YALC Recap!

This weekend saw the inaugural YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention) take place as part of the larger LFCC (London Film and Comic Con). This was the first time that anything like this had taken place in the UK, so I and so many other people were unsurprisingly very excited! There have already been lots of recaps, but I thought I'd do my own anyway, with a few pictures.

The weekend itself was absolutely manic and so crazy, as the con was part of the larger LFCC. This meant that there were huge queues to get in, and inside, lots and lots of people, a noisy and very, very hot hall. Luckily the Book Zone was at the back of the hall, and things were a little quieter there! It was also very exhausting, with lots of queueing, standing about etc, and I was out late both nights seeing other friends - I managed to make it through the weekend, and collapsed in exhaustion when I got home Monday!

There was so much going on each day though, it was hard to know what to do - there were panels, workshops, and signings - lots of which clashed, and so lots of choices had to be made! The panels and signings I went to though were really great. The whole event was really awesome and there were so many awesome people there, all full of enthusiasm for YA, which was INCREDIBLE. I hope this do this again, it was the best.

While I was there, I was also able to meet lots of wonderful people, including my awesome CP Laura (and we got to hang out lots! Yay!), Cole, Emma, Catherine, as well as a fellow MuggleNet writer, Toni! I also got to hang out with one of my school friends, Katie, which was great. It was also wonderful to say hello to the lovely Liz Kessler who I met at the Fowey Festival!

This was the Book Zone, with an awesome wall of books, as well as a table of free goodies!

 

 

 Lots of publishers, as well as Waterstones, had stands and they were selling books (something I took advantage of, of course! Although I did get home and think, I thought I got more than this... maybe I should have...). Hot Key Books were there (and I love them, they were so friendly and great). They were giving out We Were Liars samplers (which I've already read) as well as awesome hand stamps with quotes from the books, as well as posters and tote bags!

As well as managing to get a couple of free books (!) I also picked up plenty of bookmarks, posters, badges, and posters!

"be a little kinder than you have to"

Onto the events themselves - on Saturday, I attended two panels: "It's the end of the world as we know it: the ongoing appeal of dystopia" with Malorie Blackman (!!!!!), Patrick Ness, Sarah Crossan, and James Smythe. This was really great, and everyone on the panel made really interesting points about dystopia and were so funny and great. I also attended "Superfans Unite!" with Rainbow Rowell (!!!), Lucy Saxon, Andy Robb, and Tim O'Rouke. This was another great panel, with lots of Harry Potter chat (yay!). 

Sunday, I attended "How get published" with Phil Earle, Sally Green, and Ben Horslen. I also went to "Crossover: not just for kids" with Matt Haig, Anthony McGowan, Nick Lake, Meg Rosoff, and David Maybury. It was a really thought provoking panel - and at times rather controversial (in a good way!). Lastly, I went to "Sisters doing it for themselves" with Tany Byrne, Isobel Harrop, Julie Mayhew, Holly Smale, and Sarra Manning. Another really good, and brilliant panel that made me think a lot!

There were other panels and workshops that I was interested in both days, but I ended up doing lots of queueing for signings and stuff, and it didn't work out. It's always hard to know at these things what to focus on.

I managed to get lots of books signed - as well as buy lots. Here's some pictures (all the authors were LOVELY so it would be boring if I wrote that as a caption for each one!):

MALORIE BLACKMAN!!

Natasha Ngan!

excited to read this!

picked this up from Hot Key as well!

Can't wait to read this one too!

I was SO excited to get this!

Rainbow!

Holly Smale!

picked up this short story!

excited to snaffle a free copy of this!

 Phew! That's a lot of pictures! All the authors I met were SO SO SO lovely and keen to have a chat, and were all so friendly, I loved them all. I've got lots of reading to do!

Let's hope this happens again - it was awesome.

Create, Shine, Blossom

This is going to be a bit of a long winded post, but I'll try to say what I mean. Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about creativity and something that one of the glow girls talked about in a glow blog post, about creating something every day. Here is what she said: 

‘Create for the sake of getting your hands dirty, create cause it makes YOU smile.

Put a poem, or a drawing, or a story on a piece of paper... if only to fill in the empty blank space.

Create a [SOMETHING] everyday... No matter how big or small.’

(Jaime Lyn Beatty) I really like this. The idea of creating just BECAUSE. So many things that these girls say are wondeful and inspirational. I really need to save them all in the same place because I always lose those quotes I love. Anyway, I try to create every day. I try to write every day, because I need to and it just makes me feel so much better.

But I find myself experimenting with other ways of creating too. Like over the summer I told you all that I got into bracelet making - both friendship bracelets and beads and I LOVE doing that. I also like drawing, and baking, and recently I've started to get back into little sewing projects because I used to do that a lot when I was little, and also photography because I have a groovy amazing new camera. And I have learnt to knit! I have also, very very recently started something that I've wanted to play around with for ages and finally because of an amazing blog I found (Daisy Yellow) have started. And that is art journalling. The idea of creating a notebook/sketchbook full of just paint and sticking things on and words and all that sort of stuff has always fascinated me, but I have been too scared to 'do' art. Having read a few things, plucked up the courage to join art soc, and started helping with this kids art group I have finally got round to doing it. And so far it is so much fun. I think in a way it is freeing to know that NO ONE has to see this. I know it's the same with other stuff, but I don't know, sometimes you just have to do something for you, and it's nice to do something really new. Especially when it's raining so much and I daren't take my camera out :( And doing other stuff like that gives me new writing inspiration, and especially as I am doing a creative writing MA I think it is important.  It kind of extends the whole drawing thing too.

Do some of you find that? You have to experiment with other creative stuff, which influences/recharges your writing?

Anyway I'm really excited about this new 'venture' of sorts.

So I said this was going to be longwinded. The other thing I wanted to write about, connects up with all this creating and creativity and glow.  I think a while ago I wrote about Glow* and how awesome and inspirational it was? (Glow) and of course I started this post with them. Well anyway, a post on the site inspired a group of us to get together and create a forum space that allowed one another to create and support one another, and help one another grow in confidence with their work, and in sharing it. We chose to name this project shine, because creating should make you shine and blossom. The website is now live here, with a link there for the forum so do check it out, and as many of you are writers it may appeal. It is all still being tested and worked out, so this is still a work in progress! At the moment the community is built around those who have come from glow*, a very safe sharing community, but we would love to welcome more people who love to create ANYTHING!

Phew.

Thanks if you read that far.