Publishing professionals both near and far are gearing up for this year’s BookExpo, which will take place May 31–June 2 at the Javits Center in New York City. We’ve put together a guide to the children’s book-focused sessions and events—from Editors’ Buzz Panels to author talks, and more—that attendees can look forward to next week. For our A to Z listings of publishers’ booths, click here.
Wednesday, May 31
Celebration of Bookselling Lunch
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Location: Special Events Hall
The annual luncheon will feature remarks by James Patterson, as well as the presentation of the 2017 Indies Choice Book Awards and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards. Indie Next List authors and award nominees will be introduced, and the annual PW Bookstore of the Year and Sales Rep of the Year awards will also be presented.
Following lunch, several of the authors will sign books for ABA members. A paid ticket is required for this event and space is limited.
The Silent Art Auction to Benefit ABFE and Every Child a Reader
Time: 5–7:30 p.m.
Location: South Corridor
The ABC Children’s Group at ABA and the Children’s Book Council have teamed up to bring back the silent art auction. Proceeds will benefit American Booksellers for Free Expression and Every Child a Reader. Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will serve as honorary chair of the event and will announce the winners of the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards.
Thursday, June 1
Young Adult Editors’ Buzz Panel
Time: 10–10:50 a.m.
Location: Room 1E12/1E13/1E14
The annual Buzz Panel presentations feature editors discussing their titles, which were selected by a committee made up of booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals as highly anticipated books of 2017.
This year’s finalists in the YA category are: Spinning by Tillie Walden (First Second); Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi (Razorbill); All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry
(Algonquin); The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); and Dear Martin by Nic Stone (Crown).
The discussion will be moderated by Heather Hebert, owner of Children’s Book World in Haverford, Pa. The YA authors with books on the panel will also appear on the Uptown Stage on Friday, June 2, from 10–10:30 a.m. Rebecca Munro, editorial coordinator at the Book Report Network, will moderate.
Friday, June 2
Children’s Book and Author Breakfast
Time: 8–9:30 a.m.
Location: Special Events Hall
The annual Children’s Book and Author Breakfast will be hosted by Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, who will discuss her picture book, Princesses Wear Pants. Guthrie will be joined by the following authors: Jason Reynolds, who will present his three forthcoming works, the YA Spider-Man novel Miles Morales and the novels Patina and Long Way Down; Jennifer Weiner to share her middle grade novel, Little Bigfoot, Big City; We Need Diverse Books founding member Marieke Nijkamp, who will talk about her new YA novel, Before I Let Go; and actress and comedian Isla Fisher, discussing her Marge in Charge series.
Book Reviews: The Diversity of Race, Ethnicity and Sexual Orientation
Time: 9:30–10:20 a.m.
Location: Room 1E10
The Children’s Book Council’s Diversity Committee will host a panel of book reviewers, bloggers, and publishing professionals focusing on how review publications address—and assess—issues of diversity in children’s literature. The panelists are: Vicky Smith, children’s and teen editor at Kirkus Reviews; Anastasia Collins, liaison librarian at the Simmons College Beatley Library; and Hannah Oliver Depp, operations director at WORD Bookstore in Jersey City, N.J. and Brooklyn, N.Y. Shelley Diaz, reviews manager and YA editor at School Library Journal, will moderate.
Handselling Graphic Novels to Your Non-Comics Reading Audience
Time: 9:30–10:20 a.m.
Location: 1E07/1E08
Gina Gagliano, marketing manager of First Second Books, will moderate a discussion with booksellers on promoting comics for readers of all ages and interests. The panelists include Geo Ong, Greenlight Bookstore; Angela Mann, Kepler’s; Terence Irvins, Kinokuniya USA; Rachel Person, Northshire Bookstore; and Pete Dolan, Main Street Comics.
Middle Grade Editors’ Buzz Panel
Time: 11–11:50 a.m.
Location: Room 1E12/1E13/1E14
This year’s picks in the Middle Grade category are: Auma’s Long Run by Eucabeth Odhiambo
(Carolrhoda); The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag (Graphix); Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt (Feiwel and Friends); The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay (Knopf); and The Unicorn Quest: The Whisper in the Stone by Kamilla Benko (Bloomsbury). The discussion will be moderated by Lauren Savage of the Reading Bug in San Carlos, Calif.
The authors with books on the panel will also appear on the Uptown Stage on Friday, June 2, from 2–2:30 p.m. Ellen Myrick, president of Myrick Marketing & Media, will moderate.
Building Successful School Visits with Middle Grade Authors
Time: 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Location: Uptown Stage
Middle grade authors Kate Messner (The Seventh Wish), Elizabeth Eulberg (The Great Shelby Holmes), and Courtney Sheinmel (the Stella Batts series) will take part in a discussion on how authors can develop school visit programs with independent bookstores.
ABC/CBC Speed Dating Lunch with Authors
Time: 12:15–1:45 p.m.
Location: Room 1E07/E08
ABC Group members and friends of the Children’s Book Council will gather for lunch with more than a dozen children’s book authors as they share their latest projects. Preregistration and prepayment are required.
A Fortunate Stage Talk: Neil Patrick Harris and Lemony Snicket
Time: 2–3 p.m.
Location: Main Stage
Join Lemony Snicket, creator of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and actor Neil Patrick Harris in conversation about their collaboration on the Netflix series and their upcoming books. The event will be moderated by Chris Harris, an Emmy-nominated writer and executive producer for How I Met Your Mother and writer for The Late Show with David Letterman. His debut children’s book, I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups, illustrated by Lane Smith, comes out in September.
Bestseller to Blockbuster: Authors Talk About the Book to Film Adaptation Process
Time: 2:45–3:30 p.m.
Location: Uptown Stage
Young adult authors Nicola Yoon (Everything, Everything), R.J. Palacio (Wonder), and Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) share insight on the page-to-screen adaptation process. Isabella Biedenharn of Entertainment Weekly will moderate.
Creative Minds Discuss the Creative Process
Time: 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Location: Downtown Stage
Designer Zac Posen (Cooking with Zac), Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani (Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World), and Veronica Roth (the Divergent series) will discuss creativity and their latest projects. Ben Dreyfuss, senior editor, growth and engagement at Mother Jones, will moderate.
For the full lineup of BookExpo events, click here. Get an early look at titles that will be on offer from bestselling children’s and YA authors in our roundup of Galleys to Grab.
