BGB @ BEA: Day 1

Our intrepid field reporter, Russ Marshalek, tried valiantly to live blog reports from the first day of Book Expo America, the book industry’s mega confab.  Unfortunately we ran into a few snags along the way, most notably – no wi-fi at the convention center.   Follow that up with my being on the road most of today, and our up to the minute updates are now a little dated.  No problems.  Below are Russ’s hastily typed missives as they appeared in my inbox:

• Weds 8am Too  much sake last nigth. Far too much. And with that, so begins my first-ever Book Expo America adventure. I am threatened not just by the slight pounding in the back of my head but also by the looming threat that the conference center  doesn’t have wi-fi, which would definitely put a damper on any liveblogging attempts. Doesn’t matter, though-like love, debt, disease and the circus, nothing stops a blog.For me, this has already begun to feel like a weird publishing world summer camp. The book world, despite its many outlandish, teeth-grinding flaws is one that I have loved and continue to love forever, so I am like a kid in a big obnoxious candy store.Right now I need coffee like a horse needs water. Clearly.
• 8:54 almost left bag on the subway w everything in it. Obv need more coffee. Dammit bea have coffee
• 9:14 um this place, the javitz center, is like an airport but scarier bc it is full of angry awake too early publishing ppl.
• 9:40 the title of this “day of education” session is “yes we can;what the obama campaign can teach us about viral marketing”. By us I guess the title means publishing, but it may also mean ALL OF HUMANITY. We will see. Here super early.
• 2:56 PM the last few hours have encompassed an epic fail of a session attempting to encompass the Obama campaign, social media, and publishing. Basically it was some dude trying to play a will I am video and refusing to acknowledge that the javits center doesn’t have wifi. The video would chop and stop every 1.45 secs, and he’d then attempt to contextualize the half a frame we’d seen. Finally, after 20 minutes of this, a hand was raised to inform him to, um….stop.Every BEA session on social media thus far today has been in the most laymen of terms, despite the fact that I know many, like former soft skull publisher richard nash, have quality sessions to come. In fact, after the single worst lunch ever, I am skipping richards session to….write this. I also stole a chris anderson galley.
• 3:41 BEA vs russ: bea 1, russ 0. After not getting into the two sessions I wanted, I arrive back at the hotel sore, beaten and hungry. Tomorrow is the mad galley grab, happy birthday to me or something.(Side:I got to watch someone almost push who I think is patricia cornwell down the escalator)

Check back tomorrow for Day 2

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1. Baby Got Books » BGB @ BEA: Day 4 — May 31, 2009 @ 9:46 am

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