Back in October we told you to save the date for Book Expo America 2009 May 28-31 in my hometown of New York City - now it's time to sign up!

And this is as good a place as any to formally announce that the entire Unshelved crew will be there in a giant booth (it was the only one they could find that would house our enormous egos). Gene and I will be putting on some sort of show, and we'll also be carrying around a video camera interviewing attendees, guests, and exhibitors. We hope you'll join us at our favorite library conference!

P.P.S. If you tried to register earlier this week, please try again - I just got word that registration is now officially open, and I even tested it myself. You're good to go.

Update: It seems they are still having troubles with registration, so hold off until you hear from me. Sorry for all the confusion!

My congratulations to Neil Gaiman for Winning the Newbery! He's one of my favorite authors, and I loved that book.

Update: Yes, fine, I spelled "Newbery" wrong again. Whatever. That word is impossible to spell right. They should do something about that.

Speaking of Book Expo America, we're doing a little project with them. We're asking you, our readers, to answer the question "What do you wish publishers knew?" It could be about your reading habits, your library's purchasing system, or your bookstore's shelving algorithm. Then we're going to ask publishers "What do you wish your customers knew about you?" And we're going to make a comic out of some of the answers and publish it at our website and at BEA's.

So here's what I'd like you to do: email me with your answer to the question "What do you wish publishers knew?" along with a picture of yourself, your name, job title, and where you work. You can also choose to remain anonymous. By sending us this information you are allowing us to use your name, likeness, and quote in our comic. Don't worry, we'll be gentle. Deadline: February 16, but sooner is better.