BookExpo & BookCon 2017 Recap

BookExpo & BookCon 2017 

Recap

This was my second time attending BookExpo & third time attending BookCon, and it was still as exciting as it has always been. I skipped BookExpo/BookCon last year since it moved to Chicago, and I wasn't completely sure I would be attending this year until two or three months before, but I am glad I did!

Here are just some of my highlights from that week:

BookExpo (June 1 & 2)

Penguin Random House (and specifically Penguin Teen) definitely deserves a shoutout for their wonderful staff & lineup. They had so many popular signings, like for Leigh Bardugo's Wonder Woman and Marie Lu's Warcross, and they managed the lines pretty well; I didn't have any trouble trying to find the line. Their staff, including volunteers, were also very friendly and nice to chat with! 

Some of my favorites from Day 1 of the show:

• Owlcrate's wheel, which consisted of either recent YA books or YA related swag, such as candles and calendars. I won Roseblood by A.G. Howard from the wheel. 
• Disney also did a drop for The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken, which I didn't know about prior to the show so that was a nice surprise! And the art is just stunning. I mean, look at this!

(Photo from Amazon)

• I also made it to the drop for Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen, which I had been anticipating since I absolutely loved Gaughen's Scarlet series. 

Some of my favorites from Day 2 of the show:

• Of course, Marie Lu's Warcross signing on the second day was wonderful as expected.
• Perhaps my most anticipated event for BookExpo and BookCon was Leigh Bardugo's Wonder Woman; it was my first time meeting Leigh, and I was just in the middle of reading Crooked Kingdom so that was a nice touch. The line for the signing started over an hour before, and it was nice to have book buddies to sit down with to pass the time. :-)

• One of the last things I did at BookExpo was meet Julie Dao at her signing for Fires of a Thousand Lanterns and let me tell you - she was an absolute sweetheart! I cannot wait to read her debut.
• I also met Holly Black, who was so friendly and a pleasure to chat with.

Scholastic also dropped Maggie Stiefvater's All the Crooked Saints, which wasn't announced pre-show, so that was a pleasant surpirse!


One thing I noticed is that Little Brown/The NOVL does not announce any dates and times for its events prior ro the show, so it's definitely worth heading there early on to grab their schedule.

The atomosphere was great, the lines went by fast, and BookExpo 2017 was even better than my first year (2015).

My BEA book "star" :D

BookCon (June 3rd)

BookCon is an annual thing I do with my friends, so above all, for me, it was more hanging out with my friends with the added bonus of being around books and authors. I only went the first day and didn't really plan a schedule.

If I can summarize BookCon into one word, it'll be lines.
Lines everywhere. Things at BEA that had absolutely no line (such as the Grishaverse) was swarmed on BookCon.

Despite the crazy crowds, I did have a great time.

Penguin had a bunch of random giveaways throughout the day with no coherent line, and they had a pretty cool giveaway promoting their new Underlined product. We got a zippered tote, a box with two books and some swag, a pouch, and a beach towel for signing up for Underlined. One of the books was The Golden Compass, which I've been thinking of reading anyway, so that was a cool surprise.

The only signing I went to at BookCon was the meet and greet for Kerri Maniscalo (Hunting Prince Dracula) and Lyndsay Ely (Gunslinger Girl). In fact, I think my next read may be Hunting Price Dracula.

I left not long after since I was still a bit tired from BookExpo, and the crowds were just not my thing.

OVERALL VERDICT:

BookExpo - A fabulous *insert many other positive adjectives here* event that I would reccommend to anyone with any role in the industry, whether it be blogging or selling.

BookCon - It's a nice event to enjoy with family or friends, but beware of the crowds.

BookCon 2015 Recap

So all of us here at Wonderland Novels were able to attend BookCon this year! It was an extremely packed day and it seemed like there was so much to do and not enough time for it.

Sarah, Yiling, and Raisa. (Sadly Alice left already before we could all get a picture together.)

Show Floor

Lois Lane!!

Yiling: I spent most of the day by Penguin Random House because there was so many activities going on in their booth from giveaways to signings. When we got to BookCon in the morning, we immediately went there to pick up a copy of one of Sarah's most anticipated arcs- Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. The book is HUGE and honestly one of the most creatively designed books I've ever seen.

