BEA by the Numbers!

Total Days: 2
I arrived in NYC Monday night and left Wednesday night because I had work Thursday. Honestly, I don't know how people functioned on that third day, because I was zombified by Wednesday night!

Number of times I had to hold back the fangirling: 2
On Wednesday, I met both John Green and Lois Lowry during signings after the Children's Author Breakfast.

When I got to John's table, I wanted to gush about how I love his books and his Vlogbrothers videos and that I tell my students "Don't forget to be awesome" when they leave... but I also wanted to maintain some dignity and not say what he's heard a billion times from fans.

Instead, I told him how excited I was when I got the very last ticket for his signing that morning. Better? Worse? Who knows. I'm just happy that I met him, and that he's just as friendly and approachable as he seems!

For Lois, I wanted to ramble on about how THE GIVER and NUMBER THE STARS are two of my all-time favorite books, and I've kept and re-read my copies for the past 15 years. Instead, I used my 10 seconds to ask her to sign an extra promo-poster-thing for the teacher who introduced me to those books, a woman I adore and still meet with every few months for lunch. She graciously did!

Number of celebrities spotted: 4
Celebrity signings at BEA always come with epic lines, so I avoid them, but it's always fun to see the celebs signing or wandering around Javits! (This year's exception was for Mike Holmes, who I adore from his show, and whose book THE HOLMES INSPECTION will be totally useful!)

Chris Colfer from "Glee"

Mike Holmes from HGTV's show "Holmes on Homes"

Stacy London from "What Not to Wear"

The "girl" from "Sh*t Girls Say"

(Stolen from Frankie's recap!)

Panels attended: 4

YA Editor Buzz

I didn't get to stay too long here because I had to get in line for another signing, but I loved what I heard, and it cemented my determination to get Gennifer Albin's CREWEL. (Success!)

Children's Author Breakfast

Walter Dean Myers introducing, Chris Colfer emcee-ing, and John Green, Lois Lowry, and Kadir Nelson speaking. 'Nuff said. But if you want more, here's an excellent recap from Publisher's Weekly!

Chris Colfer, John Green, Lois Lowry, Kadir Nelson

Teen Author Carnival

Tuesday night was the Teen Author Carnival at the NYPL. Loved hearing from and meeting such awesome YA authors!

Panel 1 - "From a Whole Other World"

(L-R) Gennifer Albin, Jeri Smith-Ready, Leah Clifford, Scott Tracey,
Lenore Applehans, Aimee Carter, Michelle Zink, Courtney Moulton
(not visible: Victoria Schwab)

Panel 2 - "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
(Kick Ass Characters)

(L-R) Gretchen McNeil, Barry Lyga, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jackson Pearce,
Eliot Schrefer, Courtney Moulton, Aimee Carter, Michelle Zink
(not visible: Lauren Oliver, Siobhan Vivian, Stacey Kramer, Valerie Thomas)

Hours spent standing in line (approx.): 18
Frankie and I arrived at Javits at 7:15am both Tuesday and Wednesday, and we left at 4:30pm.

Awesome bloggers, authors, agents, editors, and marketing mavens met: lots and lots and lots
(I stole all of these pictures from Frankie's recap because that's what Writing Wifeys are for!)

Prepping for Day 1!
(L-R) Lindsey Culli, Sara McClung, Cristin Terrill, Claire Legrand, Diana Fox,
me!, Rachael Stein, Frankie, Kelsey, Jessica BS

Pre-Teen Author Carnival dinner!
(Gabby, Britney, Bethany, Kelsey)

The other side of the table!
Frankie, me, Lindsi, Farrah, and Liz

Frankie, Jackson Pearce, and I were awesomely coordinated.

Post-Teen Author Carnival drinks!

At Children's Book and Author Breakfast!
(L-R): Liz, Claire, Britney, me, Natalia and Frankie

Plus a shoutout to Christina from A Reader of Fictions, who made the CREWEL line totally fun! And Katie of Bookishly Yours, who kept me company while Frankie shipped her books during the DIVINERS line. And the lovely publicity/marketing folks at the Bloomsbury, Egmont, Soho Teen, and Flux booths, who were more than happy to chat with me about upcoming titles!

