This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the NYC Teen Author Festival. It warmed my heart to see so many readers and writers joined together by their appreciation for young adult literature. Panel discussions ranged from serious reflection on the place of politics in YA to historical YA satires along the lines of Eleanor Roosevelt and Park. The panel I was on, Relationships are Hard, took on such thought provoking questions as the future of diversity in YA relationships, whether ‘forbidden’ love in fiction is better, insta love yay or nay, and our favorite love stories. Glad I had advance warning on that last question since there are so many to choose from. I ended up choosing Silver Linings Playbook. Macbeth was even someone’s favorite—hmm. It was great fun, especially to discover that many of us, myself included, are still licking our wounds from our first loves.
Panels from the Saturday Symposium at the New York Public Library
Mega Signing at Books of Wonder
And here are some moment from the marvelous Mega Signing at Books of Wonder. I don’t think I have ever seen so many authors and readers gathered in one place! Huge thanks to Selene Castrovilla for most of these photos!
Me and fellow Merit Press author, Randy Ribay at our signing table. Randy drew animals on books for people. I could barely sign my name!
Me signing (probably illegibly)
Mega signing mega authors: Adam Silvera, Patti Blount, and Selene Castrovilla.
More mega-authors: Martina Boone, Selene Castrovilla, and Lisa Amowitz
Super mega author and event organizer: David Levithan
One of the many wondrous readers at Books of Wonder
