North Texas Teen Book Festival 2015

This past weekend was the very first North Texas Teen Book Festival in Dallas and boy, oh boy, was it a blast! I have about a thousand things to say about the festival and every single one of them ends with a happy exclamation point. I got to meet some lovely authors and made new friends, and every conversation I had was about books. It was epic.

So basically, the set up was like a lot of other festivals and conferences I had been to before. There were panels set for all day, and let me tell you, these authors are hysterical. Here's what I was up to during the festival:

• 10am- Boarding Pass, 'take the YA highway to love', with Adi Alsaid, Ally Carter, Elizabeth Eulberg, Stephanie Perkins, Jennifer E. Smith
• #TeamJaredPerkins and #TeamLampPost were the biggest highlights. Basically, we all want to marry a man like Jared Perkins

• 11am- Unlikely Place for Love, 'Explore how characters find love in the face of epic battles, monsterious mysteries, and devastating prophesies', with Leigh Bardugo, Julie Kagawa, Sherry Thomas, April Genevieve Tuchokle, Rachel Vincent
• everything that comes out of Leigh Bardugo's mouth is golden comedy

• 12pm- Captivating Fantasies, 'explore these fantastical works', with Sarah Rees Brennan, Rae Carson, Ally Condie, Tessa Gratton, Julie Kagawa,
• remember that one time Sarah Rees Brennan stood on her chair and then preached about not doing meth? Yeah, that happened here...

• 1pm- Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, 'Editor and contributors discuss their upcoming horror anthology', with Leigh Bardugo, A. G. Howard, Carrie Ryan, Nova Ren Suma, April Genevieve Tuchokle
• we talked a lot about scary movies and now I have a ton I want to watch. Also, I'm super excited for this anthology, it's going to be so good!

• 2pm- Thrill Ride, 'Dark and mysterious thrillers? Yes, Please', with Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Ashley Elston Natalie C. Parker, Kathy Reichs, Victoria Scott, Nova Ren Suma
• not only did I get to see my friend and former professor, Dr. Barnes, but they also talked about what's so fun about thrillers and things that give them thrills. Special notes from this panel are: monkeys are fluffy balls of death, don't skip school, and stop hating on the cheerleaders. 

It was overwhelming in the best way possible. Then, at 3:30, it was time for the author signings. Lines were so long, and it was so hard to narrow down which authors I wanted to talk to. I ended up seeing Rachel Vincent (who really liked my personalized book embossment), Jennifer E. Smith, Sarah Rees Brennan, Stephanie Perkins, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Ally Carter. They were all so nice and excited about the event. 

I literally have nothing but praise for this conference, and I hope this becomes a long lasting tradition in North Texas. A million thanks to all the volunteers and people involved in making that day so special, you the real MVP. 

-Annie