Procrastinator’s Guide: Midwinter 2013

ALA Mid 13If, like us, you are feeling panicky because the trip to Midwinter has become your default time to put your schedule together, breathe and calm down. From long experience, we’ve worked out a few easy steps that insure you won’t miss any major adult authors (children’s and YA librarians already have this down to a science):

1) Check out ALA’s rundown of author events. It’s pretty overwhelming, though, so start with the highlights. Don’t overlook the very last one — a Star Wars-themed party on Monday,  2:00-3:00 p.m  hosted by the author of the Origami Yoda series, Tom Angleberger, and the “Jedi Master of Origami,” Chris Alexander, in the Exhibit Hall (beginning at noon, vendors will have special offers and discounts).

2) Annoyingly, several noteworthy events are not included in the highlights:

Macmillan’s Talia Sherer and Sterling’s Chris Vaccari will “duke it out once again in the third episode of their award-winning Book Battle series,” on Sat., 1 to 2 p.m. in WSCC Rm 608 to 609,

The AAP’s Debut Author’s Panel on Sat., 3 to 4 pm, WSCC Rm 303, doesn’t have an audience cap, so there’s still room. (On the other hand, if you haven’t already signed up for Monday’s  AAP/LJ Breakfast, forget it. Not only is it sold out, there is also a waiting list. Check out the flyer anyway, all of those titles are worth getting to know, based on the advance buzz on GalleyChat).

The AAP’s “Library Family Feud” on Sunday from 3 to 4 , WSCC-TCC  Rm LL4 to 5, pits a “team of fabulous authors” against “Washington’s toughest librarians.” A note on the location: Finding rooms in convention centers drives us nuts and it seems the WSCC has added an extra wrinkle by ALSO having a separate building, called “The Conference Center”, which is indicated by “WSCC-TCC.” According to the map, it is across the street from the Convention Center, but accessible through the exhibits. Take note of the ominious warning on the map, “some of the room names are the same. For example WSCC-TCC 301 is not the same room as WSCC-Room 301.” Ugh. We’re packing bread crumbs.

3) The Grand Opening Reception in the exhibit hall on Friday from 5:30-7 p.m has evolved into the Big Galley Grab. If you don’t want to fight your way through the crowds, the buzz sessions are a great opportunity to nab ARC’s (some ask for RSVP’s, so if you haven’t, don’t be annoyed if there aren’t enough ARC’s available):

Saturday, Jan.  26, 10:30 to 11:45 am  HarperCollins Boom Buzz —  WSCC-TCC  Rm LL4 to 5 (see our note, above under Family Feud, about this location)

Sunday, Jan. 27, 3 to 4  pm — Penguin Book Buzz — WSCC, Rooms 608-609

Sunday, January 27, 11:30 am to 12:30 pmRandom House Book Buzz — Convention Center Annex, Room 303 Note on location: The word “Annex” worries us — this may be “The Conference Center,” which, as noted above, is a separate building, across from the Convention Center and accessible through the exhibits.

3) To help you decide what ARC’s to look for, LJ‘s indefatigable Barbara Hoffert offers her first-ever MidWinter Galley & Signing Guide (download here), which lists — Yikes! — over 250 titles. Publishers also offer other giveavways — Random Houses’ free poster, “What Will You Read After Gone Girl? should be a hit. In terms of ARC’s, here’s just a few we’ll be going after:

Andrea Camilleri’s The Dance of the Seagulls (Penguin, Feb. 26) — the latest in a series that drips with the Sicilian sun and deserves a wider audience in the U.S. (we’d like to see his character, Inspector Montalbano, become the Sicilian Commissario Guido Brunetti).

Therese Anne Fowler’s  Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (Macmillan/St. Martin’s, March 26) — on several previews of the best books of 2013.

We’re already fans of Charles Dubow’s Indiscretion (Harper/Morrow, Feb. 5). Note: don’t even ask for an ARC of Neil Gaiman’s first novel for adults, Ocean at the End of the Lane (Harper/Morrow, June 18). It’s not available.

4) If you are looking for specific booths on the show floor, search the exhibitors here.

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