A Recap of the Teen Author Festival

The Teen Author Festival is now a fond memory, emphasis on the "fond". My husband and I checked in to the Bryant Park Hotel and got upgraded to a junior suite without even asking. That started our experience on the right foot. We had some time to kill before my symposium panel discussion so we walked across the street to have lunch at the Bryant Park Grill. Another win.

Off to the New York Public Library's main branch for my first Teen Author Festival event - a symposium panel discussion: Rising to the Challenge: YA Characters Facing Down What Life Throws Them moderated by David Levithan. It was relieving to look out and see the familiar faces of my husband, my lovely editor Annette Pollert, my friend Frankie Diane Mallis, as well as fellow Apocalyspies E. C. Myers, Leanna Renee Hieber and Gina Damico. See a bunch of photos from the event HERE. 


The next day started with an Apocalypsies brunch at the Chat N' Chew with Elisa Ludwig (PRETTY CROOKED), Lizzie K. Foley (REMARKABLE), Emily Danforth (THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST), E. C. Myers (FAIR COIN), Zoraida Cordova (VICIOUS DEEP) and Gina Damico (CROAK). Great to meet so many Apocs in person. We all walked over to the final Teen Author Festival event...the MEGA Book Signing at Books of Wonder with 66 young adult authors signing books in four shifts - and one of those authors was me. See a bunch of photos from the event HERE.

A big thank you to David Levithan for organizing such an unbelievable series of events. 


The weekend was overwhelming, but in a good way. My husband and I kept looking at each other with "Can you believe this is really happening?" faces, like, twenty or more times. I would do it all over again!!