First of four-part BOB blog: BookExpo America full of celebrities, heavyweight authors and intrigue

       BOB NOTE: This is the first of a four-part blog on the recent BookExpo America. Today's post is on the expo itself. The next two blog posts will be reviews of two YA books that were introduced during it. Then the final one will reveal the nationally known children's author who had one of the longest lines at BEA and who will be coming to Best of Books and Oklahoma for the first time! Joe and Nan Hight both attended as BOB representatives.
    
      

    

 NEW YORK -- The recent BookExpo America featured celebrities such as Al Roker, Dr. Ruth, Lee Greenwood, Christie Brinkley, Nathan Lane, Mindy Kaling, Emeril Lagasse and many others.

        It featured intriguing controversy, including China being introduced as the guest of honor at the BEA's Global Market Forum; the move prompted a protest in the city. It also featured author James Patterson lambasting Amazon.
        And it featured nationally known authors who were there for BEA and then BookCon the following weekend. Large banners hanging and wrapped throughout the Javits Center proclaimed their latest books.
         Thousands of people crowded into the Javits Center for the events that included numerous signings, previews of the latest books, breakfasts. lunches, giveaways, workshops and every major publisher. Some people arrived early to stand in long lines for tickets to stand in more long lines to receive signed books and pose for photos with their favorite authors.
          The word "overwhelming" was used many times by those attending BEA.
          An example of the flurry of activity came when three heavyweight authors showed up at the same time on the last day of BEA: John Grisham, Marie Lu and Patterson.
     

    Grisham was there to sign booklets promoting his upcoming book "Rogue Lawyer," which is scheduled to come out in October.
        
      




                                    

Young Adult author Lu had the largest banner of any at the Javits Center promoting her upcoming book "The Rose Society." She also was there signing booklets promoting the book that also will be coming out in October.

 

               

 Then there was Patterson, who introduced his new children's imprint and accepted an award for championing independent bookstores. Best of Books was the recipient of one of Patterson's grants for bookstores in 2014 and is planning a program this fall in relationship to it. His new imprint with Little, Brown, and Company seeks to encourage children to interact more with the literary world.

                   Patterson didn't shy away from controversy either as he sharply criticized Amazon during his awards speech, saying that it was endangering literature.

                   "Amazon wants to control book buying, book selling and even book publishing," Patterson said in a USA TODAY story, while adding the company "sounds like the beginning of a monopoly."

                    BookExpo America was full of celebrities, heavyweight authors and controversies. It'll be fun to see what happens when it moves to Chicago in May 2016.