Reunions o' awesome: 6
(I also stole these pics from Frankie's recap.)

Lenore!!!
(Who's showing off her ARC of LEVEL 2 and
her skills of hiding a flash drive in her bra when she's sans-pockets.
Because she's awesome like that.)

Tessa Gratton, gorgeous as always!

Jordan Turgeon, who we met at the 2011 Writer's Digest Conference
(at the Teen Author Carnival)

Plus Maggie Stiefvater, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Rachael Stein, who I sadly didn't get pictures with.

Fave Philly-area locals spotted: 3
Kate (KM) Walton (CRACKED, EMPTY)
Amy Garvey (COLD KISS, GLASS HEART)
Jenna (An Avid Reader's Musings)

Approximate weight (in pounds) of suitcase upon leaving: 65
Since there were zero cabs available during Wednesday's rush hour, and I needed to get to Penn Station to catch my train home, I had the delightful experience of lugging my 65-pound rolling suitcase-o'-books (plus three tote bags) down two flights of stairs and along twelve blocks of busy NYC sidewalks. It felt like a LOT more than 65 pounds.

(Frankie gets infinity amounts of Writing Wifey points for assisting with tote bag-carrying.)
(My suitcase gets infinity amounts of awesome points for not breaking.)

Books replaced all clothes, shoes, and accessories in my suitcase.
This plus three picture books and two cookbooks was my total BEA haul.

YA books brought home: 26

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, John Green
FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS, Diane Peterfreund
DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, plus DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT chapter sampler, Laini Taylor
THE BUTTERFLY CLUES, Kate Ellison
SON, Lois Lowry
THE LAND OF STORIES, Chris Colfer
PRODIGY, Marie Lu
THE SPINDLERS, Lauren Oliver
LEVEL 2, Lenore Applehans
SPEECHLESS, Hannah Harrington
THE RAVEN BOYS, Maggie Stiefvater
THE CURIOSITIES, Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, Brenna Yovanoff
THE DIVINERS, Libba Bray
MAGISTERIUM, Jeff Hirsch
BETA, Rachel Cohn
INSIDE, Maria V Snyder
THE IMMORTAL RULES, Julie Kagawa
GODDESS INTERRUPTED, Aimee Carter
GLASS HEART, Amy Garvey
SOUL SCREAMERS VOL. 1, Rachel Vincent
BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY and OUT OF THE EASY, Ruta Sepetys
FALLING KINGDOMS, Morgan Rhodes
CREWEL, Gennifer Albin
WHAT'S LEFT OF ME, Kat Zhang
THE FUTURE WE LEFT BEHIND, Mike A. Lancaster
BEAUTIFUL LIES, Jessica Warman

Books I missed but will attempt to read via NetGalley or as-yet-unspecified insidious means:
CITY'S SON, Tom Pollock
NARC, Crissa-jean Chappell
THRONE OF GLASS, Sarah J Maas
RIFT, Andrea Cremer
CROWN OF EMBERS, Rae Carson

People kept asking what I was most excited about, and aside from BEA zombification, I was still stumped. I'm excited for every book I got for different reasons—either it's a sequel I know I'll love, a debut I'm dying to read, something I discovered at BEA, a new book from a well-loved author, or my first book from an author I've been meaning to try. I love ALL the books! (And knowing I had to lug them home made me all the more picky!)

Total hours of recovery sleep needed: 20
I started PRODIGY, Marie Lu's ridiculously good sequel to LEGEND, on the train home because I knew the action-packed scenes would keep me awake! (They did.) It took me about two longggg nights of sleep (plus a couple naps) to recover from the BEA hangover.

I was first in line for the PRODIGY signing... Marie's so nice!

Overall, BEA was fantastic. Yes, the ARCs of incredible books are great, but sharing in the excitement for those books with a giant convention center of people who all speak the same book-loving language was the best part.


Check out Frankie's recap HERE!

Share links to your BEA recap posts (or tell us about your BEA fun) in the comments! If you didn't attend BEA, what would've been your most coveted ARC or author signing?