5/11/2009 |

More than 700 Authors Participate in "Official" Programming!

From Tyler and Clemons to Irving and Conroy, Content is Key as New Venues Provide Maximum Exposure

Norwalk, CT, May 11, 2009:  BookExpo America (BEA) officials have today revealed much of the programming that will take place on their new Author Stages.  In total, approximately 35 – 40 authors will be involved in Author Stage activity and more than 700 authors will participate in some form of "official" event at BEA.  This fulfills a major objective for show officials, which has been to take advantage of the huge wealth of authors who come to the show by not only making them available to greet attendees but to package and stream content to BEA's audience of booksellers and media through various platforms and venues.  Author Stage interviews, as well as other content at BEA, will be captured on video and available for upload through various channels including BEA's own website.  Notably, Borders.com has confirmed that they will build a professional studio on the show floor where they will be interviewing authors for streaming content and they will stream Author Stage interviews and additional BEA content as well.  Other major online retailers plan to have a similar presence. 

While much of the programming for the Author Stage events is an interview format where two authors will be interviewed by another author or journalist, not all the programming will adhere to this formula.  There will be opportunities for individual presentations and the Author Stages will also feature two special sessions highlighting the "Authors of Editor's Buzz."  Scheduling for the entire Special Events Program and the Author Autographing Program has been completed and has been announced and posted on BEA's website.  Most of the Author Stage schedule has been completed but officials note that minor scheduling changes and additions for the stages will continue over the next two weeks. 

"These author venues will put booksellers and media in direct contact with content," notes Lance Fensterman, Vice President and Show Manager for BookExpo America.  "We want to build on the experience of meeting authors by creating platforms where people can connect and discuss issues that are important to them.  BEA is not just about getting signed books, or free galleys, it's about building awareness and encouraging dialogue." 

As previously announced, the Author Stage interviews kick off on Thursday, May 28 when Steven Tyler and Clarence Clemons will be interviewed by Chuck Klosterman for BEA's Opening Night Keynote.  The Author Stage presentations then continue throughout the weekend and will include:  John Irving (Last Night in Twisted River) and Pat Conroy (South of Broad) being interviewed by Charles McGrath (The New York Times) for a Literary Lions Panel; Byron Pitts (Step Out on Nothing) and David Small (Stitches: A Memoir) being interviewed by A.J. Jacobs (The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically and Editor-at-Large at Esquire) for a Memoirs Panel; James Ellroy (Blood's a Rover) and Colin Harrison (Risk) being interviewed by Sarah Weinman (Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind) for a Mystery Panel; William Mann (How to be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood) and Terry Teachout (Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong) being interviewed by Ben Moser (Harper's) for a Biography Panel;  Dr. Cornel West (Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud) being interviewed one-on-one by Tavis Smiley for a panel entitled What Really Matters: Living in the Age of Obama;  and Eduardo Galeano (Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone) being interviewed one-on-one by Lewis Lapham for a panel entitled The Chavez-Obama International Book Club. 

Other notable interview highlights will include Ali Velshi talking about the Financial Meltdown; Adam Rapp and David Rabe for a panel called Stage to Page; MJ Rose interviewing new Emerging Voices authors; a Social Media panel featuring Chris Brogan and Erik Qualman; a Sci Fi panel featuring China Mieville and John Ringo; a Children's Picture Books panel featuring Amy Hest and Nick Bruel; and several special Authors of Editor's Buzz panels. 

Solo Author Stage appearances will include a presentation by Elliot Tiber of Taking Woodstock – The Book & The Movie.  Tiber will discuss his own personal history and his role in Woodstock, the unique story behind his book and its publication by Square One Publishers, and the movie which will be released this summer by Focus Features which is based on his book and will be directed by Ang Lee starring Demetri Martin in the role of Elliot Tiber.  Taking Woodstock will be released on August 14, 2009, on the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock.  A trailer of the film will be shown as part of the presentation.  Another solo presentation on the Author Stage features Michael Sandel who will engage the attendees – much like his students at Harvard – in an intellectual exercise that is both entertaining and enlightening.  Michael Sandel's Justice is the most popular course at Harvard and it draws an enrollment of over 1,000.  His book, which will have the same title, will be an expansion of the course he teaches, while the classes themselves have been recorded by WGBH and will be broadcast through public television next fall.  In addition, a website is under development in collaboration between Harvard, WGBH and Farrar, Straus & Giroux which will be interactive and designed to stimulate community and active discussions of the central issues in Sandel's course and book.  Taken together, this constitutes an open enrollment call for Harvard's most popular course, an education in citizenship in an era where broad and active participation are more important than ever.  Sandel will present this exciting lesson exclusively to BEA's audience.      

As previously announced, Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III will also appear as a Guest of Honor on one of the Author Stages on Saturday, May 30.  Captain Sullenberger will address the audience and will sign autographs.  As noted, full details on time and location of all author appearances at BEA are available at the BEA website, www.bookexpoameirca.com.

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