NYC Teen Author Festival... See you there?

The NYC Teen Author festival is happening NOW! (Alas, I cannot get there until Friday.)

The first two events, on Monday and Tuesday evenings, featured authors Gayle Forman, Kristen-Paige Madonia, Bennett Madison, Jennifer E. Smith, Melissa Walker, David Levithan, Crissa Chappell, Tim Decker, Ellen Hopkins, Amy McNamara and Jessica Verdi.

Sigh.

How I wish I could've been there. Here's the rest of the swoon-worthy line-up, which I pulled from the Festival's Facebook page:

Wednesday, March 20
(42nd St NYPL, South Court room, 6-8):

Imagination: A Conversation

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.

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Friday March 22

Symposium (42nd Street NYPL, Berger Forum, 2nd floor, 2-6)

2:00 – Introduction

2:10-3:00: He Said, She Said

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

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

__________

4:10-4:40: That’s So Nineteenth Century

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

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

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

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

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

__________

3:40-4:20 – Born This Way: Nature, Nurture, and Paranormalcy

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

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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

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Sunday March 24

Our No-Foolin’ Mega-Signing at 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)

Hope to see you there!