Each spring for several years now, I’ve gathered my book club to attend the annual Ontario Teen Book Fest. Some of the teens accompanying me are more than just fans of the featured authors; they are writers, and the book fest is their first venture into the writer’s conference milieu. There they find community with the featured presenters, other teens, and local adults who gather to celebrate the world of Young Adult literature.
Now in its seventh year, the annual book fest is produced by the Ontario City Library. It’s coming up on Saturday, March 3, from 9 AM to 5 PM at Colony High School in Ontario. If you are a reader or writer of YA fiction, don’t miss it. Ellen Hopkins, whose novels in verse are New York Times bestsellers and wildly popular with local teens, will be the featured speaker.
Josephine Angelini, Mary E. Pearson, Jessica Brody, and Jonathan Maberry are
also favorites among teen readers I know. (I, too, am a big fan of Maberry’s zombie dystopia in his “Benny Imura Series.”) The Inland Empire’s own Isabel Quintero will be a panel moderator. Her “Gabi: A Girl in Pieces” won the American Library Association’s William C. Morris YA Debut Award, given to a work of young adult literature by a first-time author writing for teens. I have book talked it to many students and despite having over fifteen copies, I had to have a waiting list for checkouts in my library. In addition to being a wonderful novelist and poet, Quintero is incredibly generous with her time and talents, consistently advocating for the literary arts in the IE.
Nearly twenty authors will be presenters, panelists, or discussion moderators. All will participate in the popular ‘Speed Date the Author’ event, in which attendees have the opportunity to ask questions about books, characters, and the writers’ processes. Lunch from Panera will be provided free to all attendees. Throughout the day, Once Upon a Time bookstore will sell copies of books by the book fest authors. After the sessions conclude at 3:15 PM, participants may stay for the author book signing.
Many of the sessions are centered on the craft of writing. At past book fests, panelists have discussed how the process of writing books helps the author to push past fear toward self-confidence. Jessica Brody, who will attend again this year, has reminded us that writer’s block is really just ‘perfectionist block.’
While we don’t yet know what Ellen Hopkins will say, the keynote speeches
have always been riveting. Jay Asher (author of “Thirteen Reasons Why”), Stephen Chbosky (author of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”) and John Corey Whaley (author of “Noggin”) were standouts. Last year, E. Katherine Kottaras, author of “How to be Brave,” discussed her family tragedies. When Katherine was 17, her father died; when she was 30, her mother died. When teens ask her how to find the courage to face life’s most difficult moments, she tells them that reading books, writing, and being engaged with art help one not only to work through fear, but to understand how to live with it.
Elana K. Arnold, author of “What Girls are Made Of” captivated the audience with her personal tales of the ways boys and young men tried to control her when she was beginning to date. In one, a young man living in her college dorm held a box cutter to her throat and told her that he could rape her if he wanted to. She was afraid to scream in case it was all just a big joke, and people would make fun of her later. As an adult, Arnold feels the important thing that came out of her experiences was for her to ask, “How did I become the kind of girl who felt like I wasn’t worth screaming for?”
Arnold now uses words to show how her experiences have shaped her; for her, shame, fear, and obsequious desire can be transformed through literature into pride, anger, and action.
Every year, feeling both joyous and empowered, the audience moves on to attend breakout sessions. Choices for this year’s sessions will include: I Heart You; IRL (Navigating Darkness); World on Fire; Epic Firsts (Debut Authors); On Beat; and Stranger Things (Sci-Fi/Fantasy).
Leaving the book fest, participants feel all the emotions that authors hope to convey: empathy, acceptance, hope, and connection. Gather up your favorite teens and make the Ontario Teen Book Fest your annual event.
Note: I reviewed books by many of the authors I mentioned at http://SchoolLibraryLady.com. See http://www.ontariotbf.org/ for information and updates on participating authors.
Happily, this article was posted in the California News Group today.