Empire State Book Festival

Yesterday was the Second Annual Empire State Book Festival at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, NY. It's not every day that dozens of talented authors, publishers, and other book related people are all gathered together less than 15 miles from my house. Plus, my friend and author Jason Letts was attending as well so I would finally get to meet him in person! Needless to say, I was looking forward to this event. 

Especially because of the keynote speaker. Ann M. Martin kicked off the festivities with a keynote address that focused on her writerly roots, her love of animals, designing children's clothing, and the hilarious fan letters she has received from children over the years. 

That's right. I saw Ann M. Martin, author of The Babysitters Club books. The eight year old inside of me is still jumping up and down about this. I read through my hometown library's copies of The Baby Sitters Club when I was in late elementary school. Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey were a big part of my childhood and Ann M. Martin was my hero, someone to aspire to be. I was a total fangirl when I finally reached the front of the autograph/meet and greet line. Ann was gracious and kind and even allowed a photo op after she autographed Book Six in the series, Kristy's Big Day!

After the meet and greet with Ann M. Martin, my friend Cyndy and I arrived about 15 minutes late for our first panel, "Insider's Guide to Getting Published - Meet the Publishers!" From what we gathered from our other friends who attended, the first speaker was amazing. That was the one we missed. The other speakers weren't very enthusiastic or engaging. They also failed to mention any 'insider tips' that we didn't already know. 

After the panel, Jason and I wandered around the Festival Bookstore, where I purchased my copy of Secrets and Shadows, Book 2 in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany. I was excited to meet Shannon. I've talked with her on twitter for months now and it's good to have a real face to go along with the tweets. Jason and I approached the table and I introduced myself, complete with my twitter handle. And she remembered me! We chatted about her series and talked about writing. She gave me some useful ideas for getting my first draft down on paper and she even volunteered to kick my butt into gear when I needed it. How awesome is that? She autographed my book and we snapped a photo!

Before heading to the next panel, I stopped by the McPherson & Company, Publishers booth to get this awesome t-shirt. I'm so glad Cyndy showed me her shirt so I could get my own.

 Here are close ups of the front and back of the shirt:

Front

Back

After the t-shirt purchase, I spent the rest of the festival in panels. The "Fantasy and Real Life" panel was okay. Four fantasy authors discussed how they get their story ideas from real life. It wasn't much to write home about, but it was interesting enough. (And a fast improvement enthusiasm wise over the publishing panel earlier in the day.)

"The American Dream: Fiction & Prosperity" panel was fantastic! I had never heard of any of the authors or their books, but by the end of the panel, I had requested all their latest books from my library. It was an interesting and incredibly articulate discussion on the role of prosperity and money in fiction. The moderator for this panel, Michele Filgate, is a friend of mine on twitter (@readandbreathe). It was cool to have a face to go along with the tweets. Authors on the panel were Martha McPhee, Jonathan Dee, and Teddy Wayne. 

The final panel I attended was "Writing for Teens" with Selene Castrovilla, Shannon Delany, Eric Luper, Shari Maurer, and moderated by Jan Cheripko. This was a rousing discussion about how these young adult authors got their start in the business. The conversation took an intriguing turn through questions about censorship and books being held to a higher moral standard than television and movies (that was my question!). Eric Luper provided a succinct explanation of censorship versus soft censorship and the roles gatekeepers (librarians, parents, etc) play in censorship and he regaled the audience with the tale of an irate seventh grade teacher who blasted his book Big Slick for being inappropriate for the 13 and up age group label on the book. This and the "Fiction and Prosperity" panel were the two best of the day. 

I had a great time at this year's Book Festival and I'm excited for next year's event. It was also good to see some friends: Alice, Josh, Cyndy, Kathleen, Sue, and Tara and meet Jason! If you are an avid reader and/or an aspiring writer and can get to Albany, New York in early April next year, I definitely recommend that you check out next year's Empire State Book Festival!