Hello and Happy Lunar New Year! Judy BEAUlume here—one of Beaufort Books’ newest interns and an insatiable bibliophile!
A little about me: I’m originally from Dallas, Texas where I grew up with my wonderful parents, one younger brother, and many, many pets! Through the years, my family has had lizards, turtles, a cockatiel, a cat, a tarantula (rescued from our swimming pool), and many, many wonderful dogs. My love of reading started very young (thank you Mom!) and some of my favorite childhood series included Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, and Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett!
Nowadays, I live in NYC where I work at a bookstore, intern with Beaufort Books, and read as many books on the subway as I possibly can! Some of my favorite authors include TJ Klune, Erin Morgenstern, Casey McQuiston, and Neil Gaiman. I’m currently finishing up the Poppy War Trilogy by R. F. Kuang which I highly recommend to anyone who loves history, fantasy, or Avatar the Last Airbender.
When I’m not reading, I also love watching animated movies/tv shows, doodling, listening to fictional podcasts (if you haven’t listened to The Magnus Archives, you absolutely should!), and taking dance classes! I strongly dislike asparagus, white chocolate, and when people don’t use the Oxford comma. I look forward to sharing all things Beaufort Books with you!
I’m Beaufort’s newest intern here to report back that, yes, BookExpo is exactly as cool as our previous post promises!
I’ve never been part of the publishing world before, but I had heard tell of a magical event where all the industry people came together to network and best of all—talk about books! I was very excited when Beaufort asked if I’d like to go to this paradise, so of course I said yes.
And BookExpo and BookCon did not disappoint! I hit the ground running on this internship, starting my first day by helping set up the booth. For the next three days I helped out there, meeting authors and helping with signings, and of course, exploring this mecca of the book world.
The Javits Center was full of larger-than-life posters of books and authors. It was like they were movie stars—some of whom I got to meet in real life! Just sharing a room with people whose books I’ve admired since I was little is enough to make my nerdy heart swoon, let alone all of the other fantastic things going on.
It was really interesting to see all the different people who came to BookExpo—not just publishers, but librarians, booksellers, and educators as well. I saw a few people from around where I live and said hello. It was nice to see a little bit of home in the big city.
But of course, for a young hopeful such as myself, it was great to see the variety of publishers there. From the big four to small presses, academics to picture books, a wide range of organizations came to BookExpo. Everyone was excited to show off the projects they’d been working on and even standing in line, attendees would talk about the exciting things they’d done or were planning to do during the convention.
BookExpo was a really great way to kick off my internship because not only did I get to be dazzled by all of the cool things happening in the industry, I also got to know the Beaufort & Spencer Hill teams better than I would have just starting behind the desk.
Signing off for now, Beauseidon
P.S. These are some of the cool tote bags I got while I was there!
This is a shared blog post for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I wanted to share some exciting news. As most of you may know, BookExpo and BookCon are coming up soon, and I’ll be attending both for the very first time! Now this is exciting for several reasons, but for those of you who aren’t familiar with either, I’ll elaborate.
BookExpo is the publishing
industry’s leading trade event. Publishers, booksellers, librarians, and
tastemakers all gather to find out what’s new and happening with authors, the latest
titles, distribution channels, and new technologies and trends. It’s a great
space to network and make connections within the industry, keep up to date with
the comings and goings of the publishing world, and if you have a business,
it’s a great event to attend because you can learn how to give it an edge.
Equally exciting will be Unbound,
the adjacent show and new exhibit floor dedicated to unique non-book items to help
businesses grow: “aka” the goodies show. Let’s face it, though we love books,
we also like the toys and trinkets that bookshops sell to accompany and enrich
our book reading experience. I’ll have to bring a tote bag!
Prepping up for BookExpo!
Running concurrently to BooxExpo will
be the New York Rights Fair, which is the international adult and children’s
content and licensing marketplace. This is where rights professionals,
publishers, acquisitions editors, agents, scouts, film producers, and other
attendees do business, discuss rights sales and the distribution of content
across all formats.
As an intern at a publishing
house, I am extremely excited to see up close what happens at these trade shows
because A) they’re not really open to the general public, unless you’re in the
books business and B) they form the biggest and most important U.S. publishing
event of the year.
Between author panels and talks,
and sessions meant to educate on the publishing business, book swag, and
networking, this three-day-event is sure to be thrilling for book fanatics like
me!
If you’re never been and can go,
it’s an event you won’t want to miss. Be sure to stop by our booth and say hi!
BookExpo will take place May
29-31, 2019 at the Javits Center in NYC.
Wednesday, May 29: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Thursday, May 30: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday, May 31: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Just as BookExpo closes on Friday, BookCon opens on Saturday. Now
BookCon is an entirely different atmosphere. But what is it? In their own
words, “BookCon is the event where storytelling and pop culture collide.” One
of my friends described it as “Comic Con for book nerds,” and I couldn’t agree
more.
So, while BookExpo runs more on the business side of books,
BookCon is tailored for all the readers and book fans out there. Open to the
public, and targeting all ages, eager bibliophiles like me will have the
opportunity to meet & greet authors, attend workshops and panels, and get
all our favorite books autographed.
Just a taste of what I’m hoping my haul looks like from BookExpo & BookCon!!!
I’ve been living in NYC for almost three years, but this will
be my first time attending (finally!). For two years I have stared in awe (and felt
very jealous…) of my friends’ hauls after attending. Though I will sadly be
leaving this wonderful city in August, and I probably don’t need to add any
more books to my packing list, I am anticipating eagerly all the fantastic
reads I will leave the event with.
So, if you’re planning to attend, BookExpo (which I am hoping
you are), you seriously CANNOT pass up on BookCon!
Sadly, weekend tickets are sold out, but you can still
purchase tickets onsite & online. Adult tix go between $30-$45 depending on
the day, and Kid tix (aged 6-12) are priced at $10 for either day.
BookCon will take place June 1-2,
2019 at the Javits Center in NYC.
Saturday, June 1: 10:00 PM – 6:00 PM Sunday, June 2: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
I cannot wait for this fun-packed week to arrive! For more
information on either event, please click on the links below.
