How to Score Piles of Free Books @ Comic Con

Free books!

I am back from New York City Comic Con with a hip-high stack of free books, and enough buttons, bookmarks and water bottles to stuff a whole summer's worth of prize bags. Comic Con was fabulous.  I met Maureen Johnson and Cory Doctorow, got the scoop on upcoming books, and loaded up on manga. 

How to Get Free Stuff at a Con:

1. Scout out the location of all the publishers' booths.  They are there to promote their books, and that means author signings, ARCs, tattoos, and a wide assortment of other goodies.  Ask if they have a list of who is signing when and how often they are giving away books.
2. Tell everyone you work at a library.  Publishers love libraries.  
3. Ask if you can have extra freebies for your library.  (See 2.)  Most publishers come with giant boxes of giveaways, and they shudder at the thought of having to cart those suckers home.
4. Bring your business cards.  You may get asked, especially by smaller publishers who can't afford as many freebies.  They like to know that the person who just took six posters isn't going to sell them on eBay.
5. If you run an anime club, tell the manga/anime companies that, too.  I found several publishers eager to mail me promotional giveaways for my club throughout the year.
6. Chat.  People who work in publishing are book lovers, too.  You never know when swapping favourite author info may pay off with a little something extra to take home.  Plus, it's more fun if you chat, and you are there to have fun.