NYC Teen Author Carnival--A Synopsis

I don't think I can ever get over how incredible the Teen Author Carnival at Jefferson Market Branch Library on Thursday afternoon was. It was my first time ever going to a teen author meet-and-greet/Q&A/signing, and it was so much more than I had ever dreamed of, because A) there were 40-something authors I knew there, B) a lot of them knew who I was (!!!), and C) they are some of the kindest people on the face of the earth. Period.

Here is a run-down of the authors I met and talked to:

Michelle Zink (Prophecy of the Sisters), who has the instinctual warmth of the ideal mother or teacher, and her children, who are all gorgeous, friendly, and, perhaps most important of all, avid book lovers. As the first YA author I ever talked to, she had a high standard to set, and boy, did she set those standards high! Speaking to Michelle is like talking to your favorite teacher or professor, and she has a smile and persona that just draws people in. Plus, her hugs are great. AND she and her daughter made me a glowstick necklace that I pretty much wore all around NYC as I later ran to catch my bus back home. :) So nice to finally meet you, Michelle, and I hope to see you again in the future! <3

Melissa Walker (Lovestruck Summer), who recognized me from my blog (!) and is super-cute and friendly in person (just like she is on her blog!). Plus, later on she talked about how much she is loving Swoon by Nina Malkin, which makes the two of us in the same (awesome) boat.

Maureen Johnson (Suite Scarlett), who is an absolute riot up on stage, with her deadpan humor, and really intimidating to talk to off-stage. I only just managed to get her autograph in my just-bought copy of Suite Scarlett, and then I went to cower in a corner, the shy and star-struck reader I was. Eep! Anyway.

Jessica Burkhart (Canterwood Crest novels), who signed a copy of one of her Canterwood Crest books for my 8-year-old cousin, with whom I was talking about Jessica's books. Thanks, Jessica! You are so sweet.

Jenny Han (Shug, The Summer I Turned Pretty), who wrote a lovely note in my copy of Shug. Nice to finally meet you in person as well!

Sarah Cross (Dull Boy), whose book I bought because of all the good reviews I've read, and also because she encouraged me to go to TAC on Wednesday night on Twitter. She then ended up writing what has to be the best personalized note ever written in a book (hint: it was about my glowstick necklace). Aaaand there's not much else to say about that, except *grin*.

Michael Northrup (Gentlemen), who turned out to be one of the funniest people there. We bonded over our mutual second-degree black belts (except mine's in karate, and his is in tae kwon do), and then we decided never to get on one another's bad sides, and then to call the other for help should one of us be stuck in a life-or-death situation. Hands down one of the coolest people I met (and no, Michael, I am not just saying that to avoid being beaten up...or am I?).

Scott Westerfeld (Uglies trilogy), who *gulp* I was apparently talking to for 5 minutes with Michael and Marie (cupcakewitch) before realizing who he was. And then after that I couldn't talk anymore. Talk about being starstruck. Oh, and he's really tall. And wasn't even supposed to be there, which is probably why I didn't recognize him immediately.

Libba Bray (Gemma Doyle trilogy) and her adorable son. Libba was kind enough to sign all three of my books for me, even though she had to go somewhere else soon. She also wrote the touching Prop 8-related post about her father, and she also strongly promoted her YA author band, Tiger Beat (which I unfortunately couldn't go see Friday night, although I really wanted to). So, in three words, she is amazing.

I also saw from a distance/heard: David Levithan (Love is the Higher Law), Aimee Friedman (Sea Change), Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments trilogy), Holly Black (Tithe--a surprise!), Elizabeth Scott (Living Dead Girl), and oh gosh oh gosh there were just too many to list here.

The awesomeness continues with actually meeting fabulous YA book bloggers for the first time:

Marie (cupcakewitch) was the first person I saw as I walked into the library--HER library. She's chill and friendly and helpful and clearly has the best job ever. I'm so happy I got to finally meet you. :)

Sharon (sharonlovesbooksandcats), who wore her infamous unicorn sweatshirt (see Michelle Zink's website to see what I'm talking about) and was a thrill to be around, even if she claims she was too shy to go up and ask the authors a question!

Alea (Alea Pop Culture) and her mom, all the way from Minnesota. She, her mom, Sharon, two other bloggers, and I all went out to dinner after TAC (and it was a good thing I didn't get my remaining pizza wrapped, because otherwise I would've missed my bus for sure!), and they all made me feel really, really young in my under-21 state, haha.

Steph (Reviewer X), who was off. The. Wall. The girl is gorgeous, she loves books, and she is just filled with boundless energy while she hugged and squealed and talked to just about everyone in the room. Really nice to meet you, and I hope you take BEA and NYC by storm this weekend!

Lenore (Presenting Lenore) and her husband Daniel, who came late to TAC, but what the heck? It's the fact that they made it--all the way from Germany--that counts! Plus, Lenore is incredibly nice, just like she is online.

Other bloggers I met for the first time were Dominique (The Book Vault), Korianne (Korianne Speaks), and Genevieve. Great people, everyone who was there. Thanks to the bloggers who organized the amazing event for all of us!