Repost: Virtual Road Trip: Texas & Book Festivals

I was asked to write a post about youth something unique to Texas that has to do with youth services. Well that took me less than two seconds! Below is what I wrote for YALSA:

You know that saying “Everything is bigger in Texas”? It’s true and when we talk about literary events for young readers and book lovers the saying couldn’t be more fitting. Devoted fans travel across the country, and teachers and kids pack in school buses at too-dern-early o’clock to spend the day with their favorite and soon-to-be favorite authors in Texas. There are more than just a few opportunities to discover new authors and series. Texas hosts a multitude of events throughout the year. Some are YA focused while others bring a mix of YA, middle grade, and picture books that are loved at every age.

Event: Montgomery County Book Festival

HUGE event coming our way with tons of amazing authors - THIS SATURDAY! I am super happy to be moderating the "Things That Go Bump In the Night" panel with Mary Lindsay, Victoria Scott, Joy Preble, Kendare Blake, and Lisa McMann! I am a lucky, lucky girl....

The festival is FREE and for all ages! Doors open at 9am with the Keynote, Jonathan Maberry, starting at 10am. There is literally something there for everyone - check out the list:

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!

Montgomery County Teen Book Festival - Texas

When I heard that THE Lois Lowry was coming to Texas, I cried like a little girl! The Giver is seriously my favorite book ever! I read it around 5 years ago and it changed my life. Literally! The Giver was my gateway into YA literature and here I am; a blogger, and a librarian. Life is good Lois, thanks to you! Here is the the lineup:

Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry is a preeminent voice in contemporary children’s literature, with a canon of more than thirty-five books. She has received almost every honor available to an author of books for young readers, including the Newbery Medal for both Number the Stars and The Giver, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for a lifetime contribution to young adult literature.

Anna Godbersen

Anna Godbersen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Luxe series, about young people in Gilded Age Manhattan, as well as Bright Young Things,which is set in Gatsby-era Long Island. She was born in Berkeley, California in 1980, and moved to New York to attend Barnard College, where she studied English and Creative Writing. 

Justina Chen

Justina Chen is an award-winning novelist for young adults whose most recent book, North of Beautiful, is a Walden Award finalist and was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and Barnes & Noble. Her other novels include Girl Overboard (a Junior Library Guild premiere selection) and Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies), which won the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature.

Derek Kirk Kim

 Author of the graphic novel Same Difference and Other Stories, which won all three major comics industry awards---The Eisner, The Ignatz, and The Harvey. Derek was born in South Korea in 1974 and came to the United States at the age of 8.

Thomas E. Sniegoski

Author of more than two dozen novels for adults, teens and children. His wildly popular teen fantasy young adult series The Fallen was adapted into a trilogy of successful TV movies by ABC Family Channel. Thomas has also co-authored the young adult fantasy quartet OutCast, which is currently in development as a film at Universal Studios.

Jeff Stone

Author of the internationally popular Five Ancestors series, Jeff grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He is married with 2 children and currently lives in the American Midwest. Jeff holds a black belt in Shaolin Do Kung Fu and often travels to China where he does research for his books.

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

The Woodlands College Park High School

3701 College Park Drive

The Woodlands, TX 77384

For more information call: (936) 709-3061

Festival Mission
Unite teens and leading authors in a day of sharing and celebration.

Goals of the Festival
• Have fun!
• Promote books and literature
• Build social connections
• Encourage lifelong reading

Things You Can Do
• Get in free, thanks to our generous sponsors
• Hear renowned young adult authors speak
• See a Panel Discussion that features all of the authors
• Attend Breakout Sessions to interact more closely with two authors of your choice
• Listen to music & purchase refreshments
• Buy books and have them signed by the authors

For more information visit the Festival site HERE

I'll be there! Join me! 

Happy Reading!