Teen Author Festival Recap

I have finally recovered from my weekend in NYC.

And by weekend, I mean Friday and Saturday.

And by recovered I mean I'm no longer announcing to twitter that it's Saturday when it is in fact Friday. Also I have quit trying to go down Up escalators.

Please note that I have promised myself NOT to see The Hunger Games in theaters anymore and to wait for the DVD because my mascara and my wallet just cannot take it.

But...aside from all of that you're probably interested in fun details from The Teen Author Festival. And luckily for you, I have all sorts of fun. Details...maybe.... But mostly fun.

And by fun, I mean pictures.

Elizabeth Eulberg, Terra Elan McVoy, Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Mlynowski  at the Being Friends with Boys Panel.

This was such a cute and fun panel. But the highlight was definitely Stephanie Perkins reading the movie theater scene in Anna and the French Kiss. She is a super dramatic reader, and pretty much acted out the entire thing in her seat, from Anna's gasps, to the way she shifted her leg. It was pretty much made of awesome. Also I liked how a lot of the authors shared the idea that anything is possible at anytime between boys and girls (this didn't tie in to the books read but I think also the idea of between girls and girls and boys and boys would also apply). Most importantly, I liked how Stephanie Perkins, despite writing very classic high fantasy romances (where the romance is like a fantasy not the world), emphasized that her heroines have major character arcs so by the end they win the fantasy boy because they are perfect for each other, not because they NEED or are dependent on each other.

Suzanne Weyn, Matthew Cody, Judy Blundell, Leanna Renee Heiber, Jennifer Donnelly and David Levithan on the Historical Panel.

A highlight from this was the idea that stories are stories no matter what time period they take place. Someone mentioned the goal of writing a great story that surpasses the historical setting. Much the way that people will say Ian McEwan's Atonement is a great book, not a great historical novel.

In between panels I took the one and only picture of myself with  blogger Rachel Scroggins.

The Paranormal Love Story Panel: Margaret Stohl, Andrea Cremer, Jeri Smith-Ready, Melissa de la Cruz, Victoria Schwab.

Highlights: Hearing each author read from someone else's paranormal romance. If you've never heard Jeri Smith-Ready read out loud, you are MISSING out! Also...Jeri's editor Annette Pollert came with a hot-off-the-press copy of SHINE which is awesome.


Following the panels, Jeri and I headed off for drinks with Victoria Schwab, Kim Harrington, Tiffany Schmidt, E.C. Meyers, and Zoraida Cordova.

And then...we headed to Barnes and Noble for the Theater Reading where David Levithan, Andrea Cremer, John Corey Whaley, Emily Danforth, Lucas Klauss, Stephanie Perkins, and Siobhan Vivian acted out scenes from their books. Which basically meant this was the best event ever!

Andrea Cremer, Siobhan Vivian, David Levithan

Andrea Cremer, Emily Danforth, Lucas Klauss, Stephanie Perkins

The night then ended with a highly misguided adventure to the movie-theater, the buying of Hunger Games tickets, the navigating of the most confusing Whole Foods ever, and finally, seeing The Hunger Games again and going to bed.

On Saturday, I slept late (thank goodness) went out for brunch, and headed back to the Festival for two more panels.

Rising to the Challenge Panel: Kody Keplinger, Siobhan Vivian, Tara Altebrando, K.M. Walton, Susane Colasanti, Matt Blackstone, David Levithan.

And the final panel I went to dealing with killers: Barry Lyga, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Gina Damico,  and Kim Harrington.

After that it was back to the hotel and back to the train and then several hours later...back to Philly!

All in all, pretty awesome time! Did anyone go to the epic book signing on Sunday? Did anyone else go to their final showing of The Hunger Games? Have you ever announced it was Saturday on a day that was not in fact Saturday?

Let me know:)