BookExpo,
WFUV #FUVBoat, and BookCon Panel Discussions
Congested
traffic and the late arrival of my mass transit choice combined with another
person’s (in line in front of me!) registration woes kept me from attending “Being
a Person Is Hard” with Tom Papa (of “Marriage Ref” fame), but while waiting to
disembark, my seat mate recommended two interesting books to add to my TBR
list: Daughter of the Cold War by
Grace Kennan Warnecke and Bear and the
Nightingale by Katherine Arden. So that gave me my book fix for Friday.
The
mad dash to the Javits Convention Center to catch the end of BookExpo very
conveniently placed me within a few blocks of Pier 40. Hornblower Cruises and
Events provided a lovely floating venue for the annual WFUV #FUVBOAT dance party.
Their roster of djs uploaded one fab tune after another and didn’t miss a beat
between spin duty hand-offs during the three hours of shaking it in the packed
dance flour (with equally enthusiastic participation by most of the men, which
is rare compared to my experiences in other dance events). Total bonus of
making friends with an assortment of brilliantly vivacious women: a high school
dean, a charter bus business owner, and their two friends.
Gorgeous
night views of the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges, the new
Seaport like a jewel suspended from Pier 17, and the Statue of Liberty offered
a captivating tableau of engineering and architectural brilliance against the
backdrop of crisp, clear night on the Hudson River.
Sweaty,
happily exhausted, and home a little after midnight, then a shower, and late into
bed at 1:45 a.m. for an early rise at 4:30 a.m. to catch the first train into
Grand Central to watch The Today Show at the #TODAYplaza. Sheinelle Jones,
Dylan Dreyer, and D.C.’s own Craig Melvin were even more professional and
engaging in-person than they are on television. A little glad-handing and
exchanges of greetings before heading back to Javits for BookCon.
The Ultimate Guide to Turning Your
Manuscript into a Published Success
Acquisitions
manager Justine Bylo provided a tantalizing overview of reasons for author
newbies and seasoned veterans to consider the Ingram Spark platform for their
publishing projects.
Takeaway
advice from J.B. for self-pubbers: “Own your ISBNs.”
Defying Borders
Panel
discussion takeaway: Generating imagination and empathy by reading books about
other kinds of people.
Tommy
Orange’s book was labeled “historical” fiction on a list of recommended titles,
but the author doesn’t feel it’s an accurate designation because indigenous
people are often thought of as existing only in past tense (outside of
reservations).
Tor Presents: LGBTQ+ Authors on Gender and
Identity in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Provocative
question from moderator to panelists: Does Sci-Fi fail with inclusivity more
often than other fiction because there’s more to unpack?
Reading
recs from panelists: Octavia Butler, Julia May, Diane Dwayne, Bebop (from
Archie’s Sonic Universe #29?
Memorable
quote: “Sexuality is not a spoiler.”
(My
apologies for not remembering which panelist said this.)
Diversity in Graphic Novels
Sadly
(and ironically) this panel discussion got derailed before it started by a
setup oversight that prevented Tee Franklin from having access for her
motorized scooter to the elevated platform where the table was situated. After
some juggling of positions to the same level with the audience, T.F. shared her
feelings of being “a problem” (even though she is 100% NOT a problem) because
some version of this lack of accommodation keeps happening at events where the
organizers who’ve invited her to participate don’t make sure that she has equal
access. She (understandably) choose not to participate in the panel, although
she did recover her bonhomie by the time for her autographing session.
Her
absence was a loss for all of us.
It
was a prime example of the need for conscious consideration of the need for all
kinds of people with every level of physical ability in event planning.
Diverse Voices in Mystery
Marquee
author: Walter Mosley
Author
revelations: Kellye Garrett and Joe Ide
Kellye
Garrett’s remark about reclaiming the multifaceted humanity of black female
characters beyond the sassy best friend who says, “Girlfriend…” all the time
really resonated with me.
