Since 2015, I have been volunteering at our Teen Book Festival and every year I write a post about it (mainly so that I can reflect upon it when I get #sentiment). This would be my fourth time volunteering as an author assistant and let me tell you that IT IS SO MUCH FUN AND JUST A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE OVERALL.
I have been volunteering with my sisters and thankfully, we usually get assigned to the same group. This year was our first year being with two authors though! Can you guess who? ;)
For more in-depth posts about my previous years, you can click here and here and here.
If you're too lazy to read those posts (because, let's face it- ain't nobody got time for that) here's a quick sum up of what TBF (Teen Book Festival) is:
It's an event held on a college campus where authors are invited to visit whilst they are on tour to promote their new books. And you can volunteer to help make this glorious day possible! The whole event goes on from 7am to 5pm* and my "job" entails me to make sure everyone is on time, the lines are under control, there are no angry adults or sad teens, and basically wait on NYT best-selling authors. Yeah, it's pretty great. It's even better when you get to breathe the same air they do and watch people fangirl while they get their books signed.
* phew, a long day but totally worth it- even if it meant having to wake up at 5am to get ready, heh.
Over the years, I have been able to spend those long hours with:
Jennifer Niven (author of All the Bright Places)
Jesse Andrews (author of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)
Nina LaCour (author of We Are Okay)
And this year I was assigned to Dhonielle Clayton (author of The Belles) & Gloria Chao (author of American Panda).
Allow me to say just how darn cute they were together. Dhonielle was the spunky not-afraid-of-anything kind of girl who walked into breakfast while watching the royal wedding live on her phone. Then Gloria was the quiet but super friendly and cute one who asked us our names and talked to me about my writing and NaNoWriMo (eeep). They complimented each other very well.
It was so, so much fun to work with them and to just talk about books all. day. long. (then following each other on instagram hehe.) It's way better than waiting in line to get as many autographs as possible because you are actually able to connect with your author. Quality over quantity is definitely a great motto, amiright?
During their panels, the authors were able to talk about their books a bit, new projects, and answer questions. There was this one little boy who seemed super eager to just be in the presence of two authors and it was so adorable.
I asked a lot of questions about writing. It feels weird because after writing so consistently over the past couple years, I can actually understand and relate to what they are saying. Does that make us equals? o-o
This year was my first time volunteering as an adult so my sister, Lila, and I were in charge of our group of volunteers + authors. As intimidating that could be, it wasn't too different from my usual tasks. I mean, I had to make sure we knew where we had to go when traveling from building to building (we only got lost about 8.5 million times but all went smoothly).
Even though you get to make friends with the authors, you also get to make friends with the other volunteers in your group which is so nice because you kind of share this special bond with them. So, you both are kinda like: hey we're special because we all love books and there's famous authors all around us and lol is this real hey i like your boots*
*SIMON PUN NOT INTENDED.
*SIMON PUN NOT INTENDED.
I was even able to meet Erin Forbes, whom know from Instagram and Goodreads. The festival has a teen author panel and she was one of the amazing teens on there. Sadly, I have not read her books but they were sold out pretty fast so they must be good, eh? ;) Plus, the covers are gorgeous and the author is SUPER SWEET YOU GUYS SHE HUGGED ME.
Overall, I am so blessed I have been given the opportunity to be part of this every year. There is so much excitement and enthusiasm that is put into it, it makes you feel like a star. And to spend it with my sisters, being surrounded by fellow book lovers, and writers makes it also feel like a dream.
You can check out her site here.
I also wasn't able to see her panel because the room was filled (FOR BOTH SESSIONS) and since I am considered an adult, teens get priority seating. But we sat behind each other at breakfast so that was cool.
I got so many compliments on my glitter and even my glasses, I cry.
Overall, I am so blessed I have been given the opportunity to be part of this every year. There is so much excitement and enthusiasm that is put into it, it makes you feel like a star. And to spend it with my sisters, being surrounded by fellow book lovers, and writers makes it also feel like a dream.
