Book Expo: Lots of authors

Deal Safrit is owner of the Literacy Bookpost in Salisbury. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Deal Safrit of Literary Bookpost attended the BookExpo America trade show in New York City in May. This is his account of the show.BookExpo America is the largest book industry trade show in North America, and one of the largest industry shows in the world, perhaps superceded only by the Frankfort Book Fair.

Since 2009, the show is regularly held in New York City instead of rotating around the country as it once did. This arrangement makes a lot of sense in the book industry, as virtually all publishers, if they do not have their home offices in the Northeast corridor, at least have a presence in New York City.

BookExpo America 2010 was my fifth BEA show in six years, as I skipped the West Coast show several years ago. This year's show was somewhat muted compared to previous shows due to the economy. The show lasted two days, compared to the previous three, and covered only the main floor of Javits Center instead of the entire building.

This led to crowding and scheduling difficulties on my part, partly due to the show structure, but also because, for the first time, I was at the show alone. In years past, my wife Sheila Brownlow has always accompanied me.

BEA attracts independent and chain booksellers from around the continent, as well as librarians and any other individuals who are book industry related. There are hundreds of authors on the floor, ranging from debut small press authors who few of us will ever hear about to the big guns in the industry. Most authors readily avail themselves to casual conversation and to book signings arranged by their publishers in various formal and informal settings. There are literally thousands of books available on the floor as giveaways, although this year there were definitely fewer.

Publishers are represented in full force on the show floor with sales reps, account reps and their authors with their entourages.

Entire separate areas are set up for foreign language books, children's books and book sidelines. International copyright attorneys have an area to themselves as foreign rights for books are negotiated among publishers. Various organizations, such as the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers of American, the Romance Writers of America, etc. have their own designated areas. In other words, everyone who represents anything in the book business is there, then you add 21,000 attendees and you have crazy.

To "work" the Book Expo, one has to have a plan, and that I went in with. I knew exactly which authors I wanted to see, where they would be, and what time they would be there. In between visiting with "my" authors, I would visit my publisher representatives or just knock around the floor making serendipitous discoveries. First off, though, I headed over to the W.W. Norton booth to see my rep Kristen, from Philadelphia, and my former rep, Michael Levintino, who is now sales manager for Norton. Book Expo is the only time I get to see Michael anymore, as Norton keeps him in New York unless he is working out of his home office at his farm in the Virginia mountains.

After Norton, I run by the Horror Writer's area to visit with Alexandra Sokoloff, one of "our" authors who always makes a point of coming by the Bookpost when she has a new book out. Her new title, "Book of Shadows," just came out, and I wanted to make certain she was going to drop in to see us. Further, I wanted to one-up Alex for a change; she is usually quite adept at finding me first in NYC, even on the streets of Manhattan, and for a change I wanted to find her first.

Wednesday is a pretty laid-back day, author-wise, for me, so I sort of wander over and get in a short line for Chris Hedges, who is signing copies of 'Empire of Illusion." The line is short enough we actually have a chance to talk politics for a few minutes, and we pleasantly are not interrupted, as all of this is taking place in the Perseus Distribution booth, a much calmer place than the official autograph tables, which are like cattle calls much of the time.

I then migrate over to Scott Turow, where I am on assignment to get a signed copy of "Innocent" for Sheila. My timing is perfect — his line at the Grand Central booth has shrunk to nothing and again, I get a little chance to chat.

Wednesday lunch is provided by the American Bookseller's Association, of which Literary Bookpost has been a member since we opened in 1998. ABA is the trade association for independent booksellers in North America. The highlight of the convention is this Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon, where the annual IndieChoice Awards are presented and each table has a candidate author. I am honored to sit at Table 1, whose author is Jerry Pinkney, who will win the best children's illustrated award with "The Lion and the Mouse."

The author of more than 100 books, Pinkney is charming and delightful, and kindly signs a copy of his award-winning book to daughter Daphne, busy in Salisbury running the Bookpost in my absence.

Back in to the show, and I make one of only two visits to the cattle call autograph lines for a Lee Child "61 Hours" for Sheila. Even though Sheila didn't ask for it, I am early in the line and the wait isn't bad, giving me the chance to get in early on the line for Nelson Demille and a copy of "Lion," which is on Sheila's list. Despite a vast and growing line, Demille is as gracious as ever, thankful for every reader and bookseller. Few big-name authors have his class.

