New York City Teen Author Festival 2010

During the week of March 15-20, NYC was flooded with talented YA authors for the second annual Teen Author Festival. Workshops and events occurred daily maestro-ed by author/editor David Levithan. Below are some of the events that happened during the week:

Monday, 3/15: First Draft to Final Draft – Talking About the Writing Process

featuring: Gayle Forman, Daphne Grab, Carolyn Mackler, Sarah Mlynowski, Blake Nelson, Marie Rutkoski, Eliot Schrefer, Natalie Standiford

Highlights from Event:

- Blake Nelson stated that his novel 'Destroy All Cars' started out as a 200 page long manifesto.
- Sarah Mlynowski said to avoid Titanic references.
- Carolyn Mackler kept the same first line of her book 'Tangled' from the first draft in the final version.
- "There's no better mathematical proof for blind faith than my writing process," Eliot Schrefer said.

Wednesday, 3/17: The Treasure Map to Going Bovine with Will Grayson(s)
(or, an evening of readers’ theater)

featuring: Libba Bray, John Green, David Levithan, E. Lockhart

Highlight: Authors read from their works in progress. Hint: John Green believes there is a connection between zombies and corn, David Levithan is writing a dictionary, Libba Bray is hanging out with beauty queens, and E. Lockhart has decided to cater to a younger readership who appreciates recycling.

Friday, 3/19: NYC Teen Author Festival Symposium. A full day event jam-packed with author panels.

2:10 – 3:00: Using Genre to Tell the True Story of Adolescence

featuring: Judy Blundell, Sarah Beth Durst, Lauren McLaughlin, Diana Peterfreund, Sara Shepard, Maggie Stiefvater, Robin Wasserman

Highlights: Knowledge found is better than Knowledge told. If readers are told to "be themselves" or "don't forget who you are," then they won't appreciate a story as much. If they are given a story, in a unique backdrop and encouraged to find the meaning within that backdrop, then they will appreciate the story more. That's why different genres in YA are a useful method of relaying a story.

3:30 - 4:15: Grief, Loss, and the YA Novel

featuring: Alexandra Bullen, Heather Duffy-Stone, Donna Freitas, Alice Hoffman, Sarah Darer Littman, Lisa Ann Sandell, Samantha Schutz
 

Highlight: Grief and loss are very real elements for a lot of teenagers in their lives. These elements transcend into other areas of fiction, not just YA. Authors shared personal stories that helped shape their reasons why they chose to write grief and loss, and how their own grief or loss at an older age was channeled into their YA novels.

4:15 – 5: The Boy You Can’t Have

featuring: Susane Colasanti, Elizabeth Eulberg, Robin Palmer, Elizabeth Scott, Melissa Walker, Maryrose Wood

Highlight: Authors shared the realization that most teenage girls have an 'unattainable boy' whether he is someone who a best friend likes, or he's too old, too young, or it's just not the right time. The 'unattainable boy' is the boy that we always want, but cant have, and poses for fabulous conflict.

6:45 – 8:30: What it Feels Like for a Girl – Writing in a Teen Girl’s Voice

featuring: Jessica Blank, Eireann Corrigan, Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, Terra Elan McVoy, Siobhan Vivian,
Adrienne Maria Vrettos, Jacqueline Woodson

Highlight: Most female characters associate their identity, whether it be emotional, social, etc., with their looks. Each author took turns reading from passages in their novel, and in each passage, the female character had mentioned physical appearance. Insecurity was often paired with descriptions about skin, body shape, etc.

On Sunday, over 80 authors signed at 'Books of Wonder' in the city, celebrating the conclusion of the 2nd annual Teen Author Festival. Levithan is convinced that next year is going to be just as great. Check out the Facebook page in early 2011 to find out more information about the times and location for the 3rd annual NYCTAF event.