For those of you unfamiliar, BEA—Book Expo America—is “the largest publishing event in North America”: a yearly gathering at which book publishers tell the rest of the world (via media, booksellers, librarians, other publishers, etc.) what books they’re excited about. It’s huge, and a little overwhelming, and the energy there is one of my favorite things about working in publishing.

For those of you both familiar and planning to attend, we thought we’d give you a quick rundown of Smart Pop at BEA:

Smart Pop Itself. Jennifer and I will be at Table #4112 (under the Perseus Distribution banner) with the rest of BenBella whenever our schedules permit; come say hello! We’ll have copies of our 2010 Smart Pop Sampler, which includes essays from Serenity Found, Batman Unauthorized, and Ardeur, and previews of the not-yet-released A Taste of True Blood and The Psychology of Dexter (plus our full fall catalog). It’s handy short reading for when you’re waiting in autograph lines.

In the Autographing Area. If you’re looking to pick up some autographed books (especially YA), we recommend the following past Smart Pop writers:

• Cory Doctorow – For the Win (Wednesday, 10:00-11:00, Table 14) [ticket required]
• Justine Larbalestier (with Holly Black) – Zombies vs Unicorns (Wednesday, 3:00-4:00, Table 17)
• Rick Riordan – The Red Pyramid (Wednesday, 3:00-4:00, Table 24) [ticket required]
• Diana Peterfreund – Ascendant (Wednesday, 3:30-4:00, Table 18)

Plus these two, from our upcoming A Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls:

• Bree Despain – The Dark Divine (Wednesday, 4:00-5:00, Table 24)
• Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Raised by Wolves (Thursday, 2:30-3:00, Table 28)

(We should also give a shout out to the BenBella nonfiction authors signing at Table 28 all day Wednesday. From social media to the science of vision to a guide to proper-fitting bras, the nonfiction side’s almost busier than we are!)

Anything happening at BEA this year that you think we should know about?