Monday, March 18th through Sunday, March 24th
Visit the festival's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/NYCTeenAuthorFestival
I will be participating in the NYC Teen Author Festival, organized by the multi-talented David Levithan. Last year's festival was a highlight from my debut year. The 2013 lineup is INSANE.
SCHEDULE:
Monday, March 18 (Mulberry Street Branch of the
NYPL, 10 Jersey Street b/w Mulberry and Lafayette, 6-8):
I’ll Take You There: A Change of Scenery, A Change
of Self
Description: In their recent books, each of these
authors have plunged their teen characters into new places as a way of
revealing their true selves. We’ll talk about this YA journey narrative –
where it comes from, and what it can lead to.
Gayle Forman
Kristen-Paige Madonia
Bennett Madison
Jennifer E. Smith
Melissa Walker
moderator: David Levithan
Tuesday, March 19 (WORD Bookstore, 7-8:30,
126 Franklin St, Greenpoint):
The Only Way Out is Through: Engaging Truth through
YA
Description: Pain. Confusion. Loss. Mistakes.
Revelation. More mistakes. Recovery. One of the things that makes YA work
is its desire to engage the messy truths of both adolescence and life in
general. Here we talk about what it’s like to engage this messy truth,
and how to craft it into a story with some kind of form.
Crissa Chappell
Tim Decker
Ellen Hopkins
Amy McNamara
Jessica Verdi
moderator: David Levithan
Wednesday. March 20 (42nd St NYPL, South Court
room, 6-8):
Imagination: A Conversation
Description: It’s a given that authors’ minds are
very strange, wonderful, twisted, illogical, inventive places. Here we
talk to five rather imaginative authors about how they conjure the worlds in
their books and the stories that they tell, along with glimpses of the strange
and wonderful worlds they are creating at the present.
Holly Black
Lev Grossman
Michelle Hodkin
Alaya Johnson
Robin Wasserman
moderators: David Levithan and Chris Shoemaker
Thursday, March 21:
SOHO Teen night, 6-9pm (Books of Wonder, 18 W18th St)
Celebrate the launch of SOHO Teen, featuring readings by
Jacquelyn Mitchard, Joy Preble, Margaux Froley, Elizabeth Kiem, Heather Terrell
& Ricardo Cortés, and Lisa & Laura Roecker.
Friday March 22, Symposium (42nd Street NYPL,
Berger Forum, 2nd floor, 2-6)
2:00 – Introduction
2:10-3:00: He Said, She Said
Description: Not to be too mysterious, but I will
email these authors separately about what I’m thinking for this.
He:
Ted Goeglein
Gordon Korman
Lucas Klauss
Michael Northrop
She:
Susane Colasanti
E. Lockhart
Carolyn Mackler
Sarah Mlynowski
Leila Sales
moderator: David Levithan
3:00-4:00: Taking a Turn: YA Characters Dealing
with Bad and Unexpected Choices
Description: In each of these authors’ novels, the
main character’s life takes an unexpected twist. Sometimes this is
because of a bad choice. Sometimes this is because of a secret
revealed. And sometimes it doesn’t feel like a choice at all, but rather
a reaction. We’ll talk about following these characters as they make
these choices – both good and bad. Will include brief readings illuminating
these choices.
Caela Carter
Eireann Corrigan
Alissa Grosso
Terra Elan McVoy
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Elizabeth Scott
K. M. Walton
moderator: Aaron Hartzler
4:00-4:10: Break
4:10-4:40: That’s So Nineteenth Century
Description: A Conversation About Playing with 19th
Century Archetypes in the 21st Century
Sharon Cameron
Leanna Renee Hieber
Stephanie Strohm
Suzanne Weyn
Moderator: Sarah Beth Durst
4:40-5:30: Alternate World vs. Imaginary World
Description: Of these authors, some have written
stories involving alternate or parallel versions of our world, some have made
up imaginary worlds for their characters, and still others have written books
that do each. We’ll discuss the decision to either connect the world of a
book to our world, or to take it out of the historical context of our
world. How do each strategies help in telling story and developing
character? Is one easier than the other? Is the stepping off point always
reality, or can it sometimes be another fictional world?
Sarah Beth Durst
Jeff Hirsch
Emmy Laybourne
Lauren Miller
E. C. Myers
Diana Peterfreund
Mary Thompson
Moderator: Chris Shoemaker
Friday March 22, Barnes & Noble Reader’s
Theater/Signing (Union Square B&N, 33 E 17th St, 7-8:30)
Eireann Corrigan
Elizabeth Eulberg
Jeff Hirsch
David Levithan
Rainbow Rowell
Nova Ren Suma
Saturday March 23, Symposium (42nd Street
NYPL, Bergen Forum, 2nd Floor, 1-5)
1:00 – Introduction
1:10-2:10 – Defying Description: Tackling the Many
Facets of Identity in YA
Description: As YA literature evolves, there is
more of an acknowledgment of the many facets that go into a teenager’s
identity, and even categories that once seemed absolute now have more
nuance. Focusing particularly, but not exclusively, on LGBTQ characters
and their depiction, we’ll discuss the complexities about writing about such a
complex experience.