Optimistic
takeaway: Millennials expect diversity in casts of characters.
Women of Mystery and Thrillers
Moderator:
Mackenzie Dawson, NY Post editor
Panelists:
Megan Abbott, Sandra Brown, Sara Blaedel, Karen Ellis, Kate Kessler
Shared
reaction among panelists to this question from men: How does such a nice woman
write about such brutal crimes?
Sunday 6/3
Marvel: From Prose to Panels
·
The
moderator is the creator of Powers of a
Girl, which is scheduled for an early 2019 release.
·
Rainbow
Rowell writes Runaways, but she and
her writing partner don’t watch the HULU show to preserve their clarity in the
context and timeline of their version of the Runaways universe.
·
Charles
Soule has a new novel out called The
Oracle Year about someone who can predict the future.
·
Brandon
T. Snider’s new release for kids is Grow
Up, Ant-Man!
Fierce and Fabulous: Find Your Inner Beyoncé!
Memorable
quote: “The purpose of writing is to encourage empathy.”
Takeaway
concepts from multiple panelists: Girls and women should stop asking permission
and apologizing for taking up space.
Provocative
idea: Dismiss the notion that there are “girl” books and “boy” books,
especially in which girls are expected to read about boys, but boys aren’t expected
to reciprocate.
Romance and the Resistance
Moderator:
Tina Jordan, NY Times editor
Panelists:
Aya De Leon (Thanks for the free book!), Sarah MacLean, Ronnie Lauren, K.M.
Jackson, Donna Kauffman
Provocative
question from moderator to panelists: Are romance novels inherently political
as they reflect the evolution of the women’s movement?
K.M.
Jackson’s writing supports the case for the cheerful black woman.
Donna
Kauffman stated that everyone falls in love with someone or something, which
makes romance the most realistic fiction genre.
Gems
from Sarah MacLean: “Romance centers the female gaze on women in positive ways
more so than any other media.” and “Orgasms are two for one, women to men in
romance, which should apply in real life.”
Vintage
Carol Hanisch quote sited more than once: “The personal is political.”
Re-Orientation: LGBTQ Creators of Mass
Media, Culture and the Stories People Want to Read
Moderator:
Emily Jordan, Salon
Damon
Suede quote: “Romance is the literature of hope.”
Damon
Suede hashtag-worthy terms: Bland-Aid, gayelles
Dhoinelle
Clayton talked about the need for targeted beta sensitivity readers and
reviewers from marginalized groups. She also discussed racial and queer coding
for stories that operate on multiple frequencies.
Mackenzie
Lee discussed the navigation of queerness in the 18th c. at a time
when the specificity of vocabulary didn’t exist yet.
Harper
Miller’s writing supports sex-positive characters who are secure within
themselves.
Reading
recs from the panelists: Coffee Will Make
You Black, Odd One Out, Tiger’s Daughter, Fingersmith, Fire and Stars,
The Prince and the Dressmaker
Toxic Male Syndrome
All
of the panelists discussed ways of re-inventing and subverting unhealthy “alphahole”
tropes in romance fiction.
Being
alpha is not synonymous with being toxic, but the two terms often get conflated
in romance fiction.
Reading
recs from panelists: Sinner by Sierra
Simone, A Distant Heart, The
Metamorphoses trilogy, books by Ruby Lane, The
Prey of the Gods, The Rook by
Daniel O’Malley
Random
update from my visit to OverDrive booth 1258: Libby is the new and improved “one-touch”
update that’s coming soon. Among other desired functionality, users will be
able to load multiple library cards from different library systems into one
account. Yay! (Yes, I cheat on my primary library with other library systems.)
The
preceding offers just a taste of all of the bookish deliciousness that BookExpo
and BookCon provided to book readers, authors, fans, and publishing
professionals. It was an entertaining and educational weekend. Apologies for
any errors with quotes or attributions. Fandom-induced adrenaline rushes
combined with sleep-deprivation was the most likely source.
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