There's nothing quite like a conference dedicated to books, authors, and our librarian friends -- so when I heard that I would get to cover the ALA Annual Conference here in San Francisco, I was so excited. Not only were we treated to a weekend full of our favorite YA authors, but we got to see what real teens thought of our favorite picks -- and I got to meet our contributor Savannah in real life! Since it was impossible to be everywhere at once, Savannah, several SFFYA attendees, and I have collaborated on putting this post together.
Printz Reception
L-R: Jenny Hubbard, Jessie Ann Foley, Andrew Smith (hidden), Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki, and Jandy Nelson. Daniel Kraus moderates.
Obviously, the Printz reception was a highlight -- Printz winner Jandy Nelson, a San Francisco resident herself, gave a beautifully-written speech about I'll Give You The Sun (July's FYA book club pick!), including "portraits" by Noah as a thank you to her family, agent, editor, the Printz committee, and more. She got big laughs when describing her own meltdown upon receiving the Printz call: she said that the only coherent words she formed during the entire conversation were, when hearing there would be a reception in San Francisco, "I exclaimed, 'I live in San Francisco!' as if that were the most extraordinary thing about this."
In addition to Jandy Nelson, the Printz honor recipients were there too: Jessie Ann Foley (The Carnival at Bray), Jenny Hubbard (And We Stay), Jillian and Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer), and Andrew Smith (Grasshopper Jungle). Highlights included Jillian and Mariko Tamaki describing a Burger King in Niagara Falls whose food is rumored to make girls pregnant, Andrew Smith claiming that he only writes one draft ("You don't build a house you can't live in," he said), and lots of hilarious commentary from moderator and author Daniel Kraus.
The authors also provided book recommendations:
Jenny Hubbard: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You
Jessie Ann Foley: The Scar Boys
Andrew Smith: His next book ("I don't talk about other authors," he said.)
Jillian Tamaki: A book about a sumo wrestler she found on the street in Brooklyn
MarikoTamaki: Super Mutant Magic Academy / When Everything Feels Like The Movies
Jandy Nelson: The Snow Child ("Don't read the blurbs," she cautioned.) / A Tale for the Time Being
L-R: Savannah, Jennie, Megan (SFFYA libarian), Diana (SFFYA teacher) -- incidentally, that's David Levithan behind Savannah! / Jessie Ann Foley with her Printz honor, and Jennie (Jessie told me that my FYA review was one of her first reviews ever -- so cool!)
BFYA Teen Feedback Panel
Thea introduces the BFYA panel / Teens line up to offer feedback on the list of nominations
The Best Fiction for Young Adults Teen Feedback panel was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. SFFYA member Thea was on the panel, and describes it as including approximately 40 kids from around the Bay Area, who sign up via their school or public libraries to provide feedback on the 59 titles nominated to date by the BFYA committee. The eligible titles for this session were published between September 2014 and December 2015 for ages 12-18, and consisted of fiction, short stories, and poetry.
You think we here at FYA have strong opinions? Well, you need to meet these incredibly articulate teens, who offered feedback on books such as The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, noting that "it was not a unique idea, but it was executed well," and "the concept of mutually beneficial faerie tourism was intriguing." (I was sitting next to Heather Demetrios, author of I'll Meet You There, and she whispered, "They are so smart! I'm afraid to hear what they'll say about my book!" She had nothing to worry about, however.)
The list of books includes buzzed-about picks such as Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, All the Bright Places, Saint Anything, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. The three titles that the teens seemed most interested in were Poisoned Apples, Little Peach, and All the Bright Places. The latter two were universally adored, but Poisoned Apples was a love-it-or-hate-it contender. After hearing their feedback, I've got to pick up all three, STAT.
Marie Lu and Debut Authors Panel
Marie Lu is hiding behind the lectern! Photo courtesy of Megan M., SFFYA
SFFYA members and children's librarians Erica and Megan attended this panel, which was moderated by Marie Lu and included Anna-Marie McLemore (The Weight of Feathers), Dhonielle Clayton (Tiny Pretty Things), Holly Bodger (Five to One), I.W. Gregorio (None of the Above), Kelly Gilbert (Conviction), Renee Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn), Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes), and Stacey Lee (Under a Painted Sky). Erica describes:
"Naturally they talked about the importance of having fiction that mirrors their diverse population as well as providing windows into the lives of others. An important part of providing this kind of fiction is to be willing to write what you don't know and do a ton of research to make sure that you're representing other's experiences to the best of your ability. As Ilene Wong said, "How many hobbits did JRR Tolkien know?" One author talked about immersing herself in the culture she was writing about: learning how to cook their native dishes, wearing jewelry from the culture to know how it felt, and of course talking to people from that culture to make sure she was getting it all right. Another author pointed out that humans make mistakes--an author won't always be able to get everything right but it's important not to let fear of that prevent diverse narratives from being written.
My favorite quote from the panel was when Anna-Marie McLemore said "I didn't set out to write a diverse book any more than I set out to live a diverse life." I know I'll be reading their books and I suggest you do the same!"
Quick Picks and YA Author Coffee Klatch
Savannah describes her ALA experience:
"I’m a librarian (a YA librarian, natch), so for me, my very first ALA Annual Conference was like discovering the secret librarian club house. One of my favorite events was the YA Author Coffee Klatch. A lot like speed dating but with books (shouldn’t all speed dating involve book discussions?!), it gave several YA authors (like Patrick Ness, Neal Shusterman, and Erin Bow, among others) a chance to talk about their upcoming projects to a table of 6 or 7 librarians, who were all starstruck by their awesomeness.
I’m also a member of the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers book selection committee, so ALA was our chance to get together and discuss (twice, for four hours at a time) all the books we’ve read this year and decide which ones should be included on the list. The Quick Picks list is a great resource for librarians, because any book on it is a guaranteed slam dunk for converting a teen who hates reading into a teen who can’t put a book down. I’ve already read over 80 books for this project (after that I kinda lost count, tbh) and I’m looking forward to reading many - many - more!"
Authors, Authors Everywhere!
And what would a book conference be without meeting (and sometimes enjoying an adult beverage with) some of our favorite authors?
L: me and Julie Murphy, whose Dumplin' IS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS / R: Heather Demetrios, author of I'll Meet You There, November's absolutely heartbreaking FYA Book Club pick!
Real life beautiful pixie Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes, Nimona, Rainbow Rowell Fangirl fanart) signs SFFYA librarian Megan's book! Barry Goldblatt, literary agent/husband of FYA favorite Libba Bray also pictured in the middle.
L: OMG I MET MEGAN WHALEN TURNER YOU GUYS OMG AND NO SHE REFUSES TO SAY WHEN THE NEXT BOOK IS COMING OUT BUT SHE IS SO FUNNY AND AWESOME / R: Renee Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn) is also super nice!
L: Diana with Andrew Smith / R: Jandy Nelson
Finally, it wouldn't be a party if we didn't have one more FYA HQ member there: Mandy C. flew out to the Bay Area for work on Sunday night, and we got to meet up with her, Savannah, and SFFYA member Britt!
L-R: Britt, Savannah, Mandy C., and Jennie
You couldn't ask for more from a weekend of books, the librarians who love them, and the authors who write them!