My BookCon @ NYCC Weekend!

Hey guys!

Over the weekend I attended BookCon at NYCC and I had so much fun. This was my first ever book convention and I met so many wonderful people and got so many books. I’m surprised my shoulders didn’t dislocate (again) from carrying so many totes. I also met a ton of authors, including Lauren Oliver, who’s one of my all-time favorite writers.

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Friday

Although I only had passes for Saturday and Sunday, Books of Wonder held a couple of events with authors attended BookCon that were open to the public. On Friday night, they teamed up with Tor Teen to hold a panel and signing with Victoria Schwab, Kim Liggett, Sarah Porter, Erika Lewis, and Fran Wilde. Because of work, I arrived a little bit late but still got to see the panel and get my book signed fairly quickly. I brought my ARC of A Gathering of Shadows to get signed, and bought a paperback copy of A Darker Shade of Magic at the store. Victoria was literally so nice and gave me a lot of important writing advice. The rest of the night was super chaotic, because a woman went into labor on a train and all the trains back to NJ got cancelled. Thankfully, my mom drove in to get me, and I got home safely, but it was pretty crazy!

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Saturday

Day One in the actual convention center! I arrived at 9, an hour before the show floor (the floor that has publisher booths) opened. I waited on the queue, just scrolling through twitter, when I found out that Macmillan was going to be giving away ARCs of Heartless by Marissa Meyer! I immediately freaked out because if you’ve been following my blog for a while you know that Heartless is my most anticipated book of 2016. I actually met another blogger in line who freaked out when she saw the post and called her friend, and thanks to her we both made it to the booth quickly. She had been there on Friday, so she knew where the Macmillan booth was. They handed me the book, sealed in a red “Open Me” box, and I swear to god I was so happy I almost cried. I cannot wait to read this gorgeous book and dive back into the wonderful worlds and characters that Marissa writes.

I had created a loose schedule for the weekend, that I actually ended up sticking to for the most part. Around 12, Epic Reads was doing an ARC giveaway, and I got a copy of Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas, which looks really good. I also attended a ARC giveaway/signing for Gilded Cage by Vic James and The Bear and the Nightengale by Katharine Arden.

The only panel I attended over the weekend was the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” panel with Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, Ally Carter, and Daniel Jose Older, and it was moderated by Brittany Cavallaro. I brought my ARC of Replica from home and bought the final copy at the event to get signed. I loved meeting Lauren for the second time, and the panel was so funny.

I left for the day after the Lauren Oliver panel because I was so tired from carrying around three heavy tote bags and a backpack filled with books. Here’s a pro-tip: Always bring a small suitcase with you if you’re going to a book convention where you’ll get a lot of books. I didn’t do this on Saturday and killed my back and shoulders from carrying around too many tote bags.

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Sunday

Brittany Cavallaro was so excited about the mountain of A Study in Charlotte.

This was the last day of the whole convention, which meant most publishers were reducing the prices of the books for sale in their booths and were going to do a lot of giveaways. Once again, I arrived at nine and waited until the show floor opened at ten.

The main event I attended this day was the Epic Reads Meet-Up with Brittany Cavallaro, Mindy McGinnis, and Kimberly McCreight. I arrived and hour early and waited outside the room with my friend, Katie. I had bought A Study in Charlotte on Saturday so I could get an ARC of the second book, The Last of August, but ended up getting another free copy of it, which I’ll be doing a with giveaway soon. Everyone got a free tote bag with A Study in Charlotte, The Outliers, and The Female of the Species when they arrived. We got to talk with each author for about 20 minutes and get our books signed. I asked each author about their tips for aspiring writers, my go-to question for any author events.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet, and I ended up buying a couple of discounted books from Macmillan (they held a half off sale, and later a 75% off sale.) I got an ARC of The Diabolic from Simon and Schuster, which I’m really excited about reading because I haven’t read a sci-fi book since Illuminae (I think.)

This day I also brought a small rolling suitcase with me, which I ended up filling completely with books. I actually ran out of space in it and had to carry one tote!

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So that’s what happened on my BookCon at NYCC weekend! I’ll be posting a haul soon, but for now you can take a look at all the books I got in the picture below!

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Have you ever been to a book convention? If so, what did you think of it?

xx,

Sophie

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