BEA 2011 – Who Else is Going? Any Tips?

This is going to be my first year going to BEA (Book Expo America).  It is on the same weekend as my husband’s birthday so I am combining it with a vacation to go see NYC since I’ve never been there.

I ended up registering as Press; which hopefully was the right thing to do.  Sadly I cannot afford the vacation time to take the whole week off of work, so I will only be there the first couple days.  Which also means that I will be missing the Book Blogger’s Convention on Friday 🙁

I am hoping it will be a great time and am looking forward to meeting some publishers that I talk to via email and hopefully lot of new people.  I am looking at this as an opportunity to dip my toe in the BEA pond and decide if I want to invest a full week next year.

So I have a question for all of you…do you know anyone else who is going?  Do you have any tips for a first timer?

I have my business cards all made up and in hand.  I have the list of places I want to stop by in the exhibit hall all sorted out.

I am unsure what to except.  It is super crowded?  Do you get a lot of free books?  Will I need a box to ship them all back home in?  Do you have to sign up for the author signings ahead of time?

Any other recommendations?

We are actually renting a flat in NYC near the convention center rather than staying at a hotel. We did this through homeaway.com.  This is a cheaper option and give you a place to make meals etc.  We’ve used homeaway.com to stay in San Diego, South Dakota, and London before so check it out it you are interested.