Marissa Calin
Emily Danforth
Aaron Hartzler
A.S. King
Jacqueline Woodson
moderator: David Levithan
2:10-2:40 -- New Voices Spotlight
Description: Each debut author will share a
five-minute reading from her or his work
J. J. Howard
Kimberly Sabatini
Tiffany Schmidt
Greg Takoudes
2:40-3:30 – Under Many Influences: Shaping Identity When
You’re a Teen Girl
Description: Being a teen girl is to be under many
influences – friends, parents, siblings, teachers, favorite bands, favorite
boys, favorite web sites. These authors will talk about the influences
that each of their main characters tap into – and then talk about what
influences them as writers when they shape these characters.
Jen Calonita
Deborah Heiligman
Hilary Weisman Graham
Kody Keplinger
Amy Spalding
Katie Sise
Kathryn Williams
moderator: Terra Elan McVoy
3:30-3:40 – Break
3:40-4:20 – Born This Way: Nature, Nurture, and
Paranormalcy
Description: Paranormal and supernatural fiction
for teens constantly wrestles with issues of identity and the origin of
identity. Whether their characters are born “different” or come into
their powers over time, each of these authors uses the supernatural as a way to
explore the nature of self.
Jessica Brody
Gina Damico
Maya Gold
Alexandra Monir
Lindsay Ribar
Jeri Smith-Ready
Jessica Spotswood
moderator: Adrienne Maria Vrettos
4:20-5:00 – The Next Big Thing
Description: Again, not to be too mysterious, but I
will email these authors separately about what I’m thinking for this.
Jocelyn Davies
Leanna Renee Hieber
Barry Lyga
Maryrose Wood
Saturday March 23: Mutual Admiration Society
reading at McNally Jackson (McNally Jackson, Prince Street, 7-8:30):
Sharon Cameron
A.S. King
Michael Northrop
Diana Peterfreund
Victoria Schwab
Nova Ren Suma
hosted by David Levithan
Sunday March 24: Our No-Foolin’ Mega-Signing at
Books of Wonder (Books of Wonder, 1-4):
1-1:45:
Jessica Brody (Unremembered, Macmillan)
Marisa Calin (Between You and Me,
Bloomsbury)
Jen Calonita (The Grass is Always Greener, LB)
Sharon Cameron (The Dark Unwinding,
Scholastic)
Caela Carter (Me, Him, Them, and It,
Bloomsbury)
Crissa Chappell (Narc,
Flux)
Susane Colasanti (Keep Holding On,
Penguin)
Zoraida Cordova (The Vicious Deep,
Sourcebooks)
Gina Damico (Scorch,
HMH)
Jocelyn Davies (A Fractured Light,
HC)
Sarah Beth Durst (Vessel,
S&S)
Gayle Forman (Just One Day, Penguin)
Elizabeth Scott (Miracle,
S&S)
1:45-2:30
T. M. Goeglein (Cold Fury,
Penguin)
Hilary Weisman Graham (Reunited, S&S)
Alissa Grosso (Ferocity Summer,
Flux)
Aaron Hartzler (Rapture Practice,
LB)
Deborah Heiligman (Intentions,
RH)
Leanna Renee Hieber (The Twisted Tragedy of Miss
Natalie Stewart,
Sourcebooks)
Jeff Hirsch (Magisterium,
Scholastic)
J. J. Howard (That Time I Joined the Circus,
Scholastic)
Alaya Johnson (The Summer Prince,
Scholastic)
Beth Kephart (Small Damages,
Penguin)
Kody Keplinger (A Midsummer’s Nightmare, LB)
2:30-3:15
A.S. King (Ask the Passengers,
LB)
Emmy Laybourne (Monument 14,
Macmillan)
David Levithan (Every Day, RH)
Barry Lyga (Yesterday Again,
Scholastic)
Brian Meehl (Suck it Up and Die,
RH)
Alexandra Monir (Timekeeper, RH)
Michael Northrop (Rotten,
Scholastic)
Diana Peterfreund (For Darkness Shows the Stars,
HC)
Lindsay Ribar (The Art of Wishing,
Penguin)
Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park, St.
Martin’s)
Kimberly Sabatini (Touching the Surface,
S&S)
Tiffany Schmidt (Send Me a Sign, Bloomsbury)
3:15-4:00
Victoria Schwab (The Archived, Hyperion)
Jeri Smith-Ready (Shine, S&S)
Amy Spalding (The Reece Malcolm List,
Entangled)
Stephanie Strohm (Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink,
HMH)
Nova Ren Suma (17 & Gone,
Penguin)
Greg Takoudes (When We Wuz Famous,
Macmillan)
Mary Thompson (Wuftoom, HMH)
Jess Verdi (My Life After Now,
Sourcebooks)
K.M. Walton (Empty, S&S)
Suzanne Weyn (Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters,
Scholastic)
Kathryn Williams (Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That
Made Me Famous,
Macmillan)
