So, what goes on at Book Expo?

This is a copy of what I wrote for Yale University Press's blog. It is a pretty fair description of what goes on at Book Expo. The only thing I would add is that I seemed to spend a lot of time getting autographs from actors (I did take photos), a group not generally known for their literary stylings;)

Greetings from Los Angeles. Chris Gondek of the Yale Press Podcast, here. I've been asked to give you, the Yale Press Log reader, a sense of what Book Expo is like and what Yale University Press is up to here. So, without further ado...

Book Expo is the yearly gathering of the publishing industry. Part trade show, part fan event, part seminar, think of it as a bazaar for the literate. Almost every publisher in North America sends a representative or twenty, and everyone tries to get the signatures of their favorite authors, while trying to get away with wearing the most comfortable shoes possible, because multiple days standing on thin carpet above concrete will wear you down.

These are the cattle chutes, err, autograph lines. There are 28 lines, and the authors rotate through them every 30 minutes to an hour. Some authors are ticketed, which means that, in order to get in their line, you must have a free ticket that is given out at an absurdly early hour. For instance, this signing with Salman Rushdie (in the striking aqua shirt) was a ticketed event.

The first day is the educational event, in which people in different parts of the publishing industry speak about developments. This is a picture from last year's event in New York, in which Dan Lee, the show's executive producer, and I spoke about the development of the show.

As for the booth itself.

Here is the display of our upcoming book on Fred Astaire, part of the Icons of America series.

In-depth discussions about next year's shows. From R to L, Heather D'Auria, Brenda King and me.

Yale and Harvard. Rivals on the gridiron, but much more cordial relations in publishing. Harvard in the foreground, Yale in the background.

Finally, everybody loves to talk about the giveaways from the publishers, and for the centenary, Yale had one of the best with this incredibly cool book/tote bag.

And there you have it, loyal reader, Book Expo without the traffic jams on Pico or Olympic Blvds. or having to dodge the stampede of mindless fans who HAD to have William Shatner's autograph.

For the record, I thought I saw something move ;)