Another one of my first stops was to the Capstone booth to spin their wheel! I was so excited because they published one of most wanted books Lois Lane: Fallout. When I span the wheel, I landed on the spot to get a free pen but the people at the booth were kind enough to also let me pick a book of my choice. (Of course I picked Lois Lane!)

There were so many activities going on in the show floor but thankfully the space was not as crowded as last year although lines were so long. I wished that I could divide myself up so I could be everywhere at once!

Alice: After seeing BookCon lines, I no longer think the BEA lines were bad (except maybe that line for Black Widow, haha). There were lines for literally everything! The line for Penguin Random House's book drop was literally never ending. Go in at 10? The line was there. Come back at 1pm? Still a line. But I think most people can agree that Penguin Random House had the best drops for BookCon. I actually left early since I was still tired from BEA and didn't want to wait in any more crazy lines.

The Show Floor right before closing

Raisa: In comparison to last year's Bookcon, I'd say I got a lot more out of it. I knew what I wanted and I wasn't going to pick up every free thing I saw and not use it (I have so many posters and pins from last year). I also went to Penguin Random House for the free drops; unfortunately they ran out These Shallow Graves while I was waiting on line for it. The Show Floor was more organized than last year, but there were still many lines. I wish I could have divided myself so I could be in several places at once - I really wanted to get more books, but I couldn't be everywhere.

Sarah: Although it took a while for me to actually get in, I really enjoyed this year's Bookcon. The aisles were much wider than last year's so I didn't feel crushed in the crowd and had a much easier time viewing all the exhibits. I also really appreciated the schedule letting us know what and when each of the Penguin Random House giveaways were. The first thing I did was get a HARD COVER advanced copy of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman. The entire book and cover is so creatively formatted, its made  to look like a collection of censured documents. I can't wait to read the story inside! Some publishers were really creative with their giveaways. If you whispered "discreet" to someone at the HarperCollins exhibit you got a free book. Alice noticed these instructions printed upside at the bottom of their pamphlets. I just wish I could have went Sunday as well for even more cool books.

In-Booth Autographing

Yiling: I attended the autographing sessions for Carrie Ryan and Jennifer Niven at the Penguin Random House booth. I got to Carrie Ryan's autographing pretty early so I didn't have to wait on line for that long. I loved Carrie's The Forest of Hands and Teeth series so I was so excited to meet her and get a copy of her latest book Daughter of Deep Silence. I also got to meet the lovely Jennifer Niven and get a copy of her book All the Bright Places. I arrived half an hour early with Sarah and the line was already so long that it wrapped around the entire booth!


Alice: The only autographing I went to at BookCon was Cindy Pon's signing at the Month9Books booth since I had a front of the line pass. I can't wait to read Serpentine and Cindy was sweet!

Autographing

My personalized autograph!

Raisa: So I was under the impression I had to buy Meg Cabot's book in order to get an autograph, and even though the BookCon app (and my friends) warned me about the long line at the Word Bookstore, I went anyway. The line did have many people but it moved more efficiently than I thought; probably only was there for 20-25 minutes. Next I went on line 45 minutes early for the signing - there were already a lot of people lined up! Luckily, I ran into my college friends and ended up sitting with them. And even though I didn't need the book (thought I wasted money), Meg Cabot actually asked me if I wanted a personalized autograph so that basically made my day. She's so nice!

I also went to CinemaSin's autographing session. The line was much shorter and I got to take a photo with them (with Ms. Cabot I couldn't) and they were really cool about photos. Didn't have to buy Jeremy's book but I bought it afterwords haha.

Panels

Renee Ahdieh, Marie Lu, Aisha Saeed, and Sabaa Tahir: Faraway Lands

Sarah:  So I had the awesome opportunity to see a panel with so many talented authors. Although I was only familiar with Marie Lu's Young Elite series and Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes, I still was able to enjoy the panel. In only an hour they each touched upon a variety of topics, everything from character development and world building, to female characters and diversity in books. Did you know Marie has to draw her characters before she can write a word because she used to be graphic designer for videos games (so cool)?! She also feels super awkward when writing romance scenes. And Sabaa actually feels guilty towards her characters and is jokingly called the "Commandant" by her mom.  One of my favorite quotes from the panel came from Marie Lu however, when she was answering a question on her Russian-Mongolian character, Daniel Altan Wing, from the Legend series. She told us of all the emails she's received accusing her of "hiding his heritage" by giving this half Asian boy blond hair and blue eyes. She was very saddened by this until receiving an email from a mother thanking her, "because that's exactly how my daughter looks". She went on to say that even though there are comparatively so few diverse characters, one character can not be a representation of an entire group because there are so many different kinds of people within that group, "and that's why we need more diverse characters".

