nyc teen author festival 2013

This year’s NYC Teen Author Festival is so hot it’s on fire. Master of ceremonies David Levithan has whipped up yet another fabulous schedule of literary funtivities. Get ready for an abundance of awesome the week of March 18. Tons of rad authors. Tons of rad events. Can’t. freaking. wait. You can stay updated on the NYC Teen Author Festival Facebook page.

Here’s where you can find me during the festivities:

Friday, March 22, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Symposium panel discussion – He Said, She Said
NYPL 42nd Street Branch, 476 5th Avenue
Berger Forum, 2nd Floor

Sunday, March 24, 1:00-1:45 p.m.
Ginormous signing!
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street

Here’s the complete schedule of events!

NYC TEEN AUTHOR FESTIVAL 2013

Monday, March 18, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
I’ll Take You There: A Change of Scenery, A Change of Self
NYPL Mulberry Street Branch
10 Jersey Street (b/w Mulberry and Lafayette)

Description: In their recent books, each of these authors have plunged their teen characters into new places as a way of revealing their true selves. We’ll talk about this YA journey narrative–where it comes from, and what it can lead to.

Authors: Gayle Forman, Kristen-Paige Madonia, Bennett Madison, Jennifer E. Smith, Melissa Walker

Tuesday, March 19, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
The Only Way Out is Through: Engaging Truth through YA
WORD Bookstore
126 Franklin Street, Greenpoint

Description: Pain. Confusion. Loss. Mistakes. Revelation. More mistakes. Recovery. One of the things that makes YA work is its desire to engage the messy truths of both adolescence and life in general. Here we talk about what it’s like to engage this messy truth, and how to craft it into a story with some kind of form.

Authors: Crissa Chappell, Tim Decker, Ellen Hopkins, Amy McNamara, Jessica Verdi

Wednesday, March 20, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Imagination: A Conversation
NYPL 42nd Street Branch
South Court room

Description: 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.

Authors: Holly Black, Lev Grossman, Michelle Hodkin, Alaya Johnson, Robin Wasserman

Thursday, March 21, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
SOHO Teen night
Books of Wonder
18  West 18th Street

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.

Friday, March 22, 2:00-6:00 p.m.
Symposium
NYPL 42nd Street Branch
Berger Forum, 2nd Floor

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

3:00-4:00  Taking a Turn: YA Characters Dealing with Bad and Unexpected Choices

Caela Carter, Eireann Corrigan, Alissa Grosso, Terra Elan McVoy, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Elizabeth Scott, K. M. Walton

4:00-4:10  Break

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

Sharon Cameron, Leanna Renee Hieber, Stephanie Strohm, Suzanne Weyn

4:40-5:30  Alternate World vs. Imaginary World

Sarah Beth Durst, Jeff Hirsch, Emmy Laybourne, Lauren Miller, E. C. Myers, Diana Peterfreund, Mary Thompson

Friday, March 22, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Reader’s Theater/Signing
Union Square Barnes & Noble
33 East 17th Street

Eireann Corrigan, Elizabeth Eulberg, Jeff Hirsch, David Levithan, Rainbow Rowell, Nova Ren Suma

Saturday, March 23, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Symposium
NYPL 42nd Street Branch
Bergen Forum, 2nd Floor

1:00  Introduction

1:10-2:10  Defying Description: Tackling the Many Facets of Identity in YA

Marissa Calin, Emily Danforth, Aaron Hartzler, A.S. King, Jacqueline Woodson

2:10-2:40  New Voices Spotlight

J. J. Howard, Kimberly Sabatini, Tiffany Schmidt, Greg Takoudes

2:40-3:30  Under Many Influences: Shaping Identity When You’re a Teen Girl

Jen Calonita, Deborah Heiligman, Hilary Weisman Graham, Kody Keplinger, Amy Spalding, Katie Sise, Kathryn Williams

3:30-3:40  Break

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

Jessica Brody, Gina Damico, Maya Gold, Alexandra Monir, Lindsay Ribar, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jessica Spotswood

4:20-5:00  The Next Big Thing

Jocelyn Davies, Leanna Renee Hieber, Barry Lyga, Maryrose Wood

Saturday, March 23, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Mutual Admiration Society reading
McNally Jackson, 52 Prince Street

Sharon Cameron, A.S. King, Michael Northrop, Diana Peterfreund, Victoria Schwab, Nova Ren Suma

Sunday, March 24, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Ginormous signing!
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street

1:00-1:45
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!