At the same time, Alex Kershaw is signing his forthcoming book, "The Envoy," a non-fiction work about Raoul Wallenberg, and I want to get a copy signed over for Rachel Oestreicher. And surprise, there is no line, so we get to talk for a while about both his work and Rachel's, and further, I get a second copy of the book signed over to me, a rarity in this day and age.

Finally, in two steps, I dash over to the Little Brown Booth for Emma Donoghue's new book, "Room" and to tell her how we have a book group who has picked her early book, "Slammerkin" for a read next year. Then down to Algonquin's booth where I visit with Jonathan Evison, whose new book, "West of Here," looks more and more like a big winner for the coming season.

My rep for Algonquin, Frazer Dobson, who is also part owner of Park Road Books in Charlotte, was telling me earlier in the day how much he thought of "West of Here," and, after talking to Evison and getting a signed copy, I have to agree with Frazer, even without reading more than the cover. It will go into my "read really soon" stack once I get home.

I take off to my "local," which is actually a local restaurant/pub between Javits and my hotel, for a quick beer, then return to the hotel where I get ready for the Workman/Algonquin party that evening. After the Workman do, I will head over to the PGW (Publisher's Group West) party, which is always "the party," and the only party one has to hunt down and plead tickets for. It is always crowded, loud and the music is experimental and bad. I never stay long.

Thursday on the floor begins with some excitement. I'm at the Norton booth, in a fairly slow-moving line to see Mary Roach, author of the books "Stiff," "Bonk" and "Spook," to have her sign a copy of "Packing for Mars" for me.

Michael Connelly comes by and begins talking to the lady beside me in line. Even though I am supposed to see him later for an autographed book, this is as close as I will get this show; when I do queue up in his line later, he will run out of books just as I get in sight of him.

But, while waiting, and after Connelly moves on, my Norton rep Kristen rushes up to tell me Literary Bookpost is the talk of the show. Apparently, one of the book industry websites has picked up on the article Hugh Fisher wrote in the Salisbury Post about Emily Weinstein painting the cats in the bookstore, and we are all quite the buzz.

After finally getting up to see Roach, I find out the reason for the slow line is she wants to spend at least several minutes with each person, even though Norton is encouraging her to move on with it. She definitely has her own ideas about how to treat attendees, especially the booksellers; she knows the booksellers make or break an author. From this point, and for the next hour, I simply wander the floor of the show, checking things out.

My tricky part of the day is coming up, so I head outside and eat a few dogs off a vendor cart and relax for a while. And, as I am eating, I marvel at how few people are out here eating $2 hotdogs and drinking $1 water but are instead eating $7 hotdogs and drinking $4 water at the Javits food court. I can promise anyone that my dogs are the better of the two.

At 1:30 I go into rush mode, going for my second "cattle call" author for Sheila, Rob Sheffield, who is signing copies of "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran." Despite being a respected journalist and author, Sheffield looks like he is about 12 in person. He is an extremely talented conversationalist, and I think he would have talked to me for a while, but the line is growing behind me. I step over to the line beside me, where there is not a soul waiting, and get Bob Marley's son Ky-Mani to sign a copy of his book, "Dear Dad" for Daphne.

At this point I dash across the floor for my disappointment with Michael Connelly (sorry Sheila, but how many books signed "MC" does one need?) and then jump into a growing line at the Random House booth for David Lipsky. He is signing copies of his great book on the late David Foster Wallace, "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself." Lipsky is extremely personable, and wants to talk extensively with each person coming up to him, which is pretty funny considering a Random House handler is going down the line telling people to get his signature and move on. Lipsky, instead, is like Mary Roach, and knows on which side his bread is buttered.

Also signing at this time in Joseph Skibell, way over in the Algonquin booth, so I bee-line over there after determining that the line beside me for Sara Gruen exceeds her book supply. Skibell is signing his upcoming book, "A Curable Romantic," which sounds really good. He is also the author of a book that has been out of print for several years, "A Blessing on the Moon," which is one of my all-time favorite books. I'm thrilled when Skibell tells me Algonquin is going to bring "Blessing" back into print.

I have only one more stop to make on my way down to the shipping area before I leave the show this year. I visit the McMillan booth to see Ntazake Shange, who, 15 years after writing "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf," is coming out with a blockbuster called "Some Sing, Some Cry." This turns out to be my only unpleasant author visit at the show. Although I am willing to give Shange a bye for being somewhat elderly and perhaps not in the best of health, I get the impression she doesn't really even want to be at the show and frankly, doesn't give a damn about anyone else who is. I get my book and leave Javits Center for the last time this year. And that was how I spent my May working vacation!