Michael Moccio ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Executive Editor
Hanna Lafferty ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Book Editor

Book Expo America 2014 kicked off fully today as publishers, book sellers, press, and literary fans alike gathered to revel in one of the publishing industry’s most popular events. Emertainment Monthly had the great opportunity to attend the conference as press. We’ve compiled highlights of today’s events that people need to know!

3. Celebrity Guests

Both Neil Patrick Harris and Jane Lynch were fan-favorite celebrity guests at today’s event. They autographed memorabilia associated with their upcoming releases, interacting with avid fans. Fans swamped NPH during his signing and the author didn’t have much time for fan interaction; Jane Lynch gave one-on-one interaction and made sure to pose and talk with each and every person that came up to her, even those that weren’t in the line to begin with.

Other mentionable celebrity guests included Gregory Maguire, promoting his new book Egg & Spoon, Billy Idol, and Lemony Snicket, promoting his new book File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents.

2. Panels [Lessons Learned in the Classroom; GoodReads 201]

Several industry professionals and professors at NYU’s Center for Publishing (NYU-SCPS) came together to share lessons their students taught them and how those lessons relate to the publishing industry. Panelists included Justin Chanda, overseer of several imprints at Simon & Schuster; Brenda Copeland, Executive Editor at St. Martin’s Press; Matthew Baldacci, of the Marketing Department at Scholastic; and Susan Weinberg of Perseus Books Group.

They shared a wealth of knowledge that any fledgling in the industry should take heed of—the information can be found in a more extensive article here.

Related: BEA 2014: Lessons in the Classroom

The other panel we attended was GoodReads 201, a crash course in book marketing and publicity via the popular website.

3. The Exhibitor’s Floor

This was not a usual packed, crowded, and sweaty convention. BEA is not like other conventions; there’s a sense of decorum and order that’s observed by the publishing professionals in attendance. As such, there’s a lot to see and do on the floor. Besides ARCs (Advance Review Copies) and Galley proofs galore, there were an abundance of smaller book publishers, authors, and events.

Some, including Downtown Bookworks, caught our eye in the innovative material they published. Working the DC Comics, Downtown Bookworks produced children’s books based on the acclaimed comic book company’s intellectual properties, including a DC Superhero Cookbook and the forthcoming My First Book of Girl Power, featuring iconic heroes like Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl.

Emerson alum were representing at BEA, with Barefoot Books and mentions from Candlewick Press on the floor.

Be sure to check back every day between now and Saturday night as Emertainment brings you the latest and best about BEA and BookCon 2014! Up next tomorrow includes vying to meet famous authors such as Rick Riordan and Stan Lee, along with many other great panels.