 Leigh Bardugo and Marissa Meyer: Truth or Dare

Marissa Meyer standing on one foot
while Leigh Bardugo answers a question.

Yiling: Me and Sarah both attended the panel with Leigh Bardugo and Marissa Meyer where they played Truth or Dare. It was such a fun panel! Leigh and Marissa were both so funny and interesting. For one of the first dares that Marissa got, they reenacted a scene from Cinder (when Kai and Cinder first met). Leigh did a freestyle rap about her books (I was SO impressed that she came up with a rap so quickly and it was actually really good! She also showed off her Russian accent and even did a remake of "I'm a little teapot" where she turned into a sugar bowl instead. Marissa Meyer revealed that she would glamour herself into Meg Ryan (pre-plastic surgery), impersonated Thorne (Would you like to see my spaceship later?), and even made up a Lunar anthem!

Marissa and Leigh doing a Lunar waltz!

They also talked talked about more serious topics in relation to their books. Marissa Meyer got a question asking her about her diverse cast and if it was intentional to which she responded both yes and no. She talked about how when she was younger and she went to anime cons with her friends, one of friends told her about how she didn't know who to cosplay because no characters looked like her and how that always was stuck in the back of her mind. Leigh talked about the YA genre and how she found that people to shame people about reading genres like romance and YA because both of those genres are primarily created by and consumed women. They both discussed their strong female characters and Marissa talked about how one thing that she hopes that her readers got from reading her books was romance and love and she hoped to bring that to readers.

Overall, it was such a lovely panel! I laughed so much through out the whole thing and one hour was not long enough. The people sitting next me even remarked that they thought that it was the best panel ever and I wish that I could see them doing a panel together again.



BookCon was so much fun and I'm sadden that we aren't able to go next year. (Why is Chicago so far?!) Hope that you guys enjoyed our post! Were you able to go to BookCon this year?

BookExpo America/BookCon 2015 Must See Authors

BEA is only one week away! 

I am beyond excited and have been working on my schedule (that I probably won't be able to follow) for some time now. This will be my first year attending BEA and the second time attending BookCon. Since BEA is moving to Chicago next year, this is probably my first and last year going as Chicago is way too far, so it's all the more special.

 I also ordered my first ever business cards a few weeks ago and I can't wait to give them out! :-)

Here is my list of some of my anticipated authors at BEA/BookCon - hopefully I can make it to all of them! So many things overlap (Friday & Saturday especially) so it's going to be interesting.
BEA
Alexandra Bracken - Passenger
Virgina Boecker - The Witch Hunter
Amy Ewing - The White Rose
Sara Raasch - Snow Like Ashes
Eleanor Herman - Legacy of Kings
Marie Lu - The Rose Society
Carrie Ryan - Daughter of Deep Silence
Leigh Bardugo - Six of Crows
Richelle Mead - Soundless
Rae Carson - To Walk On Earth A Stranger
...and many more!

BookCon
Renee Ahdieh
Marie Lu
Sabaa Tahir
Felicia Day
Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki 

Will you be attending BEA or BookCon? Who are you most excited to see? Let me know!

BookCon: What to Expect and Tips

So last year all of us here at Wonderland Novels went to BookCon for the first time. We didn't know what to expect since it was the first BookCon ever so we thought that it would be a good idea to share our experiences and some tips that we have!

BookCon is, as described by ReedPOP, "where storytelling and pop culture collide". Whereas Book Expo America is dedicated to those of the trade, BookCon is primarily for consumers.

