Last week was an amazing time for YA fans in New York City --- it was the NYC Teen Author Festival! This is exactly what it sounds like --- an entire week packed with top YA authors reading from their books, discussing important topics about the genre, and performing from each other's works in a staple in co-founder David Levithan's repertoire: Reader's Theater. I was only able to make the festival on Friday, but luckily that day was jam-packed with excellent programming. Here is a list of the panels I attended, and the highlights from each:
When I Was Young...
Coe Booth (BRONXWOOD)
Barry Lyga (GAME)
Aaron Hartzler (RAPTURE PRACTICE)
Diana Peterfreund (ACROSS A STAR-SWEPT SEA)
Mindy Raf (THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY)
Natalie Standiford (THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE)
Melissa Walker (ASHES TO ASHES)
HIGHLIGHTS: Sure, the people on this panel are pretty well-respected authors, now, but have you ever wondered what they wrote about in their early days...and I meanreally early days? In this HILARIOUS panel, the writers walked us through their high school and middle school writing projects, whether stories or journals or some amazing hybrid of the two.
- David Levithan pointing out a slightly misguided line in a high school story "On October 10th, two weeks before Christmas break..." if only we could be so lucky as to have a two month-long winter vacation!
- Aaron Hartzler's dramatic reading of a letter he wrote (but did not send) to Jamie, a senior who broke their date to the junior/senior dance. While sad, Aaron read his piece with such intensity that it was laced with humor; especially (as he piggybacked off of David Levithan’s earlier joke), since he is now a “famed homosexual.”
- Barry Lyga, who is known for his horror novels, mentioning that his earliest high school novel had a side character (not even a central one!) who was a serial killer with a freezer full of amputated arms. Clearly his calling came early…
- Dana Peterfreud had two! First, she had to stop reading momentarily because she was laughing so hard she was crying (endearing!) Second, an amazing collection of lines from her story: “Sometimes a tragedy occurs: someone dies/Sometimes a tragedy occurs: someone cries/Sometimes a tragedy occurs: someone doesn’t get into the college of their choice.” Quite the perspective!
- Mindy Raf might win the prize for the funniest. She brought her padded journal (“padded for the emotions”) and explained how she wanted to be a slam poet but thought her life wasn’t tragic enough…unless you count not being invited to the first Bat Mitzvah of the season.
- Natalie Standiford reading from the journal she brought on a high school trip to Russia. She saw Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in the hotel, and proceeded to explain every article of clothing they were wearing…and what she was wearing (down to the color of her underwear)…and what her best friend was wearing. The important things!
- Speaking of clothing, Melissa Walker showed off the Brady Brunch Diary she made with her best friend, where they drew the outfits every character wore each episode, and counted the number of times they wore them. They also described each episode’s plot in detail.
Sorry You're Lost --- Writing About Grief and Loss
Matt Blackstone (SORRY YOU'RE LOST)
Jeri Smith-Ready (THIS SIDE OF SALVATION)
Courtney Stevens (FAKING NORMAL)
Moderator: Jon Skovron (MAN-MADE BOY)
HIGHLIGHTS– While not nearly as light-hearted as the earlier panel, this was an incredibly thought-provoking talk on handling grief in YA. Jeri said something that particularly resonated with me; she explained that being a writer is like being a lawyer --- it’s the author’s job to represent the characters to the best of their ability, even if they’re unlikeable. She was specifically referring to the parents in her book THIS SIDE OF SALVATION, who aren’t particularly helpful to their children after their oldest son dies. I also appreciated that Matt’s students were in the audience --- a pair behind me was debating whether or not they should shout “Go Mr. B!” at the beginning of the panel. They decided against it.
The People Who Get You Through --- Navigating Love and Friendship in High School
M. Molly Backes (THE PRINCESSES OF IOWA)
Crissa-Jean Chappell (MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH)
Heather Demetrios (SOMETHING REAL)
Amanda Maciel (TEASE)
Julie Murphy (SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY)
Tiffany Schmidt (BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE)
Moderator: David Levithan
HIGHLIGHTS: As the title suggests, the authors in this panel discussed the intricacies of friendships and relationships in high school, and how that comes through in YA.
- M. Molly Backes said that originally wrote the part of a “bratty younger sister” in THE PRINCESS OF IOWA, but then her own younger sister insisted that Molly make her more complex and less of a caricature. Having once been a bratty younger sister myself, I particularly appreciated this one.
