BEA Book Blogger Conference Announcement

I am sharing today's press release detailing the keynote speakers for the BEA Blogger Conference.  I am very grateful to the Bloggers Conference Advisory committee who sifted through all the submissions, reviewed all the research from the 2012 BBC and made real changes so that BEA delivers the best possible event on the planet for book bloggers.  

WILL SCHWALBE AND RANDI ZUCKERBERG TO KEYNOTE BEA BLOGGER CONFERENCE

Other Notable Panelists Also to Speak at Full Day Conference;

Breakfast, Lunch and Happy Hour Included

Will Schwalbe and Randi Zuckerberg will headline the festivities at this year’s edition of the BEA Blogger Conference which will take place on Wednesday, May 29^th, 2013 in Hall A at the Javits Center in conjunction with BookExpo America (BEA).  Last year’s Blogger Conference was a huge success with over 400 attendees.  Officials at BEA are eager to build on this success and will once again hold the conference on the day leading into BEA just before the exhibit floor opens on Thursday, May 30^th.  This allows the book blogger community to have their own tailored event while being fully integrated into the activity of BEA and all that it affords.  Schwalbe, who will be the Opening Keynote speaking at 9:15am and Zuckerberg, who will be the Closing Keynote speaking at 4:00pm, will be joined by other notable panelists over the course of the day.  Participation in the BEA Blogger Conference includes breakfast, lunch, and a Happy Hour networking opportunity at the end of the day.       

Book Expo America will take place at the Javits Center Wednesday, May 30^th – Sunday, June 1^st, 2013.  Registration and tickets for the Book Blogger Conference are available at:

http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Concurrent-Events/BEAs-Book-Blogger/#page=page-1

Will Schwalbe is well-known to everyone in the book community.  He has worked in publishing (most recently as Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Hyperion Books); digital media, as the founder and CEO of Cookstr.com; and as a journalist, writing for various publications including The New York Times and the South China Morning Post.   His most recent book is The End of Your Life Book Club which will be published in paperback from Vintage Books in June 2013. 

Randi Zuckerberg is the CEO and Founder of Zuckerberg Media, a new digital and traditional media and production company, and Editor-in-Chief of Dot Complicated, a modern lifestyle newsletter and blog.  She is the author of the forthcoming Dot Complicated which will be published by HarperOne in November 2013 and addresses the multifaceted complications of our socially transparent world today, including issues of privacy, social identity, authenticity, crowd sourcing and the future of social change.  In addition, Ms. Zuckerberg will author a HarperCollins’s Children’s picture book which will also be published in November 2013.  

Other panelists who will be featured at the BEA Blogger Conference include: Mandy Boles (The Well-Read Wife), Thea James (Booksmugglers), Josh Kendall (Editorial Director, Mulholland Books), Hut Landon (Northern California Independent Booksellers), Jenn Lawrence (Jenn’s Bookshelves), Jane Litte (Dear Author), Andrew Loskowsky (Books Editor, The Huffington Post), Cindy Minnich (Nerdy Book Club), Mandi Schreiner (Smexy Books), Malle Vallik (Director of Digital Content and Social Media, Harlequin), Sarah Wendell (Smart Bitches). 

Full session details are available at: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Concurrent-Events/BEAs-Book-Blogger/#page=page-2

“Book bloggers are very important to the book world and they are instrumental in developing and spreading the word about books”, notes Steve Rosato, Show Manager for BookExpo America.  “We were enormously pleased to have a successful event in 2012 and we are eager to build on this success in 2013.  I am grateful to both Will Schwalbe and Randi Zuckerberg for agreeing to appear in their Keynote roles and I know that Will and Randi, as well as the other terrific panelists, will provide a lively day of discussion.”

The programming for this year’s Blogger Conference was developed by an advisory committee of book bloggers who worked from submissions BEA received from book bloggers.  Organizers note that this has resulted in an improved program from last year that is completely driven by the book blogging community itself.  The BEA Blogger Conference pass is $135 if you register by May 15 (after May 15, the price will increase to $165).  This pass includes Continental Breakfast, Lunch tickets, and free participation in the Happy Hour at the Blogger Conference as well as a BEA pass for May 30 – June 1.    

For more information about BEA please visit the website at www.bookexpoamerica.com.