BookCon ran June 3 – 4 in the Jacob Javits Center, NYC. As it was my first, I wondered whether to go on Day 1 or Day 2. The first would have more freebies, but more people. Less free stuff on Day 2 but the chance of books at very discounted prices (what publisher wants to go home with piles of stock?). So I went with Day 2.
Well, apart from the initial lines to get in, it did feel spacious and not too full. But so did the exhibits. My memory of attending the Frankfurt Book Fair back in 1993 was nothing like this. That was HUGE, while this felt more like half of one floor.
I have to admit a rather annoying takeaway was the fact that most people seemed to be there simply to get as much ‘swag’ as possible. Indeed, the dedicated App for the event seems to be little more than ‘swag wars’, with people posting photos of how much free stuff they got. I soon learned that most of the long lines were for freebies rather than autographing authors. Sigh!
Even many of the signing events were arranged more like cattle pens…
…though there were a few famous authors around – even if their fame didn’t come from being best-sellers.
At least I got to spend time with an existing printer (lulu.com) and IngramSpark – though my time with lulu was limited as they had a long line demanding free plastic water bottles and blue bags. Really, people?
I guess I should include the inevitable picture of Jason with furry animal.
At least there were a couple of esoteric publishers exhibiting, and I was able to pick up a few items for under $10 each (most retailing for $40 – $50).
So, all in all a nice day out, got some business transacted with the printers, bought a few cheap books and a Tarot deck. Would I go again? Not really sure…