- Julie Murphy explained that when she started SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY, she mainly focused on the plot, but as she was writing it, she realized that it became much more about the friendship between her protagonists, Alice and Harvey. Characters truly can take over a book, even when you don’t expect it!
- Just like in the grief panel, the issue of “likeability” came up, and the authors had a lot of interesting thoughts on it. Molly said that she thinks this is a fairly gendered question…”we don’t want to be best friends with Humbert Humbert but we let him be a character [in LOLITA].” Amanda Maciel also thought that likeability was the wrong word --- people should talk more about “relatability.”
Literary Matchmaking, Round One
Tara Altebrando (ROOMIES) and Alex London (PROXY)
Jennifer Castle (YOU LOOK DIFFERENT IN REAL LIFE) and Laura Toffler-Corrie (MY TOTALLY AWKWARD SUPERNATURAL CRUSH)
J.J. Howard (THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS) and Jen Calonita (SUMMER STATE OF MIND)
Amelia Kahaney (THE BROKENHEARTED) and Lindsay Ribar (THE ART OF WISHING)
Moderator: David Levithan
HIGHLIGHTS: This panel had the entire room laughing out loud. David Levithan asked authors to submit OKCupid profiles for their characters, and then he set them up on dates. The author teams then wrote descriptions of the dates and (thankfully) shared them with all of us. Dates ranged from sweet and endearing to raunchy and ridiculous, but they were each unforgettable.
- I loved the miscommunication between Jennifer Castle’s protagonist in YOU LOOK DIFFERENT IN REAL LIFE --- an autistic girl --- and the boy from Laura Toffer-Corrie’s MY TOTALLY AWKWARD SUPERNATURAL CRUSH. The two went to see Shakespeare in the Park, and when one of the actors started flirting with her, she flirted right back, thinking that her date would appreciate her acting fun and social. Instead, he got more and more jealous. It was very sweet and realistic…I was glad this one had a happy ending.
- Tara and Alex’s date was hilarious and over-the-top; it featured a 16-year-old boy from the future (Knox) and a middle-aged woman whose daughter recently moved across the country. While the mother knew that this date was wrong on so many levels, she couldn’t help but be sucked in by the absurdity of it all…and Knox’s over-confidence. Knox was full of ridiculous one-liners that would get him slapped in most settings, but I loved his futuristic knocks at “antiquated” 21st century day-to-day-life. For instance, he said: “a whole society of people reaching into pockets to play with data? Kinky!”
- Another middle-aged woman went for a date in Amelia’s and Lindsay’s story --- this time with a genie. Ameila was an incredible actress and I loved her portrayal of a high-society, potentially alcoholic woman --- it was simultaneously monotone and expressive. This pair took turns narrating the story. At one point, Lindsay’s genie asked “could that be a glint of interest, or just a trick of the light?” to which Amelia’s character confirmed “a trick of the light.” They played off of each other perfectly.
Reader's Theater
Matt de la Peña
Brendan Kiely
Sarah Mlynowski
Julie Murphy
Lauren Myracle
Marie Rutkoski
Jon Skovron
Moderator: David Levithan
HIGHLIGHTS: I’ve mentioned Reader’s Theater before; this is when authors act out each other’s works, rather than simply reading their own pieces. I personally love this idea; stories truly come to life when people are acting out different characters, and the authors are clearly enjoying themselves as they perform…whenever they laugh or do something silly, the entire audience feels like they’re in on the joke.
- Matt was narrating a kissing scene, and Lauren and Brendan didn’t actually act that part out. Matt just held out his hand and waited for them to comply. Unfortunately for all, they didn’t.
- In honor of the 10th anniversary of Lauren Myracle’s TTYL, the authors “TTYL-ified” some classics like the Bible and WAITING FOR GODOT. In ROMEO AND JULIET, the young lovebirds send each other a KOTL (kiss on the lips, as Marie taught us).
- I think that the best Reader’s Theater of the night was acting out Sarah’s DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, which is about students in a high school class who all get telepathy. Some authors read what the characters said, and others read their thoughts. This was particularly hilarious in a movie theater scene…the “thought” actors awkwardly crouched behind the voice actors, and it made for a highly crowded…and very amusing…stage.
While I’m disappointed that I couldn’t attend the other events, I’m so glad that I saw all of these on Friday...and I’m already looking forward to next year’s festival!
