Back in late 2009, Damon Caporaso (one of two fearless BSC Review leaders) approached me about attending BEA 2010 with him in New York City. The opportunity presented to me seemed a no-brainer, but with a new baby boy on the way, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for considering lengthy trips. After a few discussions with Damon, though, I was convinced that BEA 2010 was where I needed to be, was meant to be.
BEA 2010 was held at the Jacob K. Javits Center just outside the Lincoln Tunnels in NYC between Tuesday, May 25th and Thursday, May 27th. Thousands upon thousands of people converged on Javits Center…I wasn’t surprised. Being that this was my first trip to NYC, I gawked frequently at the hundreds of cabs just outside the main entrance. A sea of yellow assaulted my senses, which were already under fire from the pressing heat, humidity, and car pool nausea (we drove in from New Jersey).
BEA is an industry trade show and the premier North American publishing event open to the press, exhibitors, film and TV representatives, authors and, of course, publishers. Hundreds of publishers–both independent and mainstream–were on site to show off their titles and authors. Celebrities were present in plenty as well, helping the cause. Comic book publishers like Dark Horse, Marvel, Diamond Book Distributors, IDW, and Image were on-hand to cover that particular spectrum of the publishing world.
My experience with the conference turned out to be like dark chocolate: bitter and sweet rolled into one shiny wrapper…and good for you in small quantities. I came dressed to impress, but soon realized that dressing to impress doesn’t bode well when the square footage of the show space comprises two or more levels of vastness. BSC attended the show only on Wednesday, which probably was for the best, in hindsight. I’m not a trained press agent; striking out and tackling a show of this size wasn’t appealing to me, so I tagged along with Elena (senior editor here at BSC) and Damon for a spell. Observing how Damon worked the booths full of industry folks eager to strike up conversations about their products turned out to be one of the best training classes I’ve had in recent memory.
Damon’s good, period. He knows how to promote BSC Review and BSC Kids, knows how to engage the reps in a professional way, and, damn, does he get hooked up with free swag! We all left with a bag full of goodies, including books, pamphlets, business cards, a few trinkets, etc., but Damon left with about four bags full. It was impressive, but it wasn’t his first trip around Javits Center, clearly.
Despite the fact that I was there to network and get industry contacts for my own written works (which was a huge benefit to me that I’ll touch on later), the highlight of the show for me was my scheduled interview with Cory Doctorow, well-known writer and blogger. Reluctantly, I must admit that I didn’t know who Cory was before this task was bestowed upon me. Dot Lin, Cory’s publicist at Tor Books, sent me a copy of his latest novel, a fantastic YA book titled For The Win. I didn’t have the time to finish it before the interview, but what I’ve read so far is pure brilliance. It dawned on me that I’d been asked to interview a genius of a writer whose interests I share: technology, gaming, and writing. A wave of heat rushed through my body as the anxiety kissed my nerve endings with kaleidoscopic rapidity. Really? I’m interviewing Cory Doctorow?
I’ll dedicate a completely separate article to the illuminating interview with Cory very soon, including video coverage, but I had to mention here that this 21-minute interview changed my life. I’m a newly captured fan of Cory’s, and I would encourage everyone reading this to check out his blog, BoingBoing, and his main site, Craphound.com.
Overall, the show blew me away, and the contacts I made will forever put me in debt to BSC Review for granting me the opportunity and putting themselves out there on my behalf. I have several emails to draft over the next few days post-BEA to inquire about writing opportunities and other items of personal interest. I have a golden chance to promote myself, and I’m not going to waste it. I met some wonderful people at publishers such as Boom! Studios, Prometheus Books, Pyr, Orbit and Yen Press, Black Library, and Paizo Publishing.
Last but certainly not least, I wanted to mention that I spotted Louis Gossett, Jr., but didn’t get a chance to speak with him. I did, however, run into Adam Richman of Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel, and what a great guy he is. Todd McFarlane signed a copy of Haunt for me, which was very exciting given my history with comic books and the Haunt series in general. Celebrity run-ins are a rare occurrence for me, but I had a great time at BEA 2010 and will be back for BEA 2011!
