BEA 2015 Recap in (Mostly) Photos

May 26 - 30, 2015

ACT 1 The Journey

I love taking the train to NYC for BEA. It requires less security stops and check-in time from an airplane. Plus I've discovered I can lug all my books home for free if I bring an extra empty rolling suitcase with me. Win. The only issue is trying to get a huge bag full of books in the overhead rack on the way home. Thankfully, a very nice man helped me out, though he didn't take me seriously when I said "that bag is really heavy." That is until after he muscled it up there and replied, "wow, that's heavy." I told you! 

This year I had the best time traveling to BEA with the awesome Andi @ AndiABCs, Gail @ Ticket To Anywhere and Sarah @ What Sarah Read. Although we did get yelled at for talking to loudly, Gail set the girl in her place. We were not in the quiet car, btw! 

Check out my awesome "Don't Let Your Love Get Out of Shape" Just say No to Love Triangles shirt made by the talented Bookiemoji.

Some people aren't as eager to have their photos taken, but look how cute Sarah is!

ACT 2 The Venue 

I love to take pictures of the Javits Center where BEA is held every year to give people (like my family) who've never been a sense of what the madness looks like.  

Love seeing how the stairs are wrapped every year! 

Lots of huge banners of featured books at BEA, and upcoming releases (Go Set A Watchman wasn't at BEA, sadly) hang out in the lobby area. 

Lots of lines and people! On the left is the massive Starbucks line, on the right is the chaos of the exhibit floor. 

 This year the autographing area was moved to the right side of the exhibit hall, and though I had my doubts, this ended up being a fantastic decision on the part of the BEA people! There was a lot more room for lines and it seemed more organized as a whole. 

The Javits exhibition floor is like a casino in that there aren't any windows (or clocks) in there, though the lobby has a beautiful open feel. This is just reflection of the city behind me as I look onto the floor. 

ACT 3 The Parties 

Part of BEA for many people is publisher parties. Not everyone gets invited to all of them, but I had a great time at the ones I attended. They were all different and allowed me to interact with bloggers, authors, and publishing staff in a smaller - generally less chaotic - setting. 

1) Harlequin High Tea

I attended a Harlequin High Tea for Adult Romance at the Harlequin offices in NYC

It really was a high tea with yummy treats included!

Authors attended: Kristan Higgins, Karma Brown. Marie Force. RaeAnn Thane. Jodi Thomas. 

Friends at the Tea!

2) Harper Collins Epic Reads Party at Burbon Street Bar and Grill 

This party was packed with people, but had a great feel with the roof open to the sky…until it started raining and they had to close the roof and it became blazing hot. 

It was exciting to turn around and find authors like Patrick Ness hanging out. He's tall, btw! Liza Wiemer (author of Hello?) and I had a great chat with Aaron Hartzler (author of What We Saw) that made us all tear up.

Sandie from @ Teen Lit Rocks and I had a great time in the Epic Reads Photo Booth!

3) Macmillan Fierce Reads Party at The Strand's Rare Book Room 

This was my favorite location! The venue a gorgeous old library feel and the space was plenty large enough for the whole group. I didn't get any pictures of the space sadly. But I did have a great time in another photo booth!

These are 3/4 of my roommates and we had a BLAST together. More on that below. 

4) Penguin Lunch 

I attended a lunch sponsored by Penguin where we got to hear Carrie Ryan and Sarah Dessen speak. I didn't take any notes, but I loved hearing them chat about their books, book boyfriends, music they're listening to and much more in a smaller setting. 

ACT 4 Friends

The last 2 years I attended BEA, I stayed with a friend from college who is in the publishing world but not a blogger. Although it was great to catch up with her and stay in the city for free, it was a huge treat this year to room with four other bloggers. We had a BLAST. We'd originally planned to do Airbnb but after 2 cancelations we ended up in a hotel that was super close to the Javits. It was small but perfect. 

Asheley @ Into the Hall of Books, Me, Kel @ Booked Til Tuesday, Jess @ Gone With the Words, Danielle @ Love at First Page, 

Danielle, Kristina @ Gone Pecan, Sarah, Asheley, Me

This is only a tiny fraction of the people I got to hang out with this year. I did a terrible job at taking all the pictures! 

From the Top: I'm with Andi, Summer @ Blue Sky Shelf, Jen @ YA Romantics, Gaby @ Bookish Broads, Rashika @ The Social Potato, Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books and Jess!

ACT 5 In the City

Day and Night in the city that never sleeps. You can see our hotel on the left. 

Don't mess. We're in our Love Triangle Free Zone.

From top: Ready to roll in our sunnies outside of the hotel. Serenaded on the subway. Roomies at The Shake Shack and Chipotle. Bottom picture is at Chevy's: Jess, Asheley, Danielle, Me, Ashley @ The Quiet Concert, Ashley's friend Katie, Lindsey @ A Bookish Sinister Kid, Allison @ Good Books and Good Wine

It was sad to say goodbye (for most of us!)

This random looking picture is the last I took in NYC this year. Its the view directly out of our hotel room. 

Some of the books I got at BEA this year.

 I brought home around 40 in addition to some hardbacks. 

Even though BEA's not in NYC next year, I'll be back!