Navigating SXSW

You would think it would be easier given that the name of the event is a direction in and of itself, but alas as a newbie here, I am mildly overwhelmed trying to navigate this place.  There are hundreds of sessions in venues near and far from the convention center.  The variety of panels run the gambit from the Future of Computing to 100 Year Starship: Interstellar Travel and Beyond.  The most interesting thing is seeing how much consumer products are woven into the "experience" with Oreo and American Airlines sponsoring interactive exhibits.  Having the exhibits open at 11:00 is a twist on the normal trade show grind.  I hope to find some more interesting info to share later or tomorrow, meanwhile it is time to head back into the fray.....

Power Readers at BEA and why BEA’s Best Days are in front of us

Power Readers are how BEA has 'branded' consumers that will be attending BEA, which we expect will grow dramatically in the next few years.  For 2013 we are expecting 2,000+.  Power Readers are an added value for what is already taking place at BEA and will ultimately benefit everyone that participates as a professional from publishers and booksellers to digital service providers and librarians.  BEA has a custodial obligation to serve the best interests of the whole industry and by embracing a consumer element, BEA can become a pop culture event that puts reading and books front and center in way that does not happen on a national or even international level right now, reaching passionate readers and more importantly converting passive readers so they get excited about the world of books in the same way they get excited about something like the new Iron Man movie or the new season of Mad Men.  Publishers have worried that they need to change their booths and the items they display.  We know from our experiment last year in opening in a limited way, Power Readers want to know what is coming out in the fall, they are enthralled to be in the same room as their favorite authors and being able to talk with an editor makes them excited about the books they pick for their book clubs.  This is not about BEA being a flea market, this is about preaching to reading evangelists who are eager to share what is new to their friends and the people they ultimately influence.  This is an opportunity to get people excited about books and authors they did not know about, about letting them know where in their own communities they can find books, whether that option is B&N or finding out about what independent booksellers do in their community.  This is about taking the exciting author events that take place at BEA and streaming them live across the planet so 250,000 people can discover what is happening in the world of books because that is how many unique people downloaded BEA videos and podcasts in 2012.  With BookBliss we have only touched the tip of what BEA will deliver for publishers (exponential added exposure), booksellers (see the Buzz Panels or author breakfasts you missed or for your staff that could not attend BEA) and for Power Readers who are reading evangelists as they become a welcomed part of the BEA experience.  

We are not going to be perfect, there will be challenges along the way in protecting the commercial value while incorporating a consumer element to BEA.  However, the stakes are too high and the opportunity is too great for BEA not to make this transition.  While BEA is being aggressive, we are also being measured in our approach – we are doing loads of research with consumers, we are talking with our partners and we are listening to booksellers and publishers.  This is the opportunity for BEA to proactively change before the industry has to react to what the landscape of book discovery is in 2 or 3 years.  Done well, everyone wins and this is why I am so confident that BEA’s best days are indeed in front of us as well as for the whole of publishing and bookselling

AUTHORS AND BOOKS ARE ANNOUNCED FOR BEA’S EDITORS BUZZ FORUMS

Three Separate Buzz Panels for Adult, Young Adult, and

Middle Grade Titles

BEA has just revealed the authors and books that have been selected for this year’s Editors Buzz Forums.   Three separate committees of booksellers, librarians and other industry professionals have reviewed the numerous submissions in each category and voted for this year’s final selections.   The highly anticipated Buzz Forums are among the most notable and significant platforms for launching new books and creating awareness for noteworthy titles and authors at BEA.  Insightful and passionate, the forums typically attract a large audience of booksellers and media who are eager to hear about, and then talk about, the new titles which have been singled out for discussion and presentation. 

As has been the custom for the past several years, BEA will present three separate panels, including Adult Editors Buzz, Young Adult (YA) Editors Buzz and Middle Grade Editors Buzz.  The Buzz panel presentations, which feature book editors discussing the individual selections, will be supplemented with an Author Stage appearance for the chosen authors. 

The BEA Editors Buzz Forums and book selections are as follows:

ADULT EDITORS BUZZ

BEA Adult Editors Buzz

Wednesday, May 29

4:15pm – 5:30pm

Room 1E14/1E15/1E16

BEA Editors Buzz Adult Books – Author Stage

Thursday, May 30

10:00am – 10:30am

Downtown Stage

All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior

Publisher: Ecco

Publication Date: January 2013

Knocking on Heavens Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death by Katy Butler

Publisher: Scribner

Publication Date: September 2013

Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

Publisher: Crown

Publication Date: August 2013

The Affairs of Others: A Novel by Amy Grace Lloyd

Publisher: Picador

Publication Date: August 2013

Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Date: October 2013

The Facades by Eric Lundgren

Publisher: The Overlook Press

Publication Date: September 2013

YOUNG ADULT (YA) EDITORS BUZZ

BEA YA Editors Buzz

Thursday, May 30

10:00am – 10:50am

Room 1E14/1E15

BEA Editors Buzz YA Books – Author Stage

Friday, May 31

10:00am – 10:30am

Uptown Stage

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Publication Date: September 2013

Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Date: October, 2013

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Publisher: Hyperion

Publication Date: September 2013

Entangled byAmy Rose Capetta
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date: October 2013

 

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

Publisher: Algonquin Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: August 2013

MIDDLE GRADE EDITORS BUZZ

BEA Middle Grade Editors Buzz

Friday, May 31

11:00am – 11:50am

Room 1E12/1E13

BEA Editors Buzz Middle Grade Books – Author Stage

Friday, May 31

1:00pm – 1:30pm

Uptown Stage

A Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1: Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: September 2013

Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Publisher: Dial

Publication Date: September 2013

The Fantastic Family Whipple by Matthew Ward

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: August 2013

Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

Publisher: Quirk

Publication Date: November 2013

The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick

Publisher: Algonquin Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: August 2013