ALA Recap: Sunday
whew! so after that very very full saturday (i believe
we basically closed down Roy’s after 11pm), i had to
wake up earlyish on sunday to check out of the hotel
first thing. as there were again a bunch of signings i
wanted to hit to support as well as fangirl. 8)
the first thing i attended was the Alex Award panel.
i hadn’t been aware of this award before Erin Morgenstern
had told me about it. but it was perfect as it focused on
adult books that had a strong crossover to YA. i invited
Kendare Blake along (having just met her on our panel on
saturday–but am a huge fan of Anna Dressed in Blood) and
she was able to join me so we got to hang out a little, which
was great!
*it was lovely to finally meet Erin, who is just so
sweet and charming. we actually were online friends
when she was still writing The Night Circus. and it’s
been amazing to watch her fantastic journey for this
magical debut.
*a foto with Kendare (check out her cool frog tote!)
before we parted ways.
Girl of Nightmares on Goodreads
i wasn’t able to pick up Kendare’s sequel arc
but am looking forward to the read!
besides The Night Circus, I was able to pick up two
other books from Alex Award panelists that sound
like fascinating reads!
*immediately after the Alex Award panel, i ran
down to the exhibit floor to finally purchase my
copy of Jenn Reese’s beautiful debut, Above World, so
she could sign it for me. =D
*it was great to run into Kekla Magoon several
times on the exhibit floor and also to meet her
lovely mom. i met Kekla at the new york city
Diversity in YA stop and she’s the author of such
titles as Camo Girl and The Rock and the River.
i was excited to learn that she’s got a new YA novel
out titled 37 Things I love (in no particular order).
*then i went to Jacqueline Woodson’s signing, where
i bought a copy of Beneath a Meth Moon. Jacqueline is
another author i met because she was kind enough to sit
on our Diversity in YA panel in nyc. she also opened her home
to all of us after the panel and it was such a lovely way to end
the tour.
Beneath a Meth Moon on Goodreads
*while headed to queue up in Neal Shusterman’s
line for his Unwholly arc, i saw Laini Taylor’s unmistakeable
bright pink hair and had to stop by and introduce myself.
she had a huge line waiting already at Little, Brown for her
Days of Blood and Starlight arc. her super editor Alvina Ling
happened past and we took a foto together!
Days of Blood and Starlight on Goodreads
i wasn’t able to snag an arc of this, but isn’t that
cover gorgeous?
*then i rushed to Ruta’s signing. i’ve been
so out of it that i hadn’t realized that she has a
new YA historical out titled Out of the Easy and it looks
fantastic! Ruta is another friend i’ve know before either
of us were even published, i think. and i knew how much
she struggled to get Between Shades of Gray out to the
world. i literally teared up when i saw her, as i’m so
proud and happy for her!
*all during ALA weekend, i was tweeting like a mad fool.
cause you all know i’m addicted to twitter, right? ha!
so imagine my surprise when hannah tweeted me saying
she wanted to meet me if at all possible. of course! and
she actually found me waiting in Ruta’s line during her signing.
thanks for “stalking” me down, hannah! it was great chatting
with you!
Somewhere along the way, I found Mike Jung probably
hiding behind his ipad and told him i had seen Gene Yang
and showed Gene my rad arc of Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities.
and that Gene had said “Mike said he’d get me a copy of this!”
well, Mike? so Mike said he had grabbed one of the last arcs of
his own book and we wandered over to Artist Alley at ALA (which
i hadn’t known about till Gene told me) to deliver the arc. we
had a nice chat and laughed a lot. cause both Gene and Mike are
funny guys.
*Gene Luen Yang, me and Mike Jung.
does it look like we’re goosing each other in this foto?
cause we TOTALLY ARE! haha! also #cuteasianboys #yes
Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities on Goodreads
Avatar by Gene Yang on Goodreads
*sassy and chic librarians!
Sarah, me and Candice.
when i say i love librarians, i mean i love
librarians. haha! i have met so many enthusiastic
and passionate librarians who love books and
believe in getting books into the hands of the right
child or teen who will love them, to foster their love
of reading. i basically grew up in our local library
myself as a tween and teen, and checked out books
like a fiend. my Love Affair with reading is more
deeply rooted in the library than anywhere else.
can’t say enough about the importance of libraries
and librarians! THANK YOU for all that you do!
and this is really why i love ALA so much, to not only
see my writing friends and support them (nevermind be
super excited for their upcoming books) but to talk with
librarians and share the Book Love.
Highlights:
-meeting three youth librarians after the Alex Award panel
and having one of them say to me: We talked about eunuchs
the whole day after your panel. Who knew?
that really made me laugh. =D who knew indeed. ha
-waiting for almost an hour in Neal Shusterman’s line with
my Raddest Fan Ever Megan and when I was getting my Unwholly
arc signed, having Megan shout at Neal: HAVE YOU READ SILVER
PHOENIX? oh megan! haha! Neal said no but to please write down
the title for him.
-the casual social we had at Hyatt Regency with
librarians, writers, bloggers and friends sunday afternoon
before the Newbery Dinner. it was arranged by Sarah (pictured
above) and Lindsey Leavitt. i had a super cute foto of all of us
together but it was a casualty of my images lost. =( but the social
was a lot of fun!
wow, this post took me all week to finish.
but brings back such fun memories. hope you
enjoyed it!
cindy link:
nova ren suma was kind enough to interview me on
her blog about my major turning points as a writer.
comment by monday to get a chance to win a signed
copy of Silver Phoenix!
currently reading:
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
