Shout it out, Hub readers– are we going to see you at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco in a few weeks? Quite a few of your friendly Hub bloggers will be there, and we’d love to say hi!
YALSA has a fantastic line-up of programs to help librarians sharpen their teen services skills, including a bunch of amazing events and sessions focusing on YA literature. You can read about all of YALSA’s offerings in detail on the YALSA wiki, but I’m here today to give you the highlights for YA lit lovers. Mark your conference schedule for the following!
Friday, June 26
YALSA and Booklist Present: The Michael L. Printz Program and Reception
June 26, 8-10PM. Tickets — $34
Kick off your Annual Conference by attending the best celebration of YA lit all year: the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception! Jandy Nelson, the 2015 Michael L. Printz winner for I’ll Give You the Sun, will speak about her writing. The honor book authors Jenny Hubbard (And We Stay); Jessie Ann Foley (The Carnival at Bray); Andrew Smith (Grasshopper Jungle); and author Mariko Tamaki, and illustrator Jillian Tamaki (This One Summer) will answer questions in an engaging panel format, followed by a reception. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by Booklist Publications.
Saturday, June 27
Margaret A. Edwards Brunch
June 27, 10:30am-12:00pm, Tickets — $39
Everyone likes brunch, right? Now add an AMAZING author to the allure of brunch, and you have a can’t-miss event. Sharon M. Draper, the winner of the 2015 Margaret A. Edwards Award, will speak about her writing. The award honors a significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens, and I can’t wait to hear what wisdom Sharon Draper will bring to this event.
BFYA Teen Feedback Session
1:00 – 2:30 Moscone Convention Center, Esplande 302
Want to hear what teens really think about what they’re reading? Come hear Bay Area teens react to the books nominated for this year’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list. They’re giving the BFYA committee their feedback, no holds barred, and it’s guaranteed to be brilliant, honest, and awesome.
YALSA Happy Hour
5:30 – 7:00pm, House of Shields (39 New Montgomery Street)
Come hang with the YALSA crowd and meet new YA lit-loving friends. The venue is just a short walk from the Convention Center. Come on up to the top floor, which will be reserved for YALSA! Cash bar.
Sunday, June 28
YA Author Coffee Klatch sponsored by BLINK
9-10am, Tickets — $25
Think of it like speed dating… with authors! You sit and enjoy a light breakfast while awesome authors work the room and visit your table. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this– it’s the highlight of a lot of people’s conference experience. Participating authors this year include: M. T. Anderson, Leigh Bardugo, Deborah Biancotti, Virginia Boecker, Erin Bow, Martha Brockenbrough, Rae Carson, Selene Castrovilla, Carey Corp, Zak Ebrahim, Jack Gantos, Gail Giles, Amalie Howard, Jenny Hubbard, Bill Konigsberg, Michael Koryta, Daniel Kraus, Stephanie Kuehn, Susan Kuklin, Margo Lanagan, Lorie Langdon, Eric Lindstrom, Sophie Maletsky, Marissa Meyer, Jandy Nelson, Patrick Ness, Mitali Perkins, Kate Racculia, Luke Reynolds, William Ritter, Ginny Rorby, John Scalzi, Neal Shusterman, Andrew Smith, Allan Stratton, Nova Ren Suma, Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki, Scott Westerfeld, Carol Lynch Williams, Suzanne Young.
Alex Award Presentation and Program
10:30–11:30 am. Moscone Convention Center, 2002 West
Celebrate the winners of the 2015 Alex Awards: Anthony Doerr, Zak Ebrahim, Kate Racculia, and John Scalzi will speak about their writing. In the midst of all of your voracious YA reading, do you ever think to yourself, “Hmmm, I should branch out and read more books aimed at the adult market. And yet… so boring…” Well, the Alex Award winners are just what you’re looking for– this award recognizes books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, so you know you’re going to like them. Perfect!
Marie Lu Chats With 8 Young Adult Debuts
4:30-5:30pm. Moscone Convention Center, 2001 West
NYT bestselling author Marie Lu moderating a panel of eight debut YA authors who diverse stories? Say no more, I’m in. This is sure to be a thought-provoking and inspiring discussion. Participating authors are: Stacey Lee, I.W. Gregorio, Sabaa Tahir, Kelly Loy Gilbert, Dhonielle Clayton, Holly Bodger, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Renee Ahdieh.
Monday, June 29
Odyssey Award Presentation and Program
3:00-5:30pm. Moscone Convention Center, 2014 West
Close out your conference with a celebration of audiobooks. Enjoy clips from the 2015 Odyssey Award winners, and witness narration brilliance in person as Dion Graham, Christopher Myers, Tim Federle, and Jayne Entwistle give brief presentations. A reception sponsored by the APA follows the program.
I can’t wait for this great line-up of YA lit programs in San Francisco, and I hope to see you there!
-Allison Tran, currently listening to Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
