For the second year in a row, Margaret Atwood’s long-distance signing device, the LongPen, will have a booth at BookExpo America. The author herself will not be present this year, but she will be doing some long-distance signing herself on Friday from the Writers’ Union of Canada’s annual general meeting in Vancouver, B.C.

In fact, 150 TWUC members are scheduled to sign a petition from Vancouver, using the LongPen at BEA at 3 p.m. The petition will protest recent cuts to the Public Diplomacy program, which had been used to fund international travel and promotion by artists. The federal Conservative government cut $11.8-million from the budget last fall. During the petition signing, CanLit star Yann Martel will appear at the LongPen booth on the BEA floor to discuss the issue. Both Martel and Atwood have been outspoken critics of the Tories’ arts funding policy in recent months.

Bruce Walsh, vice-president of sales and marketing for Unotchit (the company that makes and sells the LongPen), says the idea of using the device during the TWUC annual meeting originated from author Merilyn Simonds. “Since we were going to be at BookExpo [at the same time], it just made sense that we would do a signing into the show,” Walsh said.

Throughout BEA, the LongPen booth is scheduled to host long-distance signings by a variety of major authors, including George R.R. Martin (signing from New Mexico), Diana Gabaldon (Arizona), and Tracy Chevalier (London, England).