Blog

Going into it, I was really looking forward to meeting Nicola Yoon just because I absolutely love EVERYTHING,EVERYTHING. I hadn't read THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, but I knew that it qualified as a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature, so I would definitely be seeing her there. When I walked into the bleak and basically empty room for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, I wondered if I was in the right place. The linoleum floor and plastic chairs systematically stacked in rows were not what I had in mind for a panel hosting nationally-recognized authors. The moment I saw Nicola Yoon, though, I was so happy. After the Q&A section, I walked up to her and asked her to help me with my NaNoWriMo, and she was incredibly helpful in giving me advice for building my rough draft. She stressed to me that even if the rough draft was terrible, you need something to base your story on (it turns out that the current version of EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING is the sixth draft!). She reminded me that you have to love what you do. Leaving my first panel, I was inspired; I went home later that night and wrote around 6,000 words for my novel.

I then met Victoria Aveyard, who signed my copy of RED QUEEN and I started exploring the booths for new books I might enjoy. I ended up ending the day by seeing Laura Jane Grace and Kate Bornstein --- trans activists --- who talked about their new books and what being trans means now (mostly told by Laura Jane Grace) compared to being trans in the 20th century (Kate Bornstein). They were really great in engaging with the crowd, especially when people were coming up to ask them questions about how to get active if they want to help organizations dealing with LGBTQ+ youth. It was cool to see how their panel compared with Anna-Marie McLemore's talk at my first panel; while McLemore's panel was more focused on reading a passage from her book and explaining what it meant to her, Grace and Bornstein had a more discussion-oriented panel.

The next day, I brought one of my best friends along with me. She was just as excited as I, and I couldn't wait to show her Leigh Bardugo --- one of my favorite authors at the moment. Leigh Bardugo was hilarious, and since her panel --- which she shared with PASSENGER author Alexandra Bracken and Zodiac series author Romina Russell --- was about villains, it was especially funny. In case you are not familiar with Bardugo, her duology, SIX OF CROWS, follows a group of villains who you eventually end up loving but are villains nonetheless. Russell was such a cool panelist to see as well, and even though I was not familiar with her series at all, her series is now at the very top of my TBR list! The line to get my books signed was gigantic, but once I got my book signed, I headed to see another one of Yoon's panels where she presented with Rachel Cohn and Lauren Gibaldi.

I have always meant to pick up Cohn's books, especially since I really like David Levithan and she collaborates with him often. Her latest book, TWELVE DAYS WITH DASH AND LILY, looked really interesting. She shared a few funny stories about her and Levithan, namely, they basically have little time to talk outside of business, but when they're on book tours, they'll go crazy on donuts. I thought that was funny; it's always cool feeling when you realize that authors are, in the end, just like us.

My last panel consisted of Katharine McGee, Carolyn Cohagan, and Maria Dahvana Headley, who were all clearly fans of each other's books. I was incredibly interested in Cohagan's TIME ZERO, which deals with a dystopian future in which women are barred of the most basic rights, like reading and free thought. Women's rights are incredibly important to me, and she sounded like she was heavily invested in finding out more about the cultures who do not allow women simple rights like the protagonist in TIME ZERO. I was happy to see McGee, who wrote THE THOUSANDTH FLOOR. She answered all of my questions, especially since I've been dying to know why she wrote forbidden love (is she trying to confuse my moral compass???) but she explained that it was and will continue to be a theme through the continuation of the series. I loved THE THOUSANDTH FLOOR though, so I really can't complain. Headley read a bit from her draft of her next release, THE COMBUSTIBLE. Without revealing too much, I can tell you I really love the protagonist; they had a distinct voice that carried the story and made the story (or at least what I heard from it) super invigorating.