Audio's presence at BEA was loud and clear, from start to finish. The week's events kicked off with the annual APA conference on Thursday, May 31, at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. Friday night brought the annual Audie Awards, held at the Chicago Art Institute and hosted by narrator/actors Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres. (For the complete list of winners, see PW, June 11.) Saturday featured the convention's first-ever audiobook-specific author event, the Audiobook Tea (sponsored by APA), which offered a panel of bestselling authors sharing amusing tales of recording their own audiobooks. James Patterson spoke about his change-of-pace novel, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas (Time Warner Audio). Robert Crais, author of Hostage (Brilliance Audio), related some of his adventures in Hollywood. Jacquelyn Mitchard read a selection from A Theory of Relativity (Harper Audio). The fourth panelist was Bill O'Reilly, author of The O'Reilly Factor (BDD Audio), who tempted the audience with hints about the scandalous contents of his forthcoming The No Spin Zone: Confrontations with the Powerful and Famous in America (BDD Audio, Oct.), which promises behind-the-scenes looks at George W. Bush, Dan Rather, Susan Sarandon, Puff Daddy and others.

On the convention floor, audio publishers were pleased to be grouped together in one central location, resulting in more traffic than usual. Publishers also noted increased interest in audiobooks. "We've been busy all day long. This is the kind of BEA I like," said Eileen Hutton, v-p of Brilliance. Ken Oxenreider, director of national accounts sales for Simon & Schuster Audio, declared it "spectacular. There seem to be a lot more people this year interested in putting in racks of audio. There's more interest in CDs, and there's also an upswing in the library and college market." Hugh Penton, founder of Penton Overseas, called it "fabulous. I think this will be our best BEA ever."

Brilliance was pushing June Is Audiobook Month by offering retailers three different contests (each including cash prizes) in which to distinguish their promotions of Audiobook month. Information can be had by e-mailing sales@brillianceaudio.com. Audio's fall lists look promising. Time Warner's was especially impressive, with upcoming titles that include autobiographies by Tiger Woods (How I Play Golf) and General Electric CEO Jack Welch (Jack), An Open Heart, written and read by the Dalai Lama, and fiction by stellar authors: Upcountry by Nelson DeMille, Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks, Violets Are Blue by James Patterson and Last Man Standing by David Baldacci.

Random House's fall starts off with a bang with Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub, the long-awaited sequel to The Talisman. Other top titles include new fiction from Sue Miller (The World Below), Anne Rice (Blood and Gold), and Laura Esquivel (Swift as Desire). World War II mania continues with Larry King's Love Stories of World War II.

BDD's fiction highlights are The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans and The Kiss by Danielle Steel; nonfiction highlights are The Road to Wealth by Suze Orman and Last Breath: Death at the Extreme of Human Endurance by Peter Stark.

Simon & Schuster's hot prospects include At the Altar of Speed by Leigh Montville, the first major biography of late race car driver Dale Earnhardt; War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton, and the Generals by David Halberstam; a new audio by self-help guru Phillip C. McGraw; and I Ain't Scared of You by comedian Bernie Mac.

New Millennium is excited about The Private Diary of Howard Hughes by Richard Hack, The Last Empire: Essays 1992—2000 by Gore Vidal, The Shiksa Goddess by Wendy Wasserstein and Justice by Dominick Dunne.

WWII meets a baby-boomer icon in Harper Audio's PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by Robert J. Donovan. Harper's other hot titles include Sebastian Junger's Fire, Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs and The Associate by Philip Margolin.

Mystery/suspense is big on Brilliance's list, with upcoming titles Seduction in Death by J.D. Robb, Total Recall by Sara Paretsky, and Hostage by Robert Crais.

With more audio interest among retailers and increasing numbers of audio racks, audio publishers are understandably pleased with what they saw, and heard, in Chicago.