Jan 29, 2011

Montgomery County Teen Book Festival Wrap-up

Texas bloggers, librarians, and book lovers gathered at the Montgomery County Teen Book Festival last week. We had groups come down from Dallas, Austin, and all over Houston. Stephanie, Jennifer, and I piled in my car and headed on down the night before. We ate a box of oatmeal creme pies along the way... We checked into the hotel and met a group of Houston bloggers for dinner!

Houston group: Christin, Lena, Ginger & Cari

Stephanie inside a Jen sandwich


After dinner we took a trip to Wal-Mart, but that really wasn't very exciting at all....lol! 

Fest day arrived and we couldn't wait to meet so many great authors - Lois Lowry, Anna Godbersen, Justina Chen, Thomas E. Sniegoski, and Jeff Stone. There was a great general session to start off the fest. Here is a little of what we learned:

"If you house was burning down, what book would you save?"
Lowry: signed, 1st edition of The Shining by Stephen King
Chen: Her personal journals so no one read them
Stone: Moby Dick

"If you could meet anyone from the past, who would you meet?"
Godbersen: Hemingway
Sniegoski: Jack Kirby
Lowry: Marjorie Henderson Buell

"Where do you write?"
Stone: Every book was written in a different place
Chen: Coffee shops - scared to write alone
Lowry: Her country house in Maine - she likes it perfectly quiet

"Which book would you recommend if someone wasn't familiar with your work?"
Lowry: A Summer To Die 
Sneigoski: A Kiss Before the Apocalypse
Godbersen: The Luxe
 
Next, we listened to Lois Lowry as she gave us a glimpse into her life. I must say, I was totally enthralled. She was relaxed, funny, and shared so much of her past. Here is a little from her presentation:



  She took the photographs that graced the covers of Number the Stars, 
The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger. 


She wanted to use this photo for The Giver, 
but the model was wearing a bandaid - 
there was no Photoshop back then to remove it.


Her first published story

Next up was the signing....there were a lot of people, but I think the lines went pretty fast. Here are a few:


Anna Godbersen

Justina Chen
 
Lois Lowry

Thomas Sneigoski

 
TX bloggers - Jessica, Kari, Jennifer, Stephanie, me,
Cynthia, Cari, and Christin

Overall, it was a fanny-pack-tastic day! Thank you's go out to the Houston gals for making us feel so welcome! Next time...Austin! 

Happy Reading!