Tag: Boston Teen Author Festival

Tonight’s the Night: Boston Teen Author Festival Sneak Preview!

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Boston-Teen-Author-Fest-PreviewI’m so psyched to join several other awesome YA/MG authors for tonight’s special Boston Teen Author Festival sneak preview! In addition to great conversation about the literary life, you’ll have the chance to win books and other swag by showing off all your bookish trivia knowledge. Between the trivia and the cupcakes, you cannot miss this.

The details:

BTAF Sneak Preview
Cambridge Public Library Teen Room
449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138
Thursday, May 7
7pm, followed by book signing

Come say hi, snag a cupcake, and win awesome book swag. See you tonight!

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor: BTAF Trivia Night!

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Boston-Teen-Author-Fest-PreviewThings I like: young adult literature and trivia competitions. Needless to say, I am super psyched about the upcoming Boston Teen Author Festival Trivia Night at the Cambridge Public Library!

Teams of 5 will compete in a YA/kidlit trivia challenge, win prizes, eat snacks, and get to hang out with YA and MG authors like Lori Goldstein, Jen Malone, MarcyKate Connelly, and me! The details:

BTAF Trivia Night
Cambridge Public Library Teen Room
449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138
Thursday, May 7
7pm, followed by book signing

Come on out for an awesome time and celebrate Children’s Book Week by proving you and your friends know the most about Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and more. Hope to see you there!

Listening to Your Characters, Shaved Heads, and Hamster Divination: the 2014 Boston Teen Author Festival

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The raffle table, filled with bookish goodness.

The raffle table, filled with bookish goodness.

Saturday was the Boston Teen Author Festival and it was a huge success! I’m so glad I got to be part of this event. The BTAF staff did such a wonderful job bringing everything together, running thoughtful and fun panels, and sharing enthusiasm about YA. Also major thanks to the Cambridge Public Library staff and the team from Porter Square Books for their hard work at the event and bringing books to so many readers. A few highlights from the day:

  • Getting to hear my fellow authors’ most useless talents, including reciting all the states in alphabetical order, making some seriously weird faces, and telling the future via hamsters.
  • Hearing about how MT Anderson worked in the image of a shaved male head into his novel at the last minute.
  • Learning about how authors use their current concerns about technology and the future to create chilling and emotionally grounded sci-fi worlds.
  • Being on a panel with amazing authors Francisco X. Stork, Emily Franklin, Stewart Lewis,  Huntley Fitzpatrick, and Erin Dionne.
  • Talking with aforementioned amazing authors about how essential it is to create a complete web of relationships for your main character, not just romantic ones.
  • Emily Franklin saying that she knows she’s really getting into a story when she starts telling people, “So it turns out…” Love that phrase for the moment of discovery!
  • Signing books for awesome readers (seriously never gets old).
  • My mom befriending half the authors and attendees.
  • A mug full of chocolate minis from the BTAF staff, aka everything I love in one place.
  • Getting to see and talk to so many wonderful teen readers. You guys warm my heart!
Buttons and mugs, my favorite forms of swag.

Buttons and mugs, my favorite forms of swag.

Thank you again to everyone who made this event possible, and to everyone who came out and spent the day with us at the Cambridge Public Library.

Is it time for the 2015 Boston Teen Author Festival yet?

Friends, Enemies, Adventures, and More: the Boston Teen Author Festival Is Tomorrow!

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The 3rd annual Boston Teen Author Festival is tomorrow! Make sure to come by the Cambridge Public Library tomorrow for lots of writing/reading/YA goodness. I’ll be there along with over twenty other YA authors, talking about writing for teens and lots of different craft points. The general schedule:

Writing Workshop: 9:45-10:30
Doors Open: 10:45
Introduction: 11:15 
Meet the Authors!: 11:30-12:15
Panel Session One: 12:30 -1:15
Lunch Break: 1:15-2:00 (Lunch isn’t provided but you’re in Cambridge which means lots of tasty lunch spots around)
Panel Session Two: 2:00-2:45
Signing: 3:00-4:00

What better way to spend your Saturday than getting to share in a day of YA awesomeness? Hope to see you there!

Boston Teen Author Festival: Panels Announced!

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It’s less than two weeks to the Boston Teen Author Festival and I’m so excited!

Doors open at 10:45, and we’ll be having four amazing panels. The info has just been announced! I’ll be part of Platonic in Love: Writing strong non-romantic relationships. One of my biggest pet peeves is that YA is all about insta-love, and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to talk about other kinds of love and relationships and friendships in YA with some seriously amazing authors.

Check out the poster below for all the panel/author goodness:

And click through to the Boston Teen Author Festival website for all necessary info. Hope to see you on September 27th!