BEA Blogger Conference Update

I want to thank the BEA Bloggers Conference Advisory Board for our meeting last week.  It was

highly productive and we finished 5 minutes early!!   Here are a few items worth sharing with

everyone from that meeting:

• There will be a Call for Papers opening Early December and run up until January 15^th  It will be announced on the BEA website and through the BEAN and all of BEA's social media outlets.  People will be able to submit conference suggestions from a link on the BEA Book Bloggers page. 
• The BEA Bloggers Conference will Incorporate tracks into this year’s programming 
• Ideas included genre based, level of blogging, blogging interests

• Plan for more Networking Opportunities among bloggers either through a sponsored Cocktail Reception or an hour of free time either during lunch or as a coffee break
• We made a number of mistakes with the blogger registration process in 2012.  The new process will be simplified, clear and transparent. 
• Bloggers will be able to register for BEA AND the conference for one low price.
• Any bloggers wanting to attend just BEA and not the BBC will have a discounted special rate.
• Bloggers wanting to register for a free media pass can do so, but will be subject to similar criteria as all working press  

We are extremely grateful for the group of bloggers that are participating to insure we deliver an event that is created for and designed by bloggers.  While there were ups and downs in 2012, we hope it was apparent how much BEA values book bloggers. 

  

BEA Bloggers Conference Advisory Board: 

• Danielle Smith -http://www.theresabook.com/ - Children's
• Pam van Hylckama bookalicio.us/ - Book news and reviews the latest and greatest
• Jane Litte - http://dearauthor.com - Romance 
• Mandy Boles - WellReadWife.com - General  - Everything from YA to Literary Fiction
• Marybeth Whalen - www.shereads.org  Debut novelists and those writers who are not receiving the attention they deserve
• David Lee King, http://www.davidleeking.com/ - Librarian Blogger

Storm Won’t Stop Holiday Children’s Art Auction

Please check out the ABFFE Holiday Children's Art Auction,  Below is a link to a photo of the flooding - a great event and a great cause. 

 Picture of flooding across from the ABFFE offices

For further information, contact:

Chris Finan, ABFFE, (917) 509-0340

Storm Won’t Stop Holiday Children’s Art Auction

            NEW YORK, NY, Nov. 7, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy has driven the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) from its office building in lower Manhattan, but ABFFE is continuing its preparations for a Holiday Children’s Art Auction that will launch on eBay on Nov. 27.  The storm pushed more than four feet of water into the lobby of the building in the South Street Seaport, damaging electrical equipment.  But the ABFFE staff is continuing to solicit donations of art for the auction, which supports ABFFE’s efforts to defend the free speech rights of kids.  “Sandy was a setback, but we have a lot to be grateful for.  Our office itself was not damaged, and the art that we had already collected is safe and sound,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said.  “We are confident that we will be able to launch on time.”  The deadline for submitting art has been extended to Nov. 21.  Art can be sent to the American Booksellers Association until the ABFFE office reopens. 

            The Holiday Children’s Art Auction is the online version of the auction that is held at BookExpo America, featuring original art from the book industry’s leading artists and illustrators.

            More information about contributing to the auction is available online.  A donation form has also been posted.            Contact Finan by email, chris@abffe.org, or by phone, (917) 509-0340.

               

Sandy - Life Resumes, normalcy to follow

I was compelled on my drive to work today to listen to Bruce Sprinsteen's 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).  I don't know why but the chorus popped in my head with the lilting chords that start the song with Bruce whispering Sandy.....it is a story of love lost that no doubt played out in Bruce's youth like so many people on any of the boardwalks and shore towns up and down the Northeast coast.  While youth is lost to time, it is the physical places that  anchored us, letting our memories to come to life when we go back to the towns, beaches, bars and stores that have been hit so hard by Sandy.  

People affected by Sandy from New Jersey through Connecticut and beyond are working hard to fix, replace, rebuild and make things the way they were before Sandy hit last week.  One place that I am particularly fond of is the Bank Street Books in Mystic.  I go up to Mystic with my family a couple of times of year and Bank Street Books is always a stop, where my boys 'borrowed' Charlie (resident dog of Bank Street) for a walk several years ago and still talk about.  Bank Street saved their inventory but still were flooded and have had to close while they have the floor replaced among other repairs.  I you can help out in anyway, please donate to the Relief Fund that has been set up for Bank Street Books.  Hopefully all repairs will be done and they are planning to re-open on Monday. 

Paypal link for Bank Street Books in Mystic, CT