BookExpo, formerly known as BookExpo America (BEA), is a publishing trade expo. It is intended as a way for publishers and authors to introduce upcoming titles to booksellers, librarians, and members of the press. This year’s BookExpo was back in New York City at the Javits Center, from May 31 – June 2.

Wednesday was largely dedicated to educational panels, so I spent the day traveling to NYC. In the evening, I had the opportunity to attend a party hosted by Harlequin Teen and chat with some of their upcoming YA authors: Amanda Foody, Sasha Alsberg, Lindsay Cummings, and Gregory Katsoulis. I’m looking forward to checking out their books!

Thursday was the first full day of the conference. After getting my bearing on the show floor and grabbing galley drop schedules from publisher booths, I had a meeting with a lovely publicist from Sourcebooks who shared some of their upcoming YA titles with me. I then headed to the YA Buzz Panel, which featured Tillie Walden’s Spinning, Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi, All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry, Dashka Slater’s The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, and Dear Martin by Nic Stone. I learned about a lot of books that I hadn’t heard of previously and left excited to check out some of the galleys I picked up.

Friday was very similar to Thursday. After doing a lap around the show floor, I hopped into the signing line for a copy of Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody. Later in the morning, my day was made when I grabbed an ARC of one of my most anticipated reads: Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. I had another meeting with a publicist, waited in a long line for a signed copy of Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, and left for the day after grabbing a galley of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert, which has been getting a ton of buzz already.

BookCon

BookCon is the fan convention extension of BookExpo and takes place the weekend immediately after the industry-only event. It’s a chance for book lovers to see some of their favorite authors in person by attending panels or signings, and a chance to pick up some swag as well. This year’s con took place over two days, on June 3 and 4.

I started off my Saturday at an incredible early-morning brunch hosted by Penguin Teen, where we got to eat and chat with the five Penguin Teen Game Changing authors: Marie Lu, Stephanie Perkins, Julie Dao, Kristin Cashore, and Peter Bognanni. Talking with them left me very excited for all of their upcoming books!

My day at the Javits Center started with the Magic of World Building panel, which featured Danielle Paige, Renee Ahdieh, Marie Lu, and Melissa de la Cruz. I loved witnessing their friendly interactions and learning about their different approaches to worldbuilding.

In the afternoon, I attended a panel with some of my favorite contemporary authors, the Finding Your Voice panel with Sarah Dessen, Shannon Hale, Jenny Han, and Morgan Matson. These ladies all write such incredibly relevant and enjoyable stories and I loved getting to hear from them in person.

Other highlights from BookCon include the Books + YouTube + Booktube panel, the I’ll Take Audiobooks for $400, Please gameshow that teamed up authors with a member of the audience to answer trivia questions, and the Last Tycoon panel featuring actor Matt Bomer.

BookCon is a whirlwind two days but I’ve continuously found that it’s worth braving the crowds to hear from some of your favorite authors in person.