Have you ever anticipated an event so much that you build it up and up and then it doesn’t meet your expectations, a total let down? That so did NOT happen with the Austin Teen Book Festival this weekend. IT WAS AMAZING!!! MY DREAMS CAME TRUE!!! How could any book lover not LOVE being surrounded by amazing authors?! The panels were wonderful! I loved every minute. I didn’t even mind waiting in a LONG line for Ally Condie to sign my book. The people around me in line were so fun to chat with. 🙂
Friday Night bloggers, librarians, and some authors got together at a restaurant. It was really fun to see bloggers I knew and meet new blogger friends and librarians. I met authors Rae Carson, Tamara Ireland Stone, Jessica Khoury, and Eliot Schrefer that night. You guys, it is so cool to meet authors. I felt like I was meeting movie stars.
Saturday started off with Libba Bray as the Keynote speaker. Here’s a picture of her with a light saber and cape (wish I had a better pic). It was awesome! Too funny! The low part for me was when she had the audience repeat loudly a phrase with the s*** word. There was a kid that looked to be 8 years old in front of me. For me her language was inappropriate, but besides the cussing throughout she had some great advice. My favorite advice she gave was, “Writing is revision.” Great stuff.Panels! I enjoyed the panels so much! There were 6 to choose from, and we could pick 4 to attend. Here are some notes I took at the panels I attended with my hubbie. (Did I mention my wonderful supportive husband came with me? He did! Love him.)
- “Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads” with Greg Leitich Smith, Marissa Meyer, Rachel Cohn, Jeff Hirsch, and Dan Krokos
- I loved hearing the writing process! So inspiring.
- All these books sound so good! I need to read them.
- “What Would You Do For Love?” with Tracy Deebs, Ally Condie, Kresley Cole, Jessica Shirvington, Tamara Ireland Stone, and Jessica Khoury
- Talked about the strong heroines and cute boys in their books.
- I am such an Ally Condie fan! My respect for her as an amazing author grew even more.
- “We’re Not In Kansas Anymore” with Sarah Rees Brennan, Libba Bray, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Leigh Bardugo, and Rae Carson
- Talked about researching for their books. The fact that Garcia and Stohl researched southern food like pies made me want to read their Beautiful Creatures series. 🙂 Yum.
- Listed some authors who inspired them: CS Lewis, JR Tolkin, Robin McKinnley, Steven King
- “The Thrill of the Chase” with Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Will Richter, Lex Thomas (2 guys), Eliot Schrefer, and Ally Carter
- These books sound intense and exciting!
- Some of the authors write screen plays of their books instead of an outline. I love that idea!
This is “The Thrill of the Chase” panel. The only one where I sat close enough for a good picture. The pic was taken before the panel started.
Me and Katie from MundieMoms I was so happy to finally meet her!
Me and Ally Condie! AAAHHHH!!!!
Marissa Meyer and Me!
Ally Carter and Me!
Me and Jennifer Lynn Barnes! She was so fun in the panel. Now I really want to read her books!
Me and Rae Carson! I started The Girl of Fire and Thorns this weekend. So great!!
Here’s the beautiful state capital building.
This weekend was a dream come true. I loved it! I can’t wait to go to another author event. I’ll definitely be back to this one next year. Thank you to all those who worked tirelessly to make this festival a tremendous success.
Some Books By The Pictured Authors:
Kathryn Cooper 
Looks like so much fun! You got to meet so many cool authors. Ally Condie is a doll 🙂 Glad you had a blast!
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Inky- LOL! Right after this was over I said to my husband, “I should see if Utah has an event like this and fly up for it.” Since I love so many Utah authors and bloggers! So, if there's ever a big author festival up there let me know. 🙂 And yes, you should totally come down for it next year. It's so much fun and FREE!
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That I SOOOO cool! I'm so excited for you! 😀 I really want to get to an event like that. 😀 Maybe I”ll have to fly out next year and meet you! Lol. And all the fab authors. Sounds like a BLAST. 😀
<3 Inky@ Book Haven Extraordinaire
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I know! I couldn't think with all the awesome authors surrounding me. 🙂 I thought I'd run into more bloggers I knew, but there was such a huge crowd. Next year I'll make a list of who I need to hunt down.
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I'm glad that you had such a great time! I wish I'd realized you were there, we could have met up!
Courtney
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