Leading Authors Headline Events As Annual Book Convention Returns to New York City

Leading Authors Headline Events As Annual Book Convention Returns to New York City

Author Speeches Provide a Personal Preview of What's to Come in the World of Books & Publishing

NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- BookExpo America (BEA) has announced speakers, including appearances by Mike Wallace, John Irving, Umberto Eco and Doris Kearns Goodwin, among others, for its well-known and widely attended events program, which features the celebrated Author Breakfasts and Luncheon. Through the years, BEA's Author Events have afforded many authors the opportunity to humor, educate and otherwise engage a captive audience of booksellers in a manner that no other forum provides. From Ray Charles to Jon Stewart; Eudora Welty to Tom Wolfe; Isabel Allende to Bill Clinton; the list of past authors who have entertained booksellers include some of the greatest -- and most disparate -- voices of the modern age. This year's participants are among today's very best writers and thinkers and once again reflect the diversity of talent and range of opinion that typify the writing community. BEA is scheduled for June 2-5, 2005 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

"This is my first year as BEA Show Manager, and I quickly learned after coming on board that our Author Events program, which has been so wonderfully developed through the years by the ABA, is our crown jewel," notes Chris McCabe, Vice President and Show Manager for BEA. "I have been pleased to see how eager publishers and their authors are to participate, and I'm thankful to the thousands of booksellers who have made it all possible by attending these events year in and year out. The success of this year's program is largely dependent on the industry's willing participation, and so it is only with a great deal of gratitude that I can boast about our excellent speakers. I am looking forward to helping make all our author events a huge success."

Convention officials note that one of the key factors that have made the author event programs such a hit is that authors not only speak about their upcoming books, but often use the platform to discuss the influences and experiences that have shaped their ideas and careers. Whether it is Christopher Reeve discussing the meaning of courage or Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly setting off political fireworks, the most notable and memorable events, and the ones that have had the most impact on conveying the author's work, have been shaped by the author's reliance on discussing those matters most important to them.

The roster of BEA '05 Special Events so far include:

Friday, June 3, 2005

8 am - 9:30 am Children's Book & Author Breakfast/Special Events Hall



Presented in cooperation with the Children's Booksellers and Publishers Committee [A cooperative committee of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), and the Children's Book Council (CBC)]. This opening-day breakfast will feature Daniel Handler, legal, literary and social representative of Lemony Snicket the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events (HarperCollins Children's Books); Alice Provensen, illustrator of Klondike Gold (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers); and Pam Munoz Ryan author of Nacho and Lolita (Scholastic Press). Jim Dale, the Grammy Award Winner known for his work on the Harry Potter audiobook series and Around the World in 80 Days (Listening Library) will be master of ceremonies. Admission: $25 (SPE 1)

Saturday, June 4, 2005

8 am - 9:30 am Saturday Book & Author Breakfast/Special Events Hall



Saturday morning will feature Paul Theroux, author of Blinding Light (Houghton Mifflin); Myla Goldberg, author of Wickett's Remedy (Doubleday); and Mike Wallace, author of Between You and Me (Hyperion). Randi Rhodes, author of The Big Encyclopedia of Republican Hypocrites (Miramax Books) is the host. Admission: $25 (SPE 2)

12 pm - 2 pm Saturday Book & Author Luncheon/Special Events Hall

Saturday's luncheon will feature Nick Hornby, author of A Long Way Down (Riverhead); Simon Winchester, author of A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 (HarperCollins); Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Master Among Men: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Simon & Schuster); and Michael Cunningham, author of Specimen Days (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Admission: $40 (SPE 3)

4 pm - 5:30 pm The Heard Word: BEA's Audiobook and Author Tea/Special Events Hall

Come hear Adriana Trigiani, author of Notes From the Villa Di Crespi (Random House Audio); Bruce Feiler, author of Where God Was Born (HarperCollins Audio); and Kathy Reichs, author of Cross Bones (Simon & Schuster Audio), talk about their recent and upcoming audiobooks and the experience of hearing their works translated into audiobook format. Admission: $15 (SPE 4).

Sunday, June 5, 2005

8 am - 9:30 am Sunday Book & Author Breakfast/Special Events Hall



Sunday morning will feature Umberto Eco, author of The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (Harcourt); Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream (Henry Holt and Company); and John Irving, author of Until I Find You (Random House). Bob Herbert, author of Promises Betrayed: What Kind of America Do We Want to Live In? (Henry Holt and Company) is the host. Admission: $25 (SPE 6)

BookExpo America (BEA) is a trade only event. For more information concerning BookExpo America and registration for the above events, please call 800/840-5614 or 203/840-5614 (International) or visit the BEA web site at http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/.


Source: BookExpo America

CONTACT: Roger Bilheimer of Roger Bilheimer Associates, +1-908-233-4107,
bilheim@aol.com; or Tina Jordan of BookExpo America, +1-203-840-5384,
tjordan@reedexpo.com

Web site: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/


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