I wanted to take a minute today and and FREAK OUT about the fact that it is only 96 days until the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention! Now, you might be wondering why I’m mentioning this on my young adult book blog. Let me tell you… this conference has one of the best YA tracks I’ve ever been to! (Props to Melissa Marr for all the hard work she put in to plan it and make it run like clockwork!) I went for the first time last year and it. was. amazing! It’s my new favorite convention. Check out my recap here!
Seriously. I got to spend a week attending panels of young adult authors talking about all things YA. There were so many great authors there and when they aren’t presenting they are usually in the audience too. Like… you’re sitting there and all of the sudden you turn around and freaking Cinda Williams Chima is sitting next to you! It was SO HARD to keep my fangirling at bay and not totally freak the authors out. Who am I kidding, I was totally an embarrassment 🙂 Here’s a list of the YA authors attending so far this year. Isn’t it amazing?!?
You can go for the entire conference or, for a much cheaper rate, you can go just to Teen Day. I went for the whole conference and am doing so again this year. Let me tell you a bit about each…
Entire Conference: When you sign up for the whole conference there are panels, events and parties you get to go to all day, every day!! It’s pretty amazing. Obviously not everything is YA related but there are plenty of great YA things! Some of the YA panels this year are A Kiss is Never Just a Kiss: Romance in Modern YA, Buzz from Those in the Know, Survival Tips: Getting Your Characters out of Tough Situations, Stop Wasting my Time: YA’s Changing Landscape and more!!! As a reader I adored the panels but I think aspiring writers would really benefit. There is time to ask questions and such and must of the questions centered around writing YA. Again, I cannot stress how much I enjoyed being there for the whole week! You also get a trip to the “goody room” where you can pick up a few books for free! I got an ARC of Bitterblue last year!! NOTE: this is not a conference where you get a ton of ARCs. Don’t go thinking you’ll pick up a slew of books! Here is the conference agenda as it stands now.
Teen Day: If you can make it for just this day it will be so worth it! Teen Day starts with a HUGE signing in the morning. All the authors in that list? They’ll have tables set up and be signing books. You can bring books from home or purchase select titles there. They often have bookmarks and other swag as well. I literally had a suitcase of books I brought last year! At 2:30 the Teen Day events start. Author speed dating, YA Professional Liars game, workshops and, to top it all off, the YA party to end all parties!! For. Real. Most of (if not all) the authors from the signing will be at the party. Basically you just get to mingle and eat. How perfect is that?!? The authors are there to chat and hang out. It was so much fun. Teens get a bag with YA books in it. Last year they had extra so they gave librarians and teachers one as well! I got an ARC of Richelle Mead’s The Golden Lily which was super exciting! Here’s the Teen Day page. NOTE: Last year there was some confusion. You do not have to be a teen to sign up for Teen Day. Anyone can go for the $25 fee (if you go to the whole conference Teen Day is included in your registration.) The only difference is that if you are not a teen you do not get the Teen Day goodie bag.
So yeah. Basically I think you should go if you’re anywhere near Kansas City, MO (or even if you’re not!) The full convention is May 1 to May 5. Teen day is Saturday May 4. I love this convention like nobody’s business! I’d love to see you guys there! If you’re going let me know and we can catch up!
Sidenote: I’ll be getting there on April 30 and leaving May 5. I have reserved a hotel room at the Sheraton where the conference is being held. The rooms are now sold out. If anyone is looking for a place to stay I’m looking for two more roommates. I already have one roomie and we’d like to split the cost of the room four ways. Let me know if you’re interested!
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