In this podcast episode, Scieszka outlines the issues our industry and country face in the quest to put more books in the hands of more children.

Scieszka will provide Introductory Remarks at this year’s Children’s Book and Author Breakfast (Friday, May 30, 8:00AM – 9:30AM in the Concourse Hall). This opening-day breakfast will feature Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Judy Blume, author of Going, Going, Gone! with the Pain and the Great One, and Neil Gaiman, author of The Graveyard Book. Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox will be the Master of Ceremonies.

For more information about this event, please click here.

Hodgman’s new book, More Information Than Your Require, like his debut work The Area of My Expertise, is a book of useful world knowledge and facts, completely made up by Hodgman.

John Hodgman will be at BEA 2008, serving as The Master of Ceremonies at the Sunday Book and Author Breakfast (8:00AM – 9:30AM in the Concourse Hall). This event will feature Ted Turner, author (with Bill Burke) of Call Me Ted, Azar Nafisi, author of Things I’ve Been Silent About: A Memoir of Family, and Dennis Lehane, author of The Given Day.

For more information about this event, please click here.

Buckly has gone on to write such books as Thank You for Smoking, Florence of Arabia, and Steaming To Bamboola.

In his new satire, Supreme Courtship, The President of the United States, ticked off at the Senate for rejecting his nominees, decides to get even by nominating America’s most popular TV judge to the Supreme Court.

Buckley will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s Saturday Book and Author Luncheon (12:00PM – 2:00PM in the Concourse Hall). This year’s lunch will, once again, focus on political and social issues and will feature Richard Engel, author of War Journal, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, author of Taking on the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era, Jon Krakauer, author of The Hero, and Michael Moore.

For more information about this event, please click here.

Black will appear at BEA’s Saturday night benefit on behalf of his new book, Me of Little Faith. Me of Little Faith is a ferociously funny exploration of religion and faith in which he examines how the rules and constraints of religion have affected his life and the lives of us all.

Proceeds from Lewis Black’s performance at BEA will go to help support the Book Industry Foundation which is comprised of the American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression (ABFFE) and the Association of American Publishers’ Get Caught Reading Campaign.

For more information about this event, please click here.

The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see globalization in a new way. Now Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy with his new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded.

In this episode, Friedman discusses the world’s current “dirty fuel” system, the new “green revolution,” and the path to an energy independent future.

Friedman will serve as one of the keynote speakers at BEA 2008, speaking on Friday, May 30 at 11:00AM. For more information, please click here.

The trade association’s newest public awareness initiative communicates the pleasures of enjoying and listening to books in audiobook format. The launch will be celebrated and unveiled during audiobook events at BEA 2008, and lead into National Audiobooks Month in June.

Authors who have endorsed the campaign by providing either voiceovers, photographs or video include: Valerie Bertinelli, author of Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time; L.L. Cool J, author of Platinum Workout; Chelsea Handler, author of Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea; Jackie Collins, bestselling author of Married Lovers; Pearl Cleage, bestselling author of Seen It All and Done the Rest; Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angela’s Ashes; Brad Meltzer, author of the forthcoming The Book of Lies; Lisa Scottoline, author of 14 novels including Daddy’s Girl and Dirty Blonde; and Marci Shimoff, secret teacher and author of Happy for No Reason.

This podcast episode compiles the voiceover promotions from the authors above. For more information, please click here.

His newest work is The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, the first business book for a western audience in the Japanese comic format known as manga. Before that, he wrote A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, a long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 16 languages. His first book was Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working For Yourself, which Publishers Weekly says “has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations.”

BEA Director Lance Fensterman recently spoke with Pink about the long road to finding your chosen profession, the work world in general, and Pink’s writings.

Pink will be at BEA 2008 participating in a pair of Upfront and Unscripted sessions on Saturday, May 31. From 10:00AM – 10:30AM, he will host a session with Art Speigleman, author of Breakdowns: The Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!, as his guest. At 11:00AM, the tables will turn as Pink takes questions from Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother.

On Friday, May 30 (1:00PM – 2:00PM), he will moderate the panel “The Future of Reading,” which will feature publisher Paul Dry; librarian and author Irene McDermott; and Ana Maria Alessi publisher of audio titles and e-books for HarperMedia.

Kenneally will also conduct two “Upfront & Unscripted” interviews. On Thursday, May 29 (1:30PM – 2:00PM), he will speak with eMusic CEO David Pakman. He will be joined by film producer Jeff Sharp on Friday, May 30, (11:00AM – 11:30AM).

To listen to Beyond the Book programs from past years at BEA, please click here.

Gregory, who has penned over 20 books in all, will take part in the Saturday Book and Author Breakfast (8:00AM – 9:30AM) in the Concourse Hall. She will be joined by Magic Johnson, Andre Dubus III, and Alec Baldwin, who will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

For more information about this event, please click here.

The Graveyard Book, Gaiman’s second spooky, enthralling novel for young readers, is about a boy raised by the ghosts, werewolves, and other creatures in a graveyard.

Gaiman will be at BEA 2008 on Friday, May 30 at the Children’s Book and Author Breakfast. This breakfast will take place in the Concourse Hall from 8:00AM – 9:30AM. He will be joined by Sherman Alexie, Judy Blume,and Eoin Colfer, who will be the Master of Ceremonies

For more information about this event, please click here.

His new book, The Given Day is an epic novel set at the end of the First World War that unflinchingly captures the political unrest of a nation dangling between a chaotic past and an unpredictable future. Touching on two families—one black, one white—as they are swept up in the maelstrom of history, The Given Day is set in 1918 Boston, where fiercely held convictions about work and freedom underwent enormous change at great cost to human life and relationships.

Dennis will be part of the Sunday Book and Author Breakfast, happening on June 1, at 8:00 AM in the Concourse Hall. He will be joined on the panel by Ted Turner and Azar Nafisi. John Hodgman, an author and regular on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and will be the Master of Ceremonies.

For more information about this event, please click here.

Among Judy’s many accomplishments and accolades is a National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, which she received in 2004.

Judy will be at BEA 2008 on Friday, May 30 at the Children’s Book and Author Breakfast. This breakfast will take place in the Concourse Hall from 8:00AM – 9:30AM. For more information about this event, please click here.

Over the next month BookExpoCast, the official podcast of BookExpo America, will be dishing up interviews with some of this year’s speakers, including Jon Krakauer, Neil Gaiman, John Hodgman and Sherman Alexie, who will discuss their new books and their presentations at BEA.

The premiere 2008 episode features BEA Director Lance Fensterman, who gives us a sneak peak at this year’s event and lets us know what he’s most looking forward to in Los Angeles.