The end of May I headed to New Jersey for a visit with my grand-daughter and her parents!    The visit was timed to coincide with Book Expo America in New York City.  After years of involvement with the American Booksellers Association, I can not pass the opportunity to be with friends, attend educational sessions, hear from authors and editors, see new books, and let’s face it have a good time.  Mary took the train from Morristown, NJ, to the city one day.  We spent time on the convention floor and then had dinner with friends prior to seeing Memphis, the hit Broadway musical.  It was a great way to spend time with Mary!  Brian had attended many conventions, but he allowed Mary to form her own opinions.  She learned early about having author’s sign books and found a few t-shirts and water bottles to add to her bag of books.  In the photo Mary is wearing an orange t-shirt for GLEE, and reading BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED.

The other photo shows Ian (Sandy) Frazier signing advance copies of his new book Travels in Siberia due in October.  There were many authors, television personalities, and costumed characters at publihser booths, walking the convention floor, speaking at breakfasts or luncheons, and attending parites all over the city during the two day event.

Some highlights included…

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, was the master of ceremonies for the Children’s Author Breakfast, and she made oblique references to her current controversy, which made news just before BookExpo began.   The press was there in mass, so it was nice not to have her dwell on any of the bad past events and proceed on with talk about books.   Three authors shared the spotlight with her:

Cory Doctorow (For the Win, Tor) told us that there was never a time when being a young adult reader and a young adult writer weren’t the same thing.   He told the audience about groups of readers in Iran and Burma who translated his Creative Commons-licensed Little Brother into local languages to expand the book’s readership.  Cory Doctorow is someone to pay attention to—he is smart, he knows what young people are paying attention to, and he is innovative, using websites, print material and world issues to engage readers.

Mitali Perkins (Bamboo People, Charlesbridge) talked about the way books can be both windows (giving readers insight into a different culture or experience) and mirrors (reflecting something in the reader’s own life).   Her new book is set in modern-day Burma, narrated by two teenaged boys on opposing sides of the conflict between the Burmese government and the Karenni, one of Burnma’s many ethnic minorities.

Richard Peck (Three Quarters Dead, Dial) returned to one theme throughout his talk: “Real life is too extreme for fiction.” He captivated the audience as he described his path from teaching to writing, and the fatal distracted-driving incident that inspired his new book.   Teenagers and text messaging are the topic of his new book.  Narrated by a young girl who was recieivng the text message from a friend who was driving when a fatal accident occurs.

At the Adult Book & Author Breakfast the following morning, master of ceremonies  was Jon Stewart.  He has a new book, Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race–which should give a new slant on science education.   The three authors speaking were a very mixed group and we were anxious to hear Jon introduce Condoleeaa Rice–he said he did not know much about her!

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had started out intending to write about her years in Washington but found that she needed to tell her parents’ story instead (Extraordinary, Ordinary People, Crown).   She told how and why her family became members of the Presbyterian church and the Republican party–two quite telling stories of the Jim Crow South.   As she finished, Stewart, begged her, “Don’t make me like you!”

 Although Stewart’s introduction of John Grisham had the audience laughing, the tone quickly turned serious as Grisham described his work with the Innocence Project and the group’s efforts to overturn wrongful convictions. Following his nonfiction book The Innocent Man, Grisham’s upcoming The Confession (Doubleday) is a fictional take on a wrongful conviction and the real criminal’s experience.

 Science author Mary Roach’s new book,  Packing for Mars (W.W. Norton), traces some of the more mundane aspects of space travel. The lengths NASA and other space agencies have gone to in learning how to manage human hygiene and similar issues in zero-gravity may not have been ideal breakfast conversation, but she managed to have us all begging for more.  We did understand why her editor suggested she wear a space diaper–which thankfully she did not!

All the speakers were great.  BookTV has recorded the “Adult breakfast” and several of the panels on industry issues.  I recommend viewing the Jon Stewart event!  Unfortunatley, BookTV claims to only cover non-ficiton and not children’s issues.  The three authors at the first breakfast had excellant things to say about the importance of reading and books in the lives of young people.