Macmillan Audio.
To highlight the August 2 publication of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, Little, Brown
provided free coffee service outside the convention hall on Saturday and Sunday—a move
appreciated by booksellers (but probably less so by the nearby Starbucks concession).
Photo: SteveKagan.com
