Friday, March 26, 2010

PLA PICTURES AS PROMISED!

Just returned from a wonderful, whirlwind 48-hours in Portland, OR, at the Public Library Association's Biennial Conference. I arrived on Wednesday just in time for a concert by (believe it--those librarians have connections) Natalie Merchant. Then, in the opening keynote, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Nicholas Kristof gave a presentation on his book HALF THE SKY: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, co-written with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. What an amazing afternoon, and that was before I headed on over to...

THE INCREDIBLE EXHIBIT HALL (here come the pictures)!






Walking through the lovely Oregon Conference Center with a crowd of librarians en route to the exhibit hall (left) and a view of some exhibits from one of the entryways (right).


 
 
 
   
A few highlights of Wednesday and Thursday: Visiting in the Rosen Publishing Booth (left); Getting my coping of CHASING BROOKLYN signed by the charming Lisa Schroeder, flanked by Simon & Schuster's Anica Rissi and Laura Antonacci (center); Posing with a bear called "Pennington" (don't ask 'cause I don't know) (right).  Equally fun (though not pictured here): Shaking hands with America's best-known librarian, the spunky Nancy Pearl; hanging out with editor extraordinaire Susan Chang in the Tor Books booth; and listening to the panel discussion, "Crossover Advisory: Adult Books for Teens and Teen Books for Adults" (more on this soon). 

And here are just a few of the ARCs I picked up.  So much to read, so little time...

I'll write a more thoughtful recap soon, but will close today by saying that if a library or educator conference is coming to your part of the country, I HIGHLY recommend you check it out.  Exhibit passes are inexpensive and what you learn about the book business can be invaluable.  Visit the American Library Association, Public Library Association, and International Reading Association websites to look for opportunities to explore the world of books and meet the incredible people who market and sell your work.  Have a great weekend!

2 comments:

Jennay and Luke the Pup said...

Wow, sounds like tons of fun. And Lisa Schroder??? I just picked up two of her books today. I can't wait to read them!

Stasia said...

It was a total blast and Lisa is delightful and a very thoughtful writer. We spoke about the challenge of balancing the multiple POV's in CHASING BROOKLYN which, I think, works exceedingly well with the novel's paranormal motifs. Happy reading and thanks for the follow! Stasia