Though BookExpo and BookCon 2020 were both originally cancelled until 2021, ReedPop recently announced that they will be doing free online events instead! Jenny Martin, the Event Director for BookExpo and BookCon, said:
We know how valuable it is for our community to gather and we felt it was important to reimagine the experiences you look forward to each year at BookExpo and BookCon to fit our current reality. We are excited to bring you BookExpo Online and BookConline this year, two unique digital events that will certainly be one for the books!”
Starting with Book Expo Online from May 26 to May 28, the event will include their annual panel sessions, Children’s & Adult’s Book & Author Dinners, Buzz Book panels, spotlights on New Graphic Novels and Picture Books, and curated content for librarians, which will kick off on Librarian’s Day. Some of the Author Dinners guests will include: poet Laureate Joy Harjo, Carmen Maria Machado, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rebecca Roanhorse, MSNBC political analyst and SiriusXM radio personality Zerlina Maxwell, Judy Blume, Natalie Portman, Marie Lu, Raj Haldar, Misty Copeland, and Kwame Mbalia.
Be on the lookout for an additional BookExpo event in late July, which will feature timely content curated with booksellers’ goals in mind with education sessions, speed dating, UnBound content, and publisher showcases. More details will be available as it gets closer.
BookConline 2020 will take place May 30 and 31. It will feature a virtual place for fans to gather and interact with each other, as well as authors and publishers! From Q&As and panel discussions to ARC giveaways, quizzes and trivia, and more, this online event is not to be missed. With nearly 100 authors, including Cassandra Clare, Zoraida Cordova, Jenny Han, Judy Blume, Jodi Picoult, Nic Stone, Meg Nocero, and Angie Thomas, a variety of books and topics will be discussed, such as the new age of super heroes, LGBTQ+ characters in young adult and middle grade literature, social justice, and more!
One of the panels will feature “Transcending the Binary in YA” (originally planned for May 9) with authors Kacen Callender, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Mason Deaver, Victoria Lee, Anna-Marie McLemore, Mark Oshiro, Aiden Thomas, and Casey McQuiston.
You can view all BookExpo Online programming on the BookExpo Facebook page and BookConline programming will be viewable on the BookCon Facebook page and Facebook group.