Midtown New York City has been invaded by bookworms. There may be up to 21,000 of them roaming around the Jacob Javitz Center on 34th street where BookExpo America opened yesterday.

Publishers, authors, press, trade associations and other book peddlers and lovers are attending the annual festival of books that will go on until Thurdsday, June 7th.  There is something for everyone at this gathering from special workshops on book publishing, blogging to author interviews and celebrity readings. 

BookExpo America (BEA) "combines the largest selection of English language titles on the planet with special industry and author events along with unparalleled educational content delivering a dynamic environment for networking, sourcing, and relationship building." The book trade fair is the largest in the United States and is held in a major U.S. city annually in early summer.

Some of the notable authors of this year's event include Stephen Colbert, Jennifer Weiner and Judy Blume. Colbert, the comedian behind the hugely popular "The Stephen Colbert Show" hosted the breakfast at the expo this morning and was apparently so excited about it that he tweeted, "I'll be hosting the Book Expo America breakfast tomorrow 8am EST. I can' wait to eat all those books!" Demonstrating the sheer number of people in attendance and the popularity of the fair, #BEA is currently a trending topic on Twitter.

For more information on the fair, visit the website of BookExpo America.