BEA Recap: Days 1 & 2

I went back and forth with myself trying to decide whether or not to do a recap post(s), but I know when I was preparing for BEA I couldn't get enough of them. I had so many questions, and there were so many things I didn't understand. So for those of you who might be going next year for the first time, I hope these posts answer some of your questions. For everyone else, I hope you at least enjoy the pictures and stories! I admit that I'm also using my blog as a scrapbook for my week in New York :)

Day 1: Sunday

After flying from New Orleans to Chicago to LaGuardia, we finally hit NYC just after 1pm. We then checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Midtown, which was one of the hotels designated for the ABA. After getting settled and taking a breather, we headed to Little Italy for some pizza. By Josh's recommendation, we ended up at Lombardi's, America's first pizzeria. After stuffing ourselves with some amazing food, we walked a few blocks to Eileen's Special Cheesecake which was recommended by our waitress.

Then we walked to a few more big tourist attractions including the Scholastic Store, Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, the Lego Store, and St Patrick's Cathedral. Being my first time in New York, it was really amazing to see all the familiar sights in person. It was also a lot of fun to see Josh's reaction as he'd never even been on a subway before. Later that night, Random House hosted a cocktail party at our hotel for ABA members. (I guess I should explain that Josh and I were registered as ABA members because we traveled with my local booksellers, John and Michelle of Cavalier House Books.) I picked up a few books and got to talk to our New Orleans neighbors from Maple Street Book Shop. All in all it was a great day in the city, and we were wiped out after being up for so long.

Day 2: Monday

We got up bright and early to head down to the Javits Center to pick up our badges. Josh and I skipped out on the first half of the ABA Day of Education to fit in some sight seeing. We rode the subway down to Battery Park to see Lady Liberty. We were hoping to take the ferry out to actually tour the statue, but we didn't have enough time.

We got back on the subway and walked to Chinatown for some lunch. I must say Excellent Dumpling House did indeed have excellent dumplings and they were well worth the wait for them to open. After lunch we jetted back to Javits for a few afternoon classes. The first was Creating Events for Children, which gave me a ton of great ideas to bring to my local indie. The next was The Digital Market and the YA Audience. This one was also very interesting and featured one of my favorite authors, David Levithan. After the panel was over, with a lot of shoving from Josh, I introduced myself as one of his biggest fans and asked for a picture. As we were leaving I mentioned I would actually be seeing him later that afternoon at Teen Author Carnival. And then, something crazy happened.

He asked if we would like to split a cab with him. And then I apparently said yes because the next thing I knew I was sitting in a cab with David Levithan and having an actual conversation without having to breathe into a paper bag or vomit or squeal or anything else grossly embarrassing. Unfortunately the cab ride ended, but what awaited us at NYPL Mulberry was nothing short of amazing. Over 25 authors were there speaking, signing, and just being awesome. We sat in on the Kick Ass Females and Teenage Angst panels which respectively featured Malinda Lo, Carol Estby Dagg, Michelle Zink, Courtney Allison Moulton, Andrea Cremer, Elizabeth Scott, Michelle Hodkin, Kirsten Hubbard, Lisa Desrochers and David Levithan, Hannah Moskowitz, Melissa Walker, Susane Colasanti, Gayle Forman, Kody Keplinger, Torrey Maldonado, Caridad Ferrer, Ellen Hopkins. Both panels were hugely entertaining and insightful. Afterwards everyone lined up for the signings and Kristi from The Story Siren just happened to be right in front of me. It was nice chatting with her and putting an actual person with the blog. I got a huge stack of books signed, and I scored a Mara Dyer shirt and a Figment goody bag filled with ARCs and candy. All in all it was a great day, and we were wiped out by the time we got to the hotel that night.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I recap last Tuesday, the first day of BEA!!