What it was like:

• - I got to the Harlequin Teen booth about 45 minutes early, and here I was thinking I would be one of the first few people on line. Wrong. The line had already officially closed by then since they only had a limited number of ARCs for authors to sign. However, me and several others waited anyway just in case. Julie Kagawa, one of my favorite authors, was signing so I wanted the opportunity to meet her! So basically we had to wait in a non-moving line since it hadn't even officially opened for 45 minutes, and then another 45 minutes to wait my turn. Now I know that these things tend to be crowded but that was the longest time I've waited in line for anything and I hope lines at BEA aren't that long! -Alice

• I had a similar experience for the autograph sessions in the back. Tickets for the signings ran out super fast. (before we even got there the tickets were gone) When I walked past the autographing section I saw that there were still some lines still open, so I got on the line just in case. But an employee told us a couple minutes later that the line was too full so a bunch of us got kicked off the line. - Yiling



Panel with Cassandra Clare, Holly Black,
and Maggie Steifvater.

• With the panels, it differed. I went to one with Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, and Maggie Steifvater and the crowd outside was crazy. There were supposed to be "lines" but it was just a huge mess of people and I was unsure if me and Sarah were going to get places inside the panel room but once we got inside, there was plenty of space! Some people ended up standing in the back, but since some people left in middle of the panel, there ended up being a couple of seats open towards the end. -Yiling
• So I didn't really have any particular authors to go to (I wanted to see Rick Riordan, but again, too crowded/too long lines), but I really wanted to meet David Karp, creator of Tumblr, and Brandon Stanton, founder of HONY. The panel was crowded, but not too bad. With getting their autographs, not as bad either in terms of waiting. Their whole interview was interesting as well! - Raisa 
• Also, since I was wandering around, I did manage to get a good amount of free books and goodies, enter a couple of contests, all sorts of things. It does help to have the BookCon app on you, but sometimes it's just being in the right place at the right time, because these things do tend to go out pretty quickly. - Raisa 

(Since this was the first year of Bookcon, they were still working out kinks. From what I heard, the company will be trying to resolve these issues and they have expanded the space from last year!)


Tips for BookCon:

1. Be comfortable: This is kind of a general rule for any con. You're going to be standing/ walking for a long time so definitely dress for comfort. (I would suggest that you wear sneakers.) Also bring at least one bottle of water to stay hydrated. 
2. Storage: A great thing about BookCon is that there is a lot of free stuff being given out: books, posters, bookmarks, etc. so you're definitely going to want something to carry all the stuff around in. I would suggest bringing a small backpack/ bag so you can store everything you receive in it. There are a lot of tote bags being given out through the con, but I would still suggest having something to carry around all the stuff that you might get in the beginning before you get a bag. If you're anticipating getting a ton of books, BookCon has a coat check for you to store a suitcase for three dollars. Make sure you lock up your stuff if you do check in a bag, since I have heard of people stealing things from suitcases.
3. Bring Rubber Bands: This might seem like an odd tip but a lot of booths give out posters. I had to fold most of my posters which left a huge (and uneven) crease in the middle and eventually landed at the bottom of my bag all crumpled up. If you bring rubber bands this crease nightmare will not be an issue!
4. Make a Schedule: Plan out a schedule of authors and events that you want to see and make note of where and when they all take place. It doesn't matter if they overlap because chances are that you are not going to see all of them. Making a schedule is great way of staying on top of events so you if find that there is a period of time where you aren't doing anything, you can just look to your schedule! 
5. Money?: A big question that I had before I went to BookCon was how much money I should bring and I think that this depends on the individual. There are booths that sell books so if you plan on buying books, bring money for them. It's often not necessary. Some authors do charge you for the book if you plan on getting them to sign it but most for signings/autographings the books are provided. But you should definitely bring money for lunch.
6. Snacks: Going off of lunch money, you may not have a lot of time to eat and you're going to need a lot of energy, so bring some snacks with you. Granola bars work well. 
7. Stay Connected: Download the BookCon app. There's a whole community all about BookCon and they'll let you know all about BookCon and what's going on. Last year, I remember constantly checking the app to know what signings were full, which authors were where, etc. Everybody is super helpful and kind and it's nice to stay updated! You can also use twitter for this, but it might be harder to find people who are specifically talking about BookCon. 

I hope that our tips and experiences helped you guys! If you have any questions or have experiences of your own to share, please let us know